Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1940-03-02

J llAdll NMO AAi4ACo VI WAlCIC TOu art Slb-
( ting and in less than a mile Of depth.
metals with that astronomical" value
have been produced since 1882. This
about balances Butte'S budget for all
times.
About one-fifth of the population of
Montana is directly or indirectly de-
pendent upon our mineral industry
including the coal oil and gas indus
tries. In fact the entire state is more
or less dependent for living on the
mining industry, as the industry and
its dependents are large consumers of
what IS produced by the farmers, the
and the manufacturers A large part
Of the manufactured supplies used in
the mining industry come from outside
of this state.
What I have said about the Montana
mining industry can be said of a num-
Der of our other western states, as
well as some of our eastern states
Nationwide Business
The mines of the United States have
provided 55.7q6 of the nearly 24,OO0,-
000, 900 tons of freight which originated
on railroads in this country from 1916
to 1887, inclusive. In a breakdown of
the operating costs of a typical west
ern metal mining operation, from $50
to 500 goes to labor, $40 for power,
1870 for equipment and supplies, 1877
for freight, and anywhere from so up
for taxes and insurance
The wealth produced from the metal
mines of the west is all new wealth
and it is spent in nearly every state
in the Union. Therefore, it is Of inter
est to nearly every Chamber of Com
merce in the United States to do its
part in furthering and perpetuating
the western metal mining industry.
IF were given the time, I could
name many ways in which the aSSo-
ciabed U. S. Chambers of Commerce I
could help the metal mining industry !
and thus help their own home indus /
tries, help to keep their local labor |
employed and their home mercantile /
establishments prosperous.
Need New Mines
However, my time is limited, so I |
viii talk on only a few phases.
Mining is a Hquidating business. !
New mines must be developed to take
the places of the mines that are or
will be worked out. 1t takes capital |
to develop new mines and most of this |
capital must come from the financial |
centers Of the east, the south and
middle west.
For many reasons it Is difficult to
raise money to develop new mines, but
one Of the main reasons Is that the
investors IN the financial centerS are
too far away from our metal mines
and they do not realize how they are
supporting their own industries in per-
petuating the western metal mines
To overcome such obstacles, steps
are being taken by the western metal
mining industry to form a central and
reliable public relations unit, to bring
to the investing and metal consuming |
public true and honest picture of the
western metal mining industry, and
how profitable it Is for them to finance |
our mining ventures and increase their |
of the metals we produce !
AS part of this publicity it is pro- !
posed to send mining directories of |
each state to the chambers of COM |
merce in those states so that the /
local chambers of commerce and |
others can intelligently reply to any |
inquiries on the mines of their states. |
A Montana mining directory is now
being compiled by the Montana School !
of Mines, the Mining Association OF |
Montana and the Montana Bureau of !
Mines & Geology, through funds fur
nished by the WPA and the Montana (
School of Mines.
Publicity Program
1t Is further proposed to send |
speakers, representing the western |
metal mining industry, to address large |
gatherings Of business and professional |
men and others in the financial CEN
tiers of the United States and 1t is |
hoped that these gatherings will be
sponsored by the local Chambers Of |
Commerce.
Until recently we did not dare to ask
a Chamber of Commerce in the east, |
south or middle west to sponsor an |
address that had to do with financing /
primary mining ventures or metal con- |
as crooked promoters would /
have taken advantage of such q pro-
cedure and would have followed up |
the legitimate speaker with all kinds |
Of schemes to put money into their |
own pockets instead of into mine de-
Velopments.
However, due to the watchful eye OF
the national Securities g. Exchange l
the f1y-by-night mining |
promoters are being rapidly eliminated /
and Mark Twain's definition Of a I
hole in the ground owned |
by a liar"-no longer holds good. The |
metal mining industry is cleaning it's
own house and those Spectators who !
invest in our mine developments viii \
be given an honest run for their
money.
I could talk on a number of phases
IN which chambers of commerce could 1
Cooperate with the metal mining in !
1ustry for mutual profit, but appre- /
ciate being allowed the short time that
has been given me 10 bring to you 9
few Of the phases In which chambers
Of commerce can be Of help to our
metal mining industry and In which
We. in turn, can be of help to the
industries which are represented by
chambers of commerce all over the
United States. In the last analysis, it
5 the exchange OF ideas and commodi-