El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-11-07

ton thither of scores OF the
best known prospectors in the United
States. They have come from every
state aud territory. Most of them
have had long and singularly varied
experience in the western United
States, Alaska, British Column b1a,
Verezuela, Mexico, Australia, aud
South Africa. The universal express
sion of.opinion has been that of won
derment that this marvellous country
should;have been allowed to lie unde-
veloped for so long.
Those who appreciate the CONNER
cial factors of the case cannot under
stand why the city of Ell Paso does not
enter more heartily into the work OF
developing this camp. Some old tim
ers In this vicinity think they have
done a mining proposition full justice
when they have smiled incredulously
or shifted contemptuously at the sug-
gestion that they should put any
money.into the development OF q mine.
They say they have "been caught In
these things often enough and they are
old enough now to know better than to
put their money into hole in the
ground for someone else to pick up"
If the trouble is taken to ascertain
the facts in each of these cases it will
nearly always be found that these fell
lows have been induced by some pros
pector to put up 3 certain sum monthly
as a grub stake in the hope that he
hi 10 v,ofn
some of them this thing has occurred
many times. The average integrity of
prospectors so aided is very high, but
the vital point and the one that many
people fail to consider is that pros
pector in such cases usually considered
his work done when he ad discovered
promising prospect and located
series of claims.
1t has never been sufficient impress
sed upon the laymau that prospect
hole, however rich according to
sample assay, is rarely worth anything
at all unless large amount of practi-
cal development has been done. The
day of wild cat mining speculation is
happily past. No capitalist will ever
invest his thousands in a mere pro-
spect. He must be able to see where
the money is coming from to repay his
expenditure, and this is possible only
by a thorough examination of the
property.
No man has a right to expect that
any capitalist will pay him ten
thousand dollars for q prospect hole
that has cost him less than hundredth
part of that to find. Yet some such
unreasonable deal as this seems to
have been anticipated by many OF
those who have "gone into mining all
they ever want to- in the past.
Ell Paso must, at least for the next
decade, depend more on mining devel-
opment for her own increase that upon
all OF her other resources put together.
Ask any merchant where he sends
most of his goods that are cold out of
mining camp, in Arizona, New Mex
leo, Sonora, or Chihuahua. Go over
the lists of arrivals at the hotels, and it
will be ascertained that the majority
are men interested in mining, either
as practical miners or as capitalists,
ElPaso cannot hope to become much
of q manufacturing center within the
next five years. 1t is hardly likely
that that period will show a very great
Increase in 1.-The farming interests of
this vicinity. AS cattle center Ell
Paso will always be important, but
more IS meeting place or exchange
for cattle buyers aud cattle sellers than
from any direct benefit to be derived |
from the industry itself. But as the |
center of q vast mining district, of yet |
unknown richness, Ell Paso's position |
is assured.
Geographically she holds the key to
the situation. The two great smelters
aud concentrators already located
here represent an investment of mil
lions. At least two of our railroads
have been built primarily as adJuncts
TO this great industry. It is not too
much to say that every new mining
camp established within q radius of
i've hundred miles will sooner or later
become dependent upon Ell Paso as
Its base of supply. Every new mining
camp means to the Ell Paso merchant
and jobber, q new market for his goods.
Travel will increase. More hotels
will be demanded and greater financial
facilities required IS the industry be
,omes more centralized.
The one thing that is needed to give
Ell Paso the impetus necessary to over
come all possible obstacles is the es-
Adjustment here, upon firm basis, of
; mining exchange and permanent
mining exposition.