Weekly Arizona journal-miner., 1907-04-24
MINING ExPERTs."
 FISCAL AGENTS. ETC.
Clos Angeles Times.)

The Chamber of Mines has announced its intention of prosecuting criminally she horde of fakors and swindlinG pro rnoters who have set up headquarters ia this city and are working the pub iic. These comprise not more than n email percentage of the total number of promoters who are operating here, but they are far loo numerous. The chamber cannot get busy too soon and there arc plcntcous eases to begin on ri-ht n' hand. Tho promotion of com panics with millions on paper and nothing in fact is an industry thai should land it's operators in Folsom.
 There arc two classes of men who should receive investigation m this con ucction. One is the ' fiscal agent. Many of these hay" proven themselves utterly interruptions. Frequently they tpow absolutely nothing of tho prop erty they talk so glibly abou', drawing upon their imagination for figures. Som. mcritorious properties have suf' fsred greatly on account of the lying statements of '' fiscal agents who think nothing of adding or subtracting a cipher or two in their statements. Not only should investors beware, but owners of good properties should bc very careful indeed how they intrust their promotion to agents unknown L" them. Exaggerated statements arc ruinous.
 The second class referred to K the "mining expert ar "mining en- giSeer. v Not th. slightest reflection is here intended upon n profession that justly stands as high as any in the world. We refer not to the real min iAx engineer, but to tho man who as' sumcs the title with no righ, 10 i,, or the man who disgraccs the title to which he may, perhaps, have once had come claim. The difference is the same as between n legitimate practitioner of medicine and quack.
 There should bc law forbidding any person assuming the title of "min- iag engineer.' ar representing himself as an expert in mines who has not ne. Quired the right to the title at some recognized school or by examination before n qualified board. At present there seems to bo nothing to prevent any person assuming this title, al' though in some cases it's use is such a self-cvidcnt fraud that prosecution might he possible under some general provision of the criminal code.
 The writer some years ago was per sonally acquainted with n former Los Angeles street ear conductor, who went tu Mexico, made q so.called exam ination of mines, submitted report prepared for him and thus aided in floating a company with millions of cap italization on paper. The company sold some stock nnd then quit. The con duotor was advertised by the pro moters as mining engineer. Hi entire knowledge of mines was acquire, on q prospecting trip to southern Ne va,la during a lnyon' from his work o collecting nickels. On this occasion hi companion was another conductor
 Another thing that should roceiy attention is the practice of an allcgc' engineer. who is selling OF promoting ar interested in a company, submitting reports on the property which are pub iishcd in the prospectus in way { lead the unwary investor to bclicy that he s an impartial expert employ ed to give real facts without prcit dice. The cases where this is done ar unfortunately very numerous. Some times the report is doubtless truti