The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-11-26
GuagenheIm's Warning.

Daniel Guggenhelm, president or inc
American Smelling & Refining company,
and head of what is perhaps the largest
consolidation of mining enterprises in the
world. gives this word of warning:
''The f1insy character of the majority
OF the mining stocks that are now find
ing a ready market cannot be too en-
phatically stated" MIR. Guggenheim says.
The public hears of the development OF
great values in a mine which the care
full Investigations of mining experts have
proved beyond gueSswork, and overnight
a market is 1created for shares in any
company that can be Incorporated to
cover property adjacent. or even in the
same district. Even where there are I'M
doubtediy surface Indications of ore val
ues, II should be borne in mind that one
in three hundred is a conservative esti-
mate of the proportion of prospects that
eventually fulfill their promise. In the
Cobalt field, where the purchase by our
interests of a large share in mine at a
price which puts the valuation of the
property at S25.OO0OOO has stimulated an
Immense popular speculation. the name
of Guggenheim has been harnessed in
market gossip to properties without NUM-
her with which we have not, and shall
not have, any connection
THE two hundred and ninety-nine fall
Ures are forgotten in the one success, and
that one is made the bait with which the
public Is tempted to three hundred more
ventures a great scientifically conduct
ed mining enterprise is able, through the
work of its engineers and biologists, if
not to deal in certainties. at least to
limit the chances of failure to the terms
of the human equation"
Copper Promoters Active.
The coming of the new silver stocks
INFO the market has not dampencd the
efforts of the copper promoters. The ris-
ing price of the metal and the consequent
increase in the earnings of the estab-
l'shed copper properties has helped along
the flotaTion of an enormous crop of cop
Il.
OF developed mines with records as divi-
dcnd payeIS have been buried out of
sight. Daily news of fabulous strikes
and reckless statements by mining en6i-
neers Of the probable values indicated
have stimulated popular interest in these
shares. of which thousands are unlOaded
on the public every day at prices that
are easily manufactured by familiar
methods on the curb. Along with this
movement the legitimate producers have
been carried up. and many old mines of
low grade ore that could not make eX-
penSes two years ago are now selling
above par.
The fluctuations in the price of the
metal are entirely left out of Considera-
ton, and IL is forgotten that prop
erty which can show earnings on 22-cent
copper might easily be a loser with the
metal at Is cents, the average price for
the past ten years
Speaking of the need of caution, even
in the purchase of the stocks of estab-
cost of production the only safe test of
values.
''In buying into a mining property" he
saws. the investor should ascertain the
absolute cost of producing copper at that
mine and base his purchases solely on
that"
Those who follow the curb market date
the beginning of the present speculation
back to the opening of the gold camps
in Nevada. two years ago. Up 10 date
these have turned out for public consump-
ton literally hundreds of millions tface
valued in stock issues, only an inflnitesi-
NAL minority of which are now dividend
paying.
A specialist In these Nevada gold is
sues estimated that out of 500 mines in
one camp fully one-third were floated
without any basis of ore values. These
stocks have had little bearing on the de-
velopsnent of mining speculation in the
street"