Los Angeles herald., 1908-12-22
HEALT HY
OPTIMISM
What It Means
in Mining

Gently at the AleXandfla notel az
ssGet Together" meeting of the mining
men of the southwest, stated that min
ing was no more hazardous than any
other class of business, provided min
ing operations were conducted with
the same care and strict attention to
business principals which is necessary
to make a success in any business.
The great southwest is rich in min
eral possibilities. The comparatively
small amount If work already done,
representing only a scratching Of the
mineral deposits, is today yielding re-
turns in dollars and cents which show
a very high percentage indeed on the
capital invested in the industry. These
returns very thoroughly warrant the
attention of the investing public to
the opportunities for substantial profit
which mining offers. The banker
above referred to. however, touched
the keynote of the situation when he
said that mining is no more hazardous
than any other business, provided 1t is
followed strictly on business lines
The man, therefore, who recognizes
the enormous profit possibilities Whlch
mining in the southwest offers must
first see that the particular enterprise
in which he proposes to invest ms
money is conducted on the same strict
business principles which he would
look for in any other form of business
undertaking.
Such a man must look for the min
ing enterprise which has back of it
practical mining men with sound bust
ness experience and with the ability
to secure capital as it is required to
pay for the big amount of work and
for the extensive machinery which is
always needed to open up good mine
and to place 1t on profit producing
basis.
Students of mining history will GER
tainly agree that the management of a
mining proposition is of more i'm
portance to the investors in the stock
of that proposition than are the en-
gineer's reports on the mineral posi-
bilities of the ground itself. A strong
management will do all in its power
to select a good property for its opera
lions, and having started work on that
property may be relied upon to at
tend to the different stages of the de-
velopment and equipment of the mine
in a thorough and businesslike man
ner. and moreover it is equally safe to
assume that a strong management VIII
be in touch with sufficient capital to
bring the undertaking to successful
issue.
While the path to every goal that is
worth striving for is always Uttered
with obstacles, it is probable that no
industry requires a greater amount OF
grit of perseverance and of logged de-
termination on the part of those that
follow it than does the mining industry.
There are, however, two ways, two
policies or two plans on which any
mining undertaking can be taken up.
One is by saying at the commencement
that the obstacles are nothing, that
few thousand dollars will open UP pay
ore in big quantities, and that in q
very few months the undertaking Will
be paying enormous dividends. This
plan has unfortunately been very freely
followed by men whose so-called OPP
timistic arguments along these lines
have secured large amounts of money
from the investing public, and who
have seldom secured any appreciate
returns at all from the ground on
which they proposed to operate, and
who therefore have blackened the great
mining industry in the eyes of those
who knew no better than to blame
mining rather than the men whose ILL
advised statements gave them an en-
tirely wrong opinion of the greatest in
dustry of the United States.
In its issue of December 7 the Bulle-
tin of the Manhattan Securities Com
pany of New York and Los Angeles
contained an article entitled Healthy
OPTIMISM" In this article the writer
makes the distinction between sane,
healthy optimism and wild fanaticism.
He points out that optimism is the
quality on which all progress must
rest, and describes the optimist in
mining as the man who recognizes in
the undertaking he has before him
more good points than bad points The
man, in short who knows that there
are obstacles to be overcome before
success is achieved, but who has conf
dence in his ability to achieve that sue
cess ultimately, confidence in the pol
icy and in the plans on which he is
working, and is sustained by this con-
-, L @ eff tic To. oil
the bad points or obstacles which stand
in his path.
on the other hand, the rank optimist
is stated to be the man who cannot
see any obstacles in his path and whose
plan of work therefore does not pro-
vide either the time nor the capital
to overcome the obstacle before success
can be achieved. Such a man must
necessarily be beaten before he starts,
because he has not been businesslil1e
enough to provide for the contingent
cies which must arise
The article above referred to is an
index to the character of the Manhat-
tan Securities Company itself, since the
record of this CORPORATION proves that
it combines sound business methods
and ample financing strength with that
shirt of sane, healthy optimism which
enables it to recognize all the obstacles
which must be overcome in the big
undertakings with which this corpora
tion is identified. and while providing
all equipment suggested bv practical
business experience to enable it to
overcome such obstacles, still sees in
its undertakings a sufficient margin of
good points and of sound reasons for
expecting success. to enable it to push
forward and accomplish the object for
which it started.
At the present time this corporation
is responsible for three distinct mining
operations in the southwest. each of
which is an example of a strong adj
rnfnistra ton. At Jerome. Ariz.. there
is the HAYNES Gopher company. sink
ing a large permanent WORKING shaft in
ffe great Schist LEDGE which continues
into the holdings of this comnany from
the United Verde mine. whose hold
ings II adioins. The mine is well
equipped for permanent mining to great
depth and is onerated by three shifts
Of men throughout the twentv-four
hours Although the shaft has not
vet reached 2 depth at which substan-
ffaI enrichment might reasonably be
expected because of the dip of the
ore body. nevertheless in the 400 and
odd feet which have so far been sunk,
many rich punches of ore carrying over
ID per cent copper and nearly $500 to
the ton in gold and silver have already
been encountered. The entire formation
in which the shaft is sinking is strong
lv mineralized and every indication
which engineers expect and investors
can ask for points to the development
Of a copper producer in the HAYNES