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

900 since August In Goldield they
have been doing business by the light
OF the moon and trading through a
good part OF the night. All through
the Northwest the craze is rampant.
Duluth Is one Of the hotbeds Of spec
uiation. St louis ana Chicago have
been infected, and the South has been
shifting cotton money into gold and
silver certificates. Pittsburg is said
TO have put s4o.ooo.ooo into mining
shares and Philadelphia s~ee.0ee.oeo,
while Boston, the birthplace of copper
stock, has temporarily abandoned that
slow.moying issue for the rapid NOR
ey.maker of Cobalt. Canada, pros.
porous after a long, hard pull, is
gambling wildly on the Toronto and
Montreal exchanges. Probably a1O..
100000 has been invested by British
operators in, American mines, and
French, Dutch, and German money
has been goings4nto them. The fact
that Kattir shares showed a deprecia.
ton of $3.50, 100000 in the big slump
that has not vet eliminated does NOT
check the ~Englishman's ~proclivity 10
gamble in mines" There is even
the suggestion that New York, instead
of London, may be the future mining
stock center of the world.
The mining business is legitimate.
No n questions that fact. The trou.
BILE IS that 1t is the Legitimate N
mining that presents the boldest front
and gets the public's dollars. 1t may
be set down as a safe theorem that,
where exploitation Of. stock is most
vigorous, where the advertising is OF
the most lurid character. and where
investors are told to subscribe today
ut 20 cents. as the price will be ad.
vanced next week to 40 cents, there
is little in the way Of development
work in sight, and. the question of
dividend-paying ore is irrelevant
Evanescent Nature of Many Mine Flo
tations.
Every method of selling mining
shares known to human ingenuity is
adopted, and those that will not sell
o. m title or on a certain price are
given new names and offered at new
figures. Many Of them disappear al.
together after a little furry. AS many
as 10 or go new Issues have appeared
in the New York curb market in Il
single day. This mems that nearly
as many new faces are to be found In
the crowd Of brokers. A large per
centage of the stocks as well as the
vendors quickly disappears. The pub,
lie does not always bite. 1t sometimes
happens that. when the buyer tries to
get his stock transferred, no n ia
found to stand sponsor. Then the bub.
BILE bursts. After one dull period re-
Gently 20 of As new issues that had
been brought out faded away.
Extraordinary Volume Of Business.
The daily transactions in gold and
silver mining shares in the Eastern
cities have amounted to half a million
shares. In addition, houses that have
advertised Nevada and Cobalt stocks
have received subscriptions for from
$4,000 to $4,000 shares within 80
hours. A promoter with good bank
ing connections secured underwriting
for 10000 shares between lunch hour
one day and the closing of business
the next. This sort of thing does not
figure in the daily newspaper accounts
of mining stock excitement. 1t, how
ever, suggests the powerful undercur-
rent of speculation. 1t helps to alb
sorb capital into enterprises that will
be a long while developing.
After the first of January, dividends
and interest on corporation securi.
ties, amounting to $3.50, 100000, will
be paid. Many millions will be re-
leased to savings-bank depositors.
The mining promoter has his eye on
this vast sum. and 1t is very vel
known that many persons have prom
ised to go into deals just as soon as
they "a get their money out of banls
and not lose their interest.
How Far Is Speculation Justified7
The present speculation is prlmar
lily in gold and silver shares. The
wonderful discoveries in the Tono-
pah, Goldfeld, and Bullfrog districts
have justified a considerable part Of
this enthusiasm. Nevada Is a State
that will figure large in the worlds
gold production of tho next genera.
ton. 1t is now yielding nearly as
much as Alaska. and the proportion
of increase will be greater than In
the Territory. The methods of devel-
opments are intelligent. Some prop
critics there viii pay back in dividends
the mount of their capitalization. and