Mohave County miner., 1899-09-09
Capital and Mining.

'hO "ihes VI SdlllOTuid anu OtneT
western states, it is a we'll known fact
that efforts to float a mining property,
however promising, outside the state
or territory where it is situated, are
always received with more or less sus-
picion. The Californian who goes to
New York, or Chicago, or London, In
the hope of interesting capital in his
mine, has to run gauntlet of suspic-
ion; and so with the miner from Ari-
zona, Colorado or any other part of
the western mineral belt. The mis-
trust is commonly embodied in some
such queries as these: "If your prop
erty is good one, why must you come
thousands of miles to find capital to
work it? Why will not your own peo-
pie take hold of it," And these sug-
gestions will strike some capitalists as
so sensible, that for lack of an intelli-
gent answer many promising mining
deal has come to naught.
The Mining and Scientific Press in a
recent issue discusses this topic at
some length, and answers satisfactorily
the very common objections about
home capital refusing to invest. "Be-
cause mine is proffered to foreign
capitalist" says the Press, lit is no
evidence that it is worthless or not
wanted nearer home, or not considered
worth having. The latter objection
is the most constant, yet most incon-
sistent, of any. 1t is based on a wrong
conception of facts. If there were
only 200 or 300 mines or undeveloped
prospects in the country, and these
had been ceased and sifted by home
purchasers or local investors, the best
absorbed and the worst neglected, it
would be fair to infer that it was one
of the latter class that was being offer
ed. But il Is case of oversupply.
Local residents are not numerous
enough to take all the opportunities,
however promising. While thousands
of millions of dollars have been and
are being locally invested in mine
property, as much more could be so
invested to advantage. Take the case
of California. IL is sometimes said at
home and abroad, with a sneer: why
doesn't San Francisco invest? If you
have so much valuable mining area,
the people there would be likely to
keep it As too good a thing to be let
go."' The Press then answers the
question by saying:
There are thirty-seven gold produc-
ing counties in the 10000 square miles
of CALIFORNIA; area. San Francisco
has been investing money in mines for
fifty years and is today more heavily
interested in mines in California and
elsewhere than ever before. In one
county in California, San Francisco
has put over 5,C0O,O00s in the last three
year.. There are few mining districts
in any part of the west half of Ameri-
ca in which San Francisco capital is
not invested, but ten San Franciscos
could not furnish the requisite amount
of money necessary to develop the
multitude of deserving mining pro-
jects daily brought to its attention.
What is said of San Francisco applies
with even greater aptness to Denver,
Salt Lake City, Spokane and other
cities. There are mines of merit in
Colorado that cannot find capital in
Denver to push them onto stage of
development that would make them
big-paying propositions, not from any
distrust in Denver of their value. not
from any local knowledge that would
cause refusal, but purely because of
the multiplicity of such proffers. Den
YER is a rich and progressive city, and
its people are not slow to seize oppor-
tunities for making money q lickly in
mines or any other legitimate form of
Investment: but were Denver a dozen
times as rich and enterprising and
ready to invest every available dollar
in good mines in Colorado alone, the
supply would exceed the possibility of
such investment. And as in San Fran,
cisco and Denver, so in Salt Lake City
The writer recently sojourned in the
Utah metropolis. Remembering ii
when it was little adobe-built settle.
ment, he noted with pleasure the build,
ings, the large hotels, stores and fine
private residences, the air of growing
wealth evident in every quarter. II
was manifestly due to the mining ele.