Valdez daily prospector., 1913-09-22
THE BOOKKEEPING FOR NoTh-
 ING" INCUBUS.

O CnlllS WulCu lllCcI1cIcS WlCll
 the free exercise of the faculties. <"
 According to this, we are justi-
 fled in regarding the gray hack
 le as an incubus for the festive
 trout, because, if he stopped to exercise his faculties, he would
 keep off the hook. Continuing on this train of thought, we ar rive at the conviction that any thing in the shape of bait may be consistently considered an i'm cubus and that the citizen who contemplates nsforming him. self into a Malefactor of Great Wealth through the extraction of dividends from ore will do we'll to exercise all his faculties--and then some--before madly jump ing at the incubus of free stock"
 "Something for nothing" is a proven fallacy, and the recorded
 history of how its logical set quence, nothing for something" has consistently punished the |public, started with heiroglyphics on Babylonian tablets and Egyp- tian obelisks and is today being transcribed on bond paper by means of typewriters.
 The whole tendency of pres ent day thought and purpose is to purge the mining industry of the taint of "frenzied finance" and bring the public to full re- alization and appreciation of it's rightful position of leader among the stable, profitable industries of the world. Any reversion to the "red fire" methods in vogue a few years ago we cannot con- sider other than menace, and we are sorry to note the tendency, on the part of some promoters, to gild projects--wOrthy in them selves--with promises of something for nothing," therc- by causing the level-headed in vesting element to inspect the scars left by the burns on it's finger tips, smile reminiscently and--" "cuss mining!
 Of course there is, has always been and will always be, a class of people which invariably re- spends to the lure of anything which glitters, and it is hope less task to even try to protect this class against this deep-root- cd and ingroWing tendency. Frankly, we have no thought of making the attempt, but We do purpose to exert ourselves to the limit in keeping the real busi- ness of mining in the straight path of stability and rrsprcIa- bility.
 The old French proverb, "He who excuses himself. accuses himSrlf," is an excellent thing lo Dcul III Hlllli, anu "C di lII'- pressed with the notion that any enterprise which needs to be eX- cused by the offer of free stock" is cheapened and accuses itself of inst ability by that very act. The business of mining needs neither excuses nor apologies. As a matter of fact, pract ically every mining project, even when it is raw prospect, has rather better than a reasonable busi- ness chance' for ultimate sue cess. Equally as matter of fact, the energetic, hustling pro- moter who is bending his every effort to development of such a prospect, sees the end and is prone to cOncede too much elas- ticity to the means. It is this factor which is responsible for these tenders of free stock" and other bonus offerings.
 We de not wish to be- inter- preted as impugning the entire validity of the enterprise or the perfect sincerity of the promo- ter who adopts this method of interesting the public in his un- dertaking, but we do feel that the ,sooner the mining business is entirely rid of the incubus of the I'"Something for nothing" idea and it's advantages--and disad- vantages--are put squarely and explicitly up to those' ambitious, red -blOoded persons who are will ling to follow Herbert Kauf- mans aptly expressed advice you want chance, take one"-- and with their eyes open and all their faculties fully exercised,