Bisbee daily review., 1902-11-08
Issued Every Morning, except Monday
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ACTUAL NUMBER PRINTED TO-DAY. .l4Oo.
AS TO A MINING BUREAU

The Butte Inter Mountain, one of the leading papers of Montana, makes the following pertinent remarks anent the proposed mining bureau un- der fedora control:
 The Michigan Investor has recently declared that the mining industry needs supervision at the hands of the government for the protection of the many people who have made bad in vestments in mines. It suggests that a national bureau Of mines should be established and that all mining com panies offering their stocks for public sale, should be compelled to get a cer- tiicate from this bureau that the pro- posed mine has been duly inspected and that it is legitimate enterprise.
 This idea is by no means a new one and worthy as its aim is, the real mining man cannot refrain from smil- ing at the proposition. That it eman- ates from ''tenderfeet" is apparent to any one who has the least apprecj- ation of mining conditions. A mere bureau of mines would, in the first pace, not be able to consider the indi- vidual cases of the thousands of min ing companies that are organized each year, and furthermore we doubt the real efficiency of a mere bureau.
 One of the hobbies of many advo- cates of a department of mines has been some means for protecting inno- cent investors. who are often taken in, in their efforts to become suddenly rich. It is, of course, a sad condi- tion that fake companies are allowed to operate, at least through alleged mining journals, but really it is doubt full whether a bureau of mines as sug- gested by the Michigan Investor could readily remedy this state Of affairs. In the first place, the scheme would interfere with the right of any man to form a company for the develop ment of his property. In majority of the companies that offer stock, it is expressly stated that the proceeds from the sale of stock are to be de voted to the deve'oCing of the com pany's properties. No one is com pelled to buy these stocks and the investment is entirely voluntarily. Then again, when the people are vic timized by these fake mining compan- ies, they have generally been attract ed by big dividends promised on in vestments of half a cent per share or thereabouts.
 The suggestion referred to insists that no company be allowed to offer spection reveals certain ore deposits. Now this requirement in itself is ridic- ulous. If such had been the law in Montana, many of the best mines in Butte would never have been uncov- cred. It frequently requires consid- erabae amount of work to ascertain if a mining property possesses any merit, and in many instances surface indications have been misleading in the extreme. It therefore stands to reason that in a new venture, those who take hand when the outlook IS not SO promising, should be able to get in on the ground floor for very small amount on account of the long chance taken.
 The Inter Mountain heartily agrees that some sort of regulation should be effected whereby the wildcat and fake companies could be suppressed. But the question should be dealt with by each state individually, rather than by the federal government. There are many objections to be made to the Michigan plan.