Bisbee daily review., 1903-02-20
MINING COLUMN
ON MINING DEALS
 FROM DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS

FROM DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS
 This is a refreshing subject and one which has not been touched up in the columns of the local press during the length and breadth of our experience
 in Cochise county. We have been asked what constitutes a proper com mission on a mining sale, says an ex- change. Of course such question is too general to be answered without having full possession of the facts. but it opens up a good subject for discus
 sion. As an old mining man defines
 it "a proper commission is all you can get when selling. and as little as pos sible when purchasing" The law of commission is not so thoroughly rec
 ognized in this country as in those under British rule. In those, prece- dents have been established for genera , ton, which it would be impossible to,
 infract now. It is a'most an axiom to
 say that no Engiishman will do any
 thing in a business way without his
 monetary reward, unless bound by ties
 of extreme friendship. The American system is to do away with intermediate handling. while English experience, of
 a cycle of commercial life. is to give
 as man as possible a chance for par ticipation in business. The one sys- tenn attempts to eliminate the middle
 man; the other to establish him. | In England you will have to buy or sell shares through a broker and job
 Der both, paying each commission; you cannot enter into litigation with
 out fleeing a solicitor and barrister;
 in this country a single broker or | lawyer will do the business without | the aid of the collateral or higher | branch. In England this is sometimes carried to extremes. A prominent hop growing and shipping firm or the Pa 1 cific coast consigned cargo of hops | to relative in London, unacquainted, l however, with the business. He | thought. as any man would, or the con-
 sumer. and forwith went to a brewer, | who exp. aimed to him. to the sellers | surprise. that it would be impossible to | do business without the hops going | through the hands of a waTehouseman, factor and broker, paying each his es- | tablished commission or charges. While foreign countries and their courts recognize legitimate commis- sions and protect the middleman, it is not always the case here, and few
 mining deals are carried out without mutual recrimination and litigation. The trouble is that mining has not been regarded as a legitimate business
 so that there has been a tendency on the part of the promoter to infate com missions as well as values. There are, as rule, too many parties to sale, each demanding a commission as great as the whole should receive. This places a value on the services of those bringing about the sale, be- yond their deserts. If the promoter or
 promoters will content themselves
 with asking from 5 to 10 per cent com
 mission, inversely as the magnitude
 of the proposition, and will disclose
 all their transactions. it ought to seem reasonable to the purchaser. In addition, the middleman should re- ceive a refund of his actual outlay.
 This should be fair to all parties.-Ex. The United Verde possess perhaps
 the largest continuous ore body in the
 world. Theyshave miles of roast grade.
 They put down a platform of pine or
 juniper wood. perhaps a foot high, pie the rich black sulphurettes up on
 it seven feet high, set fire to the wood. and it burns for ninety days, or until
 it is reduced in weight fully one-ha,f
 The product of this operation is called
 roast and goes through the furnace
 like so much snow. It is a wonderful mine.
 The Calumet and Pittsburg are tang | ling with multitude of small but very rich stringers of copper ore, trend
 ing to converge, and justifying the con
 clusion that a big and abiding ore
 body is near at hand.
 The group of claims owned by Tom l Higgins and Martin O'Hare uD near
 the Calumet and the Spray, are liable
 to develop one of the greatest copper
 mines in Cochise county in the near future.
 Tho fourfaan cIai,, ,,,.,,,,, Lo-Jo5 h-,