Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1936-05-02


word IN foolish spscuIaGlon." or as ! eamble
in which tne outcome Is purely fortuIsous the
winner lucky person. Both these views ars
/ utterly fallacioua- LARGE numbers OF In
vestors N gold mining enterprises whose wise
Z and nteiiEent selection OF securities is Yield
/ ing consistent. continuous and sure incomes
over long periods Of time Is ample evidences
I Of the safety resident IN gold mining enter
{ prises properly conducted. The vfew that
mining Is gamble Is LARGELY that OF a larre
number Of people, many OF them ia modest
circumstances who have been victimized have
been induced to put their savings into some
alleged mining project OF questionable peii-
gree, sired and sponsored BY men-indfvidua1s
rather-more interested IN mining the public
purse than In taking their legitimate reward
from the ground. These vultures do not find
their pickings amongst the well-to-do amongst
intelligent business men, but amongst those
whose little savings are parted with upon
promises Of ease and comfort.
Baining VS.. Promotion
The fact that a few hundred dollars or
the cost Of q grubstake, has led TO great for
tunes when mining was ia its glory, has hap
pened recently and viii happen again, Is too
remote a possibility TO present TO q prospective
investor In q mfning project. Although II IS
true, It Is speculative aspect the recital Of
which smacks too much OF high pressure pro
motonai tactics which every genuine mining
OR al least the sponsors Of q genuine min
ing enterprise should aim to avoid. These
tactics SAVIOR OF the methods Of the bucket
shop as contrasted With legitimate brokerage
houses Such promotions too frequently lack
honesty OF purpose; intelneent management
is not sought, neither is It wanted and finally
the financial set-up is neither fair nor equit-
able Even where there is q chance to make
a mine, too little Of the investors dollar
goes into the project BY comparison with that
which goes into the promoters pockets. Luck
does Play q part in the success Of q mining
enterprise even as 1t does IN every line Of
endeavor, but rs a factor in ultimate success, IA
it is insignificant amusement; Given these /
and modest financial support, little operations
have grown and expanded into notable enter
prises t,
Profits and Safety. For US as miners to ex-
pand on this phase Of gold mining might be
as a ''self-serying assertion, but
quotations from independent and unpreJudiced .
sources will serve to illustrate what they
amount to. shall quote in fun SO that there
tan be no question as to the intent Of the
Under date Of oct 10. 1885. the following
appeared In the local press:
GOLD AND SILVER MINES BEAT BANKS
IN DIVIDEND RECORD
One Of the things that the Investment
Banker has had to admit. quotes the New
York Tribune, is that the gold and silver
mine dividends during the past two years
are greater than the combined dividends
Of all the banking institutions in this ,
country, and on the head Of that, the
government figures show that the average
returns on capital invested by banking
interests to be about GA percent while
interest returns on mining was 1872 per-
cent ana Dun q BraQSbreebS snow LnaE \
only "a percent OF mining ventures fail
against 81 percent failures in other lines s
Of business investments.
So that you will not construe the foregoing
IS a possibly incorrect statement, I shall
uote from another news item:
MINING Is ONE OF OUR SAFEST IN
vEsTSdENTs y
Here is a compilation credited to Brad
streets showing the percentage Of business
successes in various lines of endeavor. It Il
win prove to be quite a shock to come c
PEOPLE, for 1t is contrary to the usual S
Industry p Of Success
derchandising OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. 80
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 1876
arming ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. .I7R
dining .....-..-..... .......... 61fo s.
The above figures are eloquent testi- +
mony of the Importance and stability OF b
mining, which is one of the worlds oldest
basic industries Without mining we could
not have attained our present highly u
industrialized and civilized life II the q
metals were taken away from US now 4
our civilization would decay, II
Why Is the success OF mining so highly Il
assured2 It is because ore (the metaIsl
are wealth in its primary form. Wealth
held In natures StorehouSes (the q
earth) can't be stolen, can't be damaged
by fire. does not wear out and does not
become obsolete, hence, investment in a "
proven ore-producing mine appears to be u
one Of the safest forms Of investment
Popular fancy ascribes the profits from q
ccessful mine as unusually attractive, and q
ON the foregoing they would appear to be 81
!. Popular fancy ascribes a highly sI'ecula- o.
tive aspect to gold mining, but in that Il az
wrong. The death rate" amongst pros ca
cts is Of necessity high, but by comparison
tn the modest sums Of money expended upon :,
EN- to determine their merit, one good gold "a
Inc will more than amply repay the outlay -
ID leave q handsome profit besides. Mines =
we to be made; they are no longer found "
ID likely looking prospects are the raw ma "
hal from which they are made. Not all pros y
cts make mines and even. with care the N
Ito Of success Is rarely more than one in -
e Of the prospects finally selected for fur l.
er development, but the returns from this -
ingleton" viii usually more than repay the u
tlay in all DEVELOPMENT. The expense OF "a
ploring q promising prospect Is part Of -
e cost of the quest for gold and IN the ~
dgets of the more progressive mining con- -
rns-the newcomers as wen as the older N
.ablished ones-this cost Is a legitimate ~
m Of expense. It bears the same relation n
the perpetuation of their activities as adj -
-tising does to a commercial concern, ex- I 4 D
sting that the returns from q mine are Il
lch more certain and once found they 4 Il
mot be captured by a competitor. III
promising prospects for develop W.
mt is just as much subject to the Law OF -
crages as the actuarial tables upon which kk
servation and experience and II Is this ~
urance is based. both being the result Of ~
reading Of the risk In a mining enterprise ~
SIGNED for the purpose that introduces II
very high degree Of safety one more than Z
nparable with Industries which have stood ~
test Of time OF course where an enter Il =
Sc depends entirely upon the response OF NJ
one property, the risk Is undoubtedly =
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