Show ABLE ADDRESS ADDRE J S S BY JOHN DERN at the recent annual meeting of the american mining congress at chicago the following address was made by hon john dern of salt lake president of the congress at the opening session members and delegates Z of the american mining congress ladies and gentlemen As representatives of the mineral industry of the united states we are assembled in the great enterprising truly american city of chicago in our fourteenth annual session it seems to surprise some persons that a mining congress should be held in chicago instead of in some so called mining center I 1 hope to convince you before I 1 finish that the mining industry does not deserve the limitations that many minds impose upon it but that on the contrary its scope is so broad that any community where aher e civilized men dwell together is an appropriate place to hold a mining congress but aside from that our illinois frein ds in view of the statistics that were given us by mr david ross at los angeles last year would probably resent the insinuation that theirs is not a mining state mr ross informed us that illinois ranks third among the twenty five coal producing states of the union he also claimed that his state had mined tons of coal in the past years and that it has tons ton 3 left which I 1 for one am ready to concede is a large quantity of coal results achieved for fourteen years the american mining congress has been working to educate the general public in the importance of the mining industry and to teach the men engaged in the various branches of that industry that they have wants and needs which can best be advanced by organized operation cooperation co I 1 congratulate the members on the progress that has been made the prestige that has been acquired and the results that have been achieved As one who has been connected with the movement from its inception I 1 can appreciate the difference between the early meetings and this enthusiastic and representative gathering not that there was any lack of enthusiasm at the beginning not that I 1 would detract from the honor that is due the patient energetic optimists who did the pioneer work and kept the mining congress alive when its excuses for existence measured by results seemed few and weak but we have grown and have developed into a power let us hope that this power will always be used for good in the beginning our chief almost our sole object was to secure the establishment of a department of mines in the national government a worthy purpose and one that has even yet not been fully achieved although we have been instrumental in causing the first step to be taken at our annual sons this topic was always uppermost in our thoughts and aside from that we had no very definite policy many other subjects were discussed but we can now see that they were more for the purpose of filling in the time than for the promotion of any sound logical program the result was that the american mining congress was not taken seriously in many quarters prominent mine operators denied the right of this to speak for the industry as a whole influential journals jeered at our efforts and derided the personnel of the M AV 4 X Ho nJohn dern of salt lake congress doubtless the criticisms were in the main justified but the american mining congress is ia not the only thing that has had humble beginnings at any rate in spite of these discouragements discourage ments and obstacles the work has kept up the methods of procedure were improved and more definite alms aims were evolved the idealistic leadership of judge richards who for seven troublous years was president followed by the efficient administration of dr buckley last year and always supported by the energy and capacity of our secretary mr call breath gradually produced an association that justified itself and won the respect and allegiance of many who had formerly looked at it askance but who are now among our most valuable members in the words of judge richards the mining congress had made itself respectable and it now claims that it truly represents the minin mining g industry of the united states and that its delab orations erat ions deserve the consideration due the combined voice of those who are engaged in mining pursuits under the american flag much work ahead I 1 make this statement confidently but not boa stingly it is true that our membership is not yet as large as it ought to be or as it would be if we had induced all classes of mine operators and workers to give us their active support as they will surely do when they awake to the fact that it is to their own interest to do so we do not wish to sail under false colors or claim to be what we are not W we e are very desirous of getting the eastern coal miners and oil miners and iron miners to ally themselves more heartily with the western metal miners because our interests are mutual and identical and in union and cooperation will be found the strength to carry out the great purposes this congress has in view we candidly if regretfully admit that as our labor union friends would say we have many fields yet to organize great num numbers bers of men engaged in branches of the mineral industry have not affiliated with the american mining congress and give no thought to its existence the misfortune is theirs more than ours and sooner or later they will realize it and come in and do their share for the common good but already we claim to speak with the voice of authority tho rity because there is no rival organization that assumes to occupy the same field as we societies such as the american institute of mining engineers are technical in their objects and work which we are not that is they are concerned with the scientific pr problems oblenis of practical minin mining and metallurgy questions in which we are all vitally interested but t the he details of which this congress congles s does not pretend to make its special field such societies therefore have our heartfelt good will and admiration and they have not the slightest reason for failing to operate cooperate co with us and give us the benefit of their invaluable aid nothing would please us better than to have all the members of these societies join the american mining congress so that they may have the opportunity to do their share in advancing the larger general interests of mining instead of devoting their energies and talents exclusively to the details of their own specialty many of these scientific men we already have with us we need more of them and we want all we can get the american mining congress requires thebert the best thought and most advanced ideas that can be had specific objects but what is meant by the larger interests of mining to which I 1 I 1 have just alluded in other words what are the specific objects of the american mining congress dr buckley said last year that they were to foster and promote mining in all its various branches and perhaps they could not be more concisely stated this statement however is so general as to be e vague and yet to particularize would be to set limitations and restrictions that would be hard to define and that would certainly vary with conditions from time to time As questions come up be they political social economic or scientific this congress will discuss them so far as they affect or relate to the mining industry but to give some conception of the activities of the congress I 1 might mention a few of the subjects that have received attention and some that are still before us I 1 have already said that the scientific and technical problems of mining are not the ones we aim to discuss but to encourage work of this nature so that efficiency may be increased and waste decreased in mining and metallurgical operations is one of our chief objects to induce the government to help the miner as it helps the farmer is one of the things we have constantly striven for and we expect to keep hammering away at it until we get what we deserve to secure the enactment of uniform mining laws in the several states to the end that mine accidents may be minimized and the health of workers protected is a subject that has been most carefully investigated by this congress and a model law has been prepared that we believe could well be used as a basis by all states with such modifications as local conditions might require to eliminate the fake promoter and all other sorts of mine frauds is another end we have in view to work for true conservation and to aid the government in formulating a fair and just alaskan policy are objects to which we are committed we have had committees to investigate vesti gate smelter rates railroad rates vertical side line law general revision of mineral land laws coal tax insurance fun fund dand and the standardization of electrical equipment it is apparent from this partial list of subjects that our activities have touched both our internal affairs and our external interests to a few of the subjects that I 1 have mentioned I 1 will presently make more extended reference but I 1 have merely been trying to show that the american mining congress makes it its province to consider any sort of a question that in any way affects the mining industry broad foundation when we speak of the mining industry a good many of us are prone to think only of gold silver copper lead zinc coal and iron mines we should rid ourselves of this narrow conception the american mining congress aspires to stand for the mineral industry in its broadest sense all of natures bounties come irom from the soil and the products are of two classes vegetable and mineral everything that is not vegetable is mineral and should be classed in the mineral industry the scope of mining is greatly increased when we add such other retails as platinum tin aluminum antimony tungsten quicksilver bismuth nickel magnesium manganese and the gems and precious stones but it is very much more enlarged when we consider the nonmetallic non metallic minerals including petroleum natural gas salt gypsum lime cement asphalt sand gravel stone slate phosphate rocks sulphur asbestos graphite mica pigments fertilizers abrasive materials chemical materials mineral waters and the clay products which embrace the brick and tile industry these and many more are just as much parts of the mineral industry as are the seven first mentioned metals and when considered in this proper light our industry assumes truly majestic proportions the mere mention of this broad aspect of mining ought to be sufficient to silence those superficial critics who insist upon calling mining a species of gambling it is nothing of the kind it is in its every phase a legitimate useful honorable business and it forms the basis of many of our greatest enterprises there are frauds in mining but so are there in farming there are fakirs fakiri in mining but so are there in manufacturing there are crooks in the mining business but so are there in banking and railroading and yet in the minds of many well meaning and honest people mining seems to be jud judged ged by its parasites and by those who in no way stand for real mining I 1 apprehend that hecht here in chicago if a banker learns that one of his customers is interested in a mine he will at once conclude that that customer is a speculator and a gambler and that his credit must be watched with unusual care now it is needless for us merely to decry this attitude we know that it exists and if we are candid we must admit that there is a reason for it the reason is to be found in the insane mining booms that crop up from time to time when men let their imaginations run riot disregard all laws of probability and make the most absurd representations and promises that is when the fakir and the fraudulent promoter get in their deadly work and when the bubble bursts and things get back into their proper perspective when the unfortunate dupes have lost their money they do not realize their own folly in listening to the wily stranger but they hurl imprecations at mining as the quintessence of all that is crooked and rotten and evil the american mining congress can perform no greater service for itself and for the public than to eliminate mining frauds and to see that the investor in mining securities gets a square deal and a run for his money safety of mining these frauds are of course principally attached to metal mining and the stigma therefore rests chiefly upon that important industry I 1 will not go so far as to say that mining is as safe as any other business but I 1 will say that when conducted with proper skill knowledge and ability its risks can be so greatly minimized as to make it a relatively safe venture it cannot be denied that the development of a new mine has a large element of chance in spite of favorable geological conditions the outcome is often disappointing it is impossible to see into the ground and opinions can only be based upon visible evidence but the possible returns are so large that investors are willing to take these chances those who put their money into a mining scheme with a full knowledge of these conditions seldom complain if failure results provided they are sure their money has been honestly and intelligently expended that is what we are endeavoring to bring about and when we succeed metal mining will move up to its proper place as a conserva legitimate business interest in alaska the american mining congress has for several years taken a special interest in alaska and any matter concerning that wonderful but apparently distressing country is sure of our prompt and sympathetic attention the true status of the situation in alaska seems to be hard to find lt out so many conflicting reports are received that the avera average t e citizen finds himself perplexed and in doubt about the facts one day we hear that the coal deposits of alaska are fabulously large ani and of the finest grade in the world the next day we are told that the quantity of coal has been grossly overestimated over estimated and that it is not very good coal anyway from one source comes the information that its bodies of copper ore are the greatest ever discovered and from another source we learn that these mines are vastly overrated and that they cannot compete with the mines of the states first we are startled by a tremendous scandal about certain private interests grabbing and monopolizing the great harbor of controller bay and then we get sets of resolutions from the city council and chamber of commerce of the city of cordova stoutly maintaining that controller bay is no harbor at all and that cordova bay is the only feasible water outlet on the one hand we are solemnly assured that the people of alaska fervently desire home rule and the next returning traveler reports that he was unable to find any real sentiment of that kind these conflicting statements are very disconcerting to the man who is trying to keep himself in a judicial frame of mind so as to judge fairly and avoid prejudice what we seem to need more than anything else is accurate reliable unbiased information what can we do until we get the facts I 1 am convinced that the people of the united states through their government will do substantial justice to their countrymen in alaska just as soon as they have indisputable data about conditions as they actually exist A very appropriate step would appear to be the appointment of a special congressional committee or some sort of a governmental commission com ased of disinterested men of distinguished ability and unquestioned probity to make a thorough investigation of alaskan conditions the mission of these men should not be to bolster up the pet views of any one man or set of men but they should go for the sole purpose of gathering information so that the government of the united states can act intelligently and in the light of actual facts instead of floundering about in the dark and reasoning from |