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Show What a Banker Thinks About Mining The President of a large National Bank in Chicago, was under criticism criti-cism by the presidents of several other state banks because of his investments in mines. This man made the following fol-lowing reply to the criticism: Throughout the West, ages ago, Almighty God built stronger vaults in His granite banks than we have in ours, lie filled Ilis vaults with gold, silver and copper. He gave the prospector knowledge and insight, and guided him on his way to the door of the vaults He had built. The Federal Government handed him a title patent to all therein. It is not a crime, but a virtue to enter. With drill, blast, pick and spade the prospectors have broken the combination lock and entered. But for him our notes of issue would be as the stump-tailed currency of 1857. But for him this Government of ours would be bankrupt. "Mines will be producing millions of gold, silver and copper in that future day when National Banks are unknown. un-known. . , "A mine contains a crop already raised, harvested and on deposit for you to check against at your pleasure. "The wealth gathered from the miners immortalized King Solomon. j "Mining has made the United States the richest country in the world. "Mining is an industry as necessary to the welfare of the community as the raising of crops. "Show me a country without mines and I will show you a people sunk in degradation and poverty; and poverty makes cowards of nations as well as individuals. "Mining" is the second industry in the United States. "Mining has scored less than 35 per cent of failures against 95 per cent of failures shown in general merchandising merchan-dising business of the United States. "Without the products of the mines you would have neither a frying pan, a spoon, a hat pin or a monetary circulating cir-culating medium. "Eliminate the miner and you set civilization back to the dark ages. "Outside of the element of great personal profit which will accrue to us as bankers who are able to supply the money to open great mines, it behooves us to foster an industry in-dustry upon which the prosperity of not alone our depositors, deposi-tors, but of the entire nation depends." - |
