The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1907-01-22

-cial centers OF New York and Boston
for months. About every other man
one meets in Wall street now has e
dolefm story Of how he had the 'tin-
to buy 4 AZ 50 a share, but DIDN'T AMI
saw II 20 en- times hirher. feel
rather mcrttaed myself or, seven
years ago IN the summer OF 1885. !
went in a canoe through the ;ass dis
trict around Cobalt. where Ntpissing
Is located. and saw three French.
Canadians digging ore from a tpn.
mel they had made ina hillside. They
were so miles from civilization and
100 miles from a railroad. Their faith
kept them alive. / hope they have
had more than the usual proportion.
OF profit coming to the inventor or
the ~discoverer.
In the a s Of NIplssing the buyers
took the property for s25o.ooo, as a CO
bait proposition. 1t turned out to be
extremely rich in silver. Silver was
beginning to rise to a level the high
est in nearly Is years. AS the veins
b%roadened and the price of the metal
rose a speculation developed that,
within a few months. overdiscounted
all of the benefits that could possibly
accrue in as many years. It Is because
mining shares are cheap in dollars
and cents that the public is dazzled.
They do not take into consideration
the fact that Niptsslng at its high
price has risen ,725 per cent, or that
the market appreciation of Mohawk
is nearly $500 per cent. Allowing for
low capitalization, this is imitation of
the sort that, applied to Stock Elk
change shares, would lead to tremeni-
Gus shrinkage when the day of reck-
ontng came.
High Prices Of Metals as a stimulus.
It must be admitted that the mining
mania has had a powerful incentive
in the high price for all kinds of met
ais. This has given a stimulus 10
mining operations unequaled in a gen
Grafton. With a profit of from 8 to
12 cents n pound in copper at present
market rates and a worldwide demand.
for silver. India and China taking
quantities of It and the United States
Government being a large open buyer.
1t is natural to expect the birth of a
lot of new concerns and the rena,s,
sance of many others. Not only have
a large number of abandoned proper.
ties been brought 10 life, but by
means of new methods of extracting
and treating ore, enterprises that We're
worked at a loss have been brought
up TO a profitable basis. Mining
towns in the West that have been q
wreck of shanties and about which the
ghosts Of many lost fortunes have
been f~luttering for years are booming
again. And. as every mining a
produces new fields of operations, so
has the present one revealed ore in
places where formerly nothing In the
way of mineral content was %anticipat-
ed. Claims have been bought and
cold like SO much merchandise or real
estate, with a steadily increasing val.
uation. It has not been unusual for
a deed to a piece Of likely property,
for which the original owner was glad
to get s25, 000, to be transferred to
parties who have capitalized it as of n
s25os0oo value. When it Is remem.
bered that the latter figure represents
the basis on which the stock under.
writing Is projected and that the pub.
lie is usually asked to subscribe at a
figure considerably above the under
writing 1t will be seen how imitation
begins and where subsequent man
fpuiation of the stock In the market
is likely to place it.
Where win the Mania End?
Fom present Indications the mania
for mining shares will continue well
into 1907. Very many good judges of
conditions see indications that 1t is
only now developing and that it will be
Intensified later on. The New York
City banks are getting scores of let.
tiers a day from their interior core.
spondents asking for information on
properties known and unknown. One
bank in the West telegraphed a sub.
s%cription for 10000 shares to a under.
writing project, 1t is conservatively
estimated that New York alone has
supplied s15o,ooo,ooo to feed the fires
Of this craze, exclusive of the $780,.
100000 sent into Mexico in the past
three years. This is not waste CAPT.
tai by any ean A fair proportion
plays its part in righteous enterprises.
The yearly increase in our mineral
wealth goes a long way to establish
the nation In its strong material pa.
%sition. To mining, per sc, no one OBJ.
jects. The intent Of this article is to
caution against some palpable frauds.