The St. Johns herald., 1900-06-30
CHANGES IN ALASKA.
Mining Considered as 6 Mere Busi-
 ness Proposition.
Waste of Health, Energy and MOHey Resultant from UnFeas0n- ing Haste of GFeez
 Gold Seekers.

will take years in the finding, and the
 population at present and to be indi-
 cates permanent white occupation of
 the country, it is extremely pertinent | to inquire whether or not it is worth while to try under the existing condi- tions to get this gold" writes Warren ! Cheney, in Ainslee's. "This is not so
 easy a question 10 decide as would ap- | pear. Most writers on the subject have been inclined to take pessimistic view The waste of health, energy and
 money resultant from the unreasoning haste of gold seekers, the rigorous con-
 ditions of climate, the natural inac- possibility of Alaska limiting the search.
 to the people fitted to undertake it.
 have all combined to make prophets
 gloomy and advise7s sour. It must be
 admitted, too that the proportion of
 success to failure has been pitiably
 small. It is probably large estimate
 to allow that one in ten of the gross
 number of the adventurers has taken
 as much out of the mines as he put in.
 This would seem to show conclusively
 that mining in the Yukon does not pay.
 But a careful consideration of the con-
 ditions of the case will reveal that this
 is not necessarily true. The general
 argument agaInst runs somewhat thus:
 The output of gold from given camp
 amounts to given figure for a given
 time. A stated number Of people has
 been in the camp during this period
 It has cost each one of these people
 8 certain sum for transportation, cut
 fit and maintenance during the time
 allowed. Divide the total return by the
 number of people and thus get the re
 turn per man. Compare this with the cost per individual, and the result vii
 determine the question of gain or loss
 "The individual cost in these in. stances was rightly reckoned' at from $CG0 to $1,C00. It will be seen readily that the output of the camp must have been fabulous-even to have equaled the aggregate of expense. The fallacy o1 this method of reckoning lies in this | that it is not fair to measure against the output of a camp the total expense of al the people in it, or to assume thai because the outfit of an individual cost | $1.GG0 at the beginning of the rush ii will continue to remain. at this figure | Again, as a matter of fact, the outpui | of the camp increases steadily as com: | pared with a fixed amount of labor be. | cause of the increased efficiency of that l labor through better understanding ol conditions and through the introduc tion of better methods.
 'In any business enterprise we expec' a large number of failures as a mat. ter of course. The figures of the com. mercial agencies show that but one O. ten enterprises is carried to success As cold-blOoded business proposition therefore, Alaska mining is as good a business venture as merchandising oI farming. What is more, the proportion of success to failure in Alaska is really greater than one to ten. It is estimated that at Dawson only one in six of the inhabitants is engaged in mining. The five are carpentering, keeping saloon working for others, or waiting foI something to turn up. The failure or success of the five sh ouldn be included in the miner account. ItiS evident thai with the smaller number to add items to the expense account the ratio of ex- pense to return would be materially lessened in the miners favor.
 Another fact against the statement that the Alaska mines do not pay is the shortness of the period on which are based. No man in ordi- nary business expects to make profit of 1C0 per cent. the first year on the capital invested. Usually much long ,r time elapses before profit is reached. The conditions of mining in Alaska are such that no man can expect a ma erial return from his claim until he las been in the country two years. As ] rue, it takes year to learn to pros 'ect and to find a paying claim. This at least a season must 'e spent in developing and getting the 'ay dirt into the dumps. At the be- timing or the second season the real lean-up begins, and the miner finds lls ultimate return. It is obvious. lerefore, that the returns from single 'ear-especially as the mines have cen operated less than three years al- ogether-are too incomplete to consti- ute correct basis of estimate"