Show 0 HARD TO BE HONEST the saying 0 that money is the root ot of all evil has a special application to the mining industry perhaps in no other field is the temptation so great nor its accomplishment ment so easy as in this particular branch of human endeavor there are apparently patently ly two reasons for this condition of affairs mining is a gamble even in the strict sense of the word there is always a chance of loss and a chance of gain and the greater the chance for gain the more attractive the venture most people look upon mining as a chance game and so failure is not necessarily a condemnation the second reason is that enough restriction is not placed place dupon upon those who have the handling of the money and in all mining enterprises terp rises there are usually some thousands of dollars expended or supposedly so before any returns can be expended how often do we read about off officials of mining companies who have gone wrong money which should have gone in the actual development of the ground has gone into the pocket of individuals there is too much room for graft too much temptation A certain well known man has said that mining makes thieves of many honest men and this is undeniably true not that all mining men are dishonest par far from it but it is a business requiring strong character and deep rooted honesty it is a business where each one has to protect himself to look out for number one but too many resort to the method of doing the other fellow first how can this malpractice in mining be eliminated prevention is said to be half the cure and if a few ounces of prevention were used in the mining business there would be fewer doctor bills to pay every state should enact legislation demanding every mining company to publish semian semi an nual statements regarding financial condition every state should have a mino mine inspector whose bl business would be to see that these statements were correct and every stockholder should satisfy himself that the affairs of his company were being conducted in a straightforward manner it would then be more difficult for dishonesty to creep in and the field would not be so attractive for the grafting class it is true that every s successful mining company has had fairly honest management but the record would register a larger number of successes if concerted action were taken along lines of greater publicity it will be found that the company which is honestly trying to succeed never has anything thin to cover up while the crooked concerns usually try to hide their under false reports and hot air there are many of the latter class doing business which would find themselves in an embarrassing r p position were a rigid examination of their affairs demanded the insurance companies have had a general house cleaning and it would be well for the muck to turn their attention to the mining business bu the majority would welcome such an investigation and would delight to see the get rich quick institutions sizzling on the hot griddle of public denunciation |