Gilpin observer., 1900-05-10
A MIN TRUST.
Consultations at Cripple Creek Given That
Name.


The Mining and Scientific Press of
San Francisco has this to say on the
above subject:
Some weeks ago short editorial
herein commented on existing condi
tiOns in gold mining that made the in
dustry exceptionally profitable when
intellgently conducted. The para
graph when copied by various publi-
cations was usually supplemented by
the apt comment that the showing
made was conducive to the formation
of trust in gold mining as in other lu-
crntive pursuits. From appearances in
Colorado it would seem as though such
suggested trust We're in actual process
of formation. Recent transfers of min
ing properties in the Cripple Creek dis
trict indicate the gathering in of val
liable properties and their cOnsolida-
tiOn in one gigantic ownership. The
argument the buyers act on is that If
those mines are so profitable under
present forms of management they can
be made manifestly more so by doing
away with litigation so prevalent be-
tween contiguous owners; by reducing
the number of managers. superinten-
dents and other officers: by building
larger reduction plants in which the
same economy of operation shall pre-
vail: and. in general by enhancement
of values of stock in such mine trust"
Without direct avowal of the formation
of such n trust or combine. every re-
cent move in that locality indicates the
virtual formation of such consolidated
ownership. The situa ton in Cripple
Creek is peculiarly favorable to such
4 Lao,
tiles of economical operation afforded
in the smeltcr trust" the steel and
wire combine. or the department store.
appeal to the would-be investor in the
stock of such n concern The cases are
not. however. strictly parallel Trusts
can never control in the mining world.
Causes and circumstances will
constantly favor the individual
miner and constantly create con-
dtions that will in general
inure to private ownership or separate
corporate control the tendency in that
regard being to uisintegipte rather than
cohere. Here and there trust prin-
ciple may prevail. This is an era of
big enterprises. Whether II he a mine
or a factory n bank or n store. the
economical carrying on of the business
Is often rendered possible only by the
aggregation of capital. and great enter
prises that could not he started. much
less continued. by the individual. are
pushed and made permanently profit
able by the combined Investments of
the many. But II IL manifest that no
trust can live long unless 1t secures
exclusive control of the commodity
dealt in: and II is equally manifest
that no aggregation of capital could
control the gold production OF even any
one region or district. So that In tho
domain of gold mining there is little
likelihood of trust" Current Colo
RADIO action ns regards smcltcr trust
charges shows that that combine can.
not control: much less could n com.
bine Of mine owners for trust purposes.
After all. the only people who have rea.
son to fear trusts are those who trust
them. Meanwhile any action that
makes two producing mines where
there was but one Is of help all around.
The consolidation of big Cripple Creek
properties under one management can
not bc made to take on the essential
attributes of II trust" nor can the
same conditions that make trusts DOS.
slblc be- maintained anywhere =, the
mining world.