The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1915-07-15
SPECULATION IN MINES


many different ways Speculation or
gambling Is a primitive instinct, and
in its crudest forms Is common prac-
tice among savages. Civilized man
may check and cloak his primitive i'm
pulses, but the world of today Is pain
fully aware, as perhaps never before
in modern times, how little progress
the white race has actually made in
this respect.
The word Speculation" Is thus de-
fined in the Century dictionary: ITO
invest money for profit upon uncer-
tainty; take the risk of loss In view
Of possible gain" And gambling" ia
stated TO mean: "To play any game
of hazard for stake; risk money or
anything of value on the issue of
game Of chance, by either playing or
betting on the play of others; hence
to engage in financial transactions ,r
speculation dependent for success
chiefly upon chance or unknown CON
tingencies." 1t Is evidnt that there IL
no great difference between the one
meaning OF the two words.
Mining, especially metal mining, is
usually regarded as speculation II is
certainly not often a proper sphere In
which to invest the Widows mite or
the orphans portion, but It Is surely
an attractive and proper field for the
vigorous man with plenty of red blood
in his body
Resources Of a Mine.
Now in one conception a mine never
produces anything; 1t creates nothing
in the sense of farm yielding crops.
It is the storehouse, II you please, con-
tanning an underlined and unknown
amount of treasure, or what may be
such II 1t does not cost more to take
out than the product Is worth in the
market In other words, mine Is
what actuaries term liquidating or
wasting asset. Every pound of ore
taken from mine makes it just that
much less valuable. Actually the TAX
ing Of ore from a mine might make 1t
more valuable because the act Of doing
this may develop the property and
show resources heretofore unsuspect-
ed. Indeed 1t Is seldom possible to be
sure when a mine Is completely ex-
fausted, and what Is waste rock to-
day may be ore tomorrow by reason
of changed conditions. We certainly
can not expect the investor to view
and understand such matters in the
same way as an experienced mining
engineer; the trouble Is, the investor
often thinks he knows as much, or
even more. than the engineer.
A Nevada Gamble.
When the Tonopah mine was dis
covered in the early part of 1901, New
ada as Mining region was as dead as
Herod. Probably If the exploration
companies that are today advertising
for mining properties, but never APP
pear to purchase any, had been then
In existence. they would have append
ed to their advertisement nothing
wanted in Nevada" l we'll remember
when the Tonopah mine was first
brought to Philadelphia. The chief
hacker of 1t offered me some stock at
a very low price and when I asked
him who was their engineer, he re-
piled that they had. and needed, none.
For that reason the proposition did
not appeal to me; I failed to purchase
the stock and missed getting a good
thing. My position in the matter wa
wholly logical and sound; most com
panies that undertake to mine with
out an engineer come to grief, but in
this instance an engineer was really
not absolutely necessary, for the mine
at that time was too rich to be spoiled
by any amount Of bad management. 1t
was in fact rank gamble, but sue
cessful; and 1t subsequently had a
host Of neighboring limitations, most
of which ended in disaster.
Want Something for Nothing.
The effect upon the public mind OF
such fortuitous ventures Is on the
whole distinctly bad a crop OF ire
sponsible promoters springs up and
almost any old hole in the ground
may be financed II presented with suf-
fciently alluring statements and lit
erature. The eternally young-old !
game of getting something for moth
ing has an irresistible effect upon the
human mind at such periods. 1t is a I
species of insanity, and we have had /
many instances of 1t in the history of
the country since the days of the Cal
ifornia gold rush in 1S49. The psy-
chology of public opinion Is often In
scrutable, but on the whole when al
lowed free and unhampered express
sion is generally right. If not pervert-
ed by greed, suspicion and mlsinforma
tion--a trio of faults one might sup /
pose modern civilization had done l
much to dispel. IT is perhaps need
less to expatiate further upon human
frailties: we all have our share Of
them.
The important thing in mining ven
lures is to discount the inherent risk
and In doing this the public should be
brought to recognize that mining, es-
pecially metal mining, Is a highly |,
technical business, and that to place +
such business In unframed hands is !
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