Bisbee daily review., 1916-12-10
MOST GAMBLING ON SHARES AT
 POOR ODDS
Warren Geologist Writes on Chances the Cheap Share Investor Has - Magazine Follows Letter With Pertin- ent Comment.

Copper mining investments nave come in for considerable treatment during the last few months and much
 of the criticism mas been more than
 warranted. In the San Francisco
 Mining and Scientific Press, of Nov
 ember 25, letter from Ira E. Sorale- mon, of Warren, was published; and
 in the issue of Dec. an editorial
 along the same lines. was published
 Both follow:
 The Editor:
 Sir-During a mining boom like the one We are now enjoying in Arizona, it seems to me that the technical jour- nals have an important duty which is being overlooked This is to try to curb excessive speculation in stocks of mining prospects, or at least to try to see that the gambling is done at odds which give the public fair chance. A hundred to one shot is sometimes a good gamble. But hun dred to one shot for a twenty to one profit is obviously poor business. This is the sort of gambling which is now being done by those who buy stock in nearly any of the new-development companies in the Southwest.
 During the past year dozens of com panies have been formed or resusti- cated to develop prospects in the Je- rome district and other parts of Ari- zona. Usually the point most empha- sized in advertising these companies is the fact that they are within mile or two of great producing mines. With possibly one or two exceptions, the very best that can be said of the pros poets is that they are worth develop ing. Hardly one of them has ton of ore developed, and many others ex- pose only recent rocks which have no bearing whatsoever on any possible naturalization in the older underly- ing formations. It is surely reckless to value such prospects at figures much greater than the sum which must be spent in developing them. This should in no case greatly exceed half or three-quarters of million dol lars. But these new companies, in- stead of having stock valuation of half a million dollars, are now selling at figures which give them a value of from two to ten or fiften millions. These prospects certainly do not stand more than one chance in ten of making mines. Assuming that one in ten will make mine worth from ten to fifteen million dollars, those who buy stocks at the present prices are taking one in ten chance for a pro fit of from two to five for one. This is certainly poor gambling.
 Ii is true that, at the issue prices, many of the new companies did not have a capitalization greatly in eX- cess of the money needed to develop them. It is the speculation since the issuing of the stock which has caused the imitation and which will cause hun dreds of people. many of whom can not afford to throw away money, to lose tens of millions of dollars within the next two or three years. The re- suit will surely be a great injury to the good name of Arizona and of the mining profession.
 It seems to me that the technical journals can help a great deal by try ing to educate the public to distin- guish between a legitimate mining gamble and gamble at outrageous odds. This may be a hoDeless task when the sight of the easily won for tunes in Verde Extension and other many people If they cannot help in this way, the journals should certain ly be most careful not to print untrue or exaggerated stories of the discov- cry of ore by these new companies. Such stories often come in articles which should be authoritative. For instance. in your issue of November 4. in the article on Mining in the Je- rome District there is a report of a discovery of a rich orebody in prop erty the management of which does not claim to have any ore whatever. The gossip of the plaza miners should not find a place in a journal with a standard as high as that you set.
 The managements of nearly all of these new companies are honest. though sometimes lacking in expert ence. Most of them are trying to find
 Continued on Page Two)