Arizona republican., 1899-12-02
WHEN MINING IS A LOTTERY.

The following editorial from Mines and Minerals clearly outlines the dlf- ference between true business meth- ods and the haphazard style so nuch in vogue in mining Investments;
 Why are the terms mining rlshs' mining ventures etc, so generahy used in speaking of the buying ana selling of mining properties? Is mn ing simply a lottery? Do mining spec ulations differ essentially from other speculations? Are mining risks unlsu- ally hazardous? The answer is em- phatically no. when the common sense principles which are used in other business are applied to mining trans actions. Why, then, do such phrases receive such almost universal accept ance in the daily and even in the tech nical press?
 ITO be sure there are mining sharp CTS and mining tricksters just as in every other business, but it always takes two to make a mining bargain. and if the second party to the trans action will use the same care that he gives to his ordinary business, the amount of money lost each year through unprofitable mining invest ments will be greatly reduced and the bad name which mining transactions have received in some quarters will soon be shown to be undeserved.
 Tt is very difficult oftentimes to teach an ordinarily careful business man that all that glitters is not gold, and it Is incomprehensible to those who are versed in mining matters that the many prospectuses filled with fool promises should so readily catch the suckers who seem literally to be swarming in certain localities, inviting some one to come and fool them.
 Men who would not think of going upon the ordinary stock exchange, rush headlong into mining ventures, and It is literally true in this connection that fools rush in where angels fear to tread though we would not be under stood as assuming the mining fratsr- nifty to be altogether angelic.
 ''The man who is unacquainted with mining matters, or as he is called, the tenderfoot' is at the mercy of the man having the property for sale, and in no other business probably is there greater need for an experienced and thoroughly reliable middle man who can report honestly upon the property for the prospective investor and who can at the same time do full justice to the property and to the seller Of the same.
 We hesitate to use in this connec- tion those much abused words mining expert but this term is So genera 'ly in use that we are scarcely at liberty to discard it and would simply say that there are experts and experts, and one is often fain to say, Whats in name?' A certain mining engineer of national reputation some time ago de- fined a mining engineer as a man with practical experience about the mines, coupled with a good technical training school or by wide and wise reading. together with q good stock of common sense A mining expert he defined as a bald headed graduate of a foreign university, who knows the books thor oughly from A to z. but don't know
 - thing about mining While this latter definition may seem rather harsh. the distinction will appeal to every one who has any knowledge Of the subject.
 Every mining excitement breeds a eroyn, of experts whose mining pedi grees can usually be traced to the be- ginning of the excitement. and whose mining knowledge has probably been acquired in a neighboring newspaper office. cornfield or country store.
 How. then, does the tenderfoot pick the proper man? Preferably. of course. by personal contact, and as the result of personal judgment in sizing up a man, which is one of the first essen tfals of successful business men. Sec ondly, he must consider the character of his report very carefully before ln-