Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-09-27
Miseellaneou5 Readins.
WORKING THE MINING GAME.
Promoters of Fake Wealth Have No
Trouble In Getting the Public's
Money

Promoters of Fake Wealth Have No
Trouble In Getting the PubIic's
Money.
In the game of plucking the dollars
of the poor and the ignorant there has
been gradual improvement in meth
DDS. The constant aim has been first,
to increase the amount of the harvest;
second, to reduce to a minimum the
risk the reapers run Of detection and
punishment by the authorities. EXpe-
rience in most lines of commercial ac-
tivity has shown that the middlemen
often gather in the largest profits and
have the smallest losses. Many of
those working the mining game-and
by this is meant selling stocks on wind
and water-have made use of this fact.
Today, i'm the majority of cases, we
have in place of the prospector or the
company selling stock direct to the
suckers, the financial or fiscal agent.
He operates either under the name of
banking firm or a securities cOmpa-
ny, which generally is a registered
trade name intended as a cloak to COW
or the names of individuals not desr
Gus of publicity.
The financial agent of this descrip-
ton is in reality the organizer and pro-
moter of the mining company whose
stock he sells. But should trouble
al b., ;s, ,n ,irc tNn hot
he has been deceived as well as his
customers. He sells the shares of the
mine on a commission basis so large
that practically nothing is left for de-
vclopmcnt. He takes out of the money
secured large salaries and the entire
expense of carrying on the eXploita-
ton. He prepares all the literature.
one of the advantages he claims for
his proposition is the wide distribution
of the stock as safeguard against as
sault by wicked Wall street interests.
In this wide distribution, however,
lies one Of his own greatest safeguards
against either criminal or civil prose-
cutium. Scattered over the country are
his mvcstors-thc mill hand, the poor
seamstrcss. the humble artisan, whose
total investments, comprising perhaps
all their savings. seldom exceed 500
each. and, with their savings gone,
there isn't money left To pay car fare
to the office of the financial agent, let
alone to undertake civil suit or en-
list the aid of the authorities.
4 company Incorporated in New
York used the effective bait of the in
stallmcnt plan of investment. Their
literature and advertising offered sud
den wealth at 20 cents II share, pay
ments to he in inStallments, the best
20 offers" to he accepted. 1t was point
cd out that if one made ones weekly
payment large enough To he included
among the fortunate 20 one could have
a nice, clean certificate sent tn one i'm
mcdiatrly. and pay for ii at ones lcis-
urc If YOU think the operators could
not afford to do that, You are ign"r-
ant. There was an old negro woman in
the south who often impurtuncd her
white friends for funds to build a GER
tain somewhat mythical church. They
asked her what she received for the
time spent in collecting. Il has what
| gifts" was her frank response. She
cnuuCiatcd Il great modern mining
principle which had made fortunes in
Denver. Butte. New York, Boston and
many other places where handsome
photographic work is done.
1t is not. however. always the city
promoter who furnishes all of the
Crn"kcdncss. He himself may he de-
ccivcd 10y those who sell him the mine
Some of the most thrilling stories in
literature might be written about saltcd
mines. The sale of the Bears Nest
mine. and the special train expedition
to the saltcd Bear River placer field;
the sale of the Mulatns min" to a set OF
Cinnamon. and scores Of other in
stances in American mining history
have been regarded rather as big jokes
than as great lessons. And as to such