The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1917-01-11


on the ignorance and credulity of |
those who would venture their dollars |
into the ground that they may return |
many fold--a legitimate risk, a risk /
that anyone may take.
The trouble lies chiefly in the greed
of the promoter and the ignorance of
the investing public as to the cost of
mine making. 1t has become fash
ionable, in the recent stimulus given
to the copper industry, to capitalize a
piece of ground, which may have
merit, for say a million shares, and
offer the stock anywhere from so cents
to dollar a share to the investing
public. The public believes the money
will go into the development of the
property, and that all that has TO be
done is to sink a shaft and open up
the ore, ship it to the smelter and get
check that can be divided up into
dividends.
Look over the history of successful
mines the story of successful mining
promotions, and you will see the fall
lacies. In the first place, out of the
dollar per share that is paid by the
investor for a promotion issue, there
are several good sized chips taken out
lof it before 1t finally gets into the
ground. First, there is the promoters
fee, and promoters fees are running
high just now. Some of them run
fully as high as rs per cent of the
gross. Take million share company,
land that will leave only $250000. Then
come expenses" Did you ever notice
what lot of money Expenses" eat
up? And how many items can be
crowded under that head? All of
which pares down the dollar on its
way to the ground. Then, nine
J chances out of ten, there are pay
ments to be made on the property,
which must be met, or like the piano
bought on the installment plan, it will
go back.
: And there you are, with the dollar
cut and cut, until the sum per share
J actually going into the ground is re-
duced to a few cents. And shaft sink
ing costs something like $25 foot
and machinery and power and labor
must be paid for, and dynamite, and
, SUPPLIES and other things that help to
make mines.
} It's serious misunderstanding MAX
ing. 1t isn't done with a few pennies,
/ and it isn't done in few weeks. Most
of the big porphyry copper mines took
: anywhere from three to five years be-
fore they were developed-some of
!. them much longer. And most of them
took tens of millions of dollars. Do
! not mistake that a mine can be made
for million dollars, or a half million
: whole million or the half million into
I the ground.
Sophistry is a plentiful commodity
: these days. Glowing are the reports
= sent out by the promoters. Many are
> the evidences adduced to show how
mines can be made with the expendi-
ture of very little capital. They have
: been made, We do not deny it. But
> they are not half so plentiful as the
promoters would have you believe.
c Things don't run like clockwork in
= mine making. A poor engineer, a mis-
taken geologist and the whole invest
y ment is a futile effort.
i And then
That is the sort of thing we are
A., trying to warn you against. We are
= trying to arm you against the frauds
, that we see perpetrated. We are
= loathe to condemn property Every
!, foot of ground in a mining district is
potential. Under the barren surface
may lie untold riches Under single
. outcroppng may lie vein of ore that
will yield millions of dollars in divi-
) dends for the company that develop
ed 1t. But unless the dollars received
. by the promoters are honestly spent
that is to say, legitimate promoters
fee deducted, and the padding is left
out of the expense account there will
be little chance for the making of a
mine.
1t is these facts that you should
a consider You should examine the
I history of legitimate promotion, noting
what 1t costs to make mines, and de-
eide for yourself whether the claims
of the promoters are possible of full
fillment. Such action may be the
means of avoiding a serious loss.
IRON PRODUCTION.