wealth, when the every-day, familiar object lesson of hydraulic mining taught that ample profits depended quite as much, if not more, upon the magnitude of the work than upon the richness of the material subjected to the work. Into this whirl of the mining fever men of all kinds of occupations had been drawn. Of the conventional, traditional miner there were not enough of them to go round in the places to be filled by skill. It was a free for all in the race for wealth, in which the mechanic, the tradesman, the fariner, men of all trades and professions, took a hand at mining. Throughout this multitude of workers there was an almost utter ignorance of the ruts of the profession or art of mining as taught in the foreign schools, the only schools, so that each started out with fresh ideas for the work in hand and worked along new lines. The continued friction of so much fresh, energetic thought, in no great time brought about almost a revolution in all mining work, as well as in its implements and accessories.

"The steam hammer suggested the steam stamp to Wilson and Ball, and they were quickly adopted in the Lake Superior copper region.

"By skillful improvements they have been increased in efficiency until from a few tons per day they are now capable of crushing several hundred tons per day in regular work in that length of time. "The machine drill was another offspring of the steam hammer. Its great assistance to the miner has quite revolutionized his work. The Blake crusher, originally devised for crushing rock to make New England macadam roads, was quickly seized upon by the gold miners, as a sine qua non, for their mills. At the hard iron ore mines of the Lake Superior region, since the soft ore miners are having their innings with the furnace men, Blake crushers of enormous size have been installed, in order to reduce the hard iron ore to small pieces so that it may be as acceptable to the furnace men as the soft ores."

Finance. The effect of gold and silver mining is to create new wealth or purchasing power, and is the direct acting means of opening up new avenues of industry and trade, which, but for it, would. not be known or required. It has the same effect on the finance, trade and commerce of the world as steam has on locomotion. Trade and commerce being merely exchange of commodities between the several sections of the community, as also between different countries, do not create new wealth, but merely concentrate existing wealth, i.e., finance, trade and commerce do not add to the stock of

bullion; the wealth made by it is the enhancement of the value of properties and merchandise, and the extension of credit and paper currency on the business done. All the trade of London or New York will not add one ounce of gold to the currency or actual capital of the world's wealth. Any party of miners producing any given quantity of new gold from the earth does more real good to the community than do the business transactions of any similar body of men engaged in any other occupation, because the gold so raised by the miners becomes an immediate addition to the working capital of the country, or community, by affording additional means of extending the credit and securing its liabilities. Thus any given quantity of gold raised is not only so much more money in immediate circulation, but it is also the basis from which radiates additional capital, in the shape of credit or paper currency, that is issued and recognized as money on the basis of gold. The continuous production of gold has become a necessity to the requirements of monetary institutions, by whose aid trade and commerce have extended to such a wonderful extent. Although the production of gold during the thirty years prior to 1881 was of vast proportions, its influence was extended by means of credit and confidence in its security, by almost arithmetical proportion. No figures or calculations can estimate the real advantages that have been gained by its dissemination throughout the channels of trade and commerce. Its results have been to raise the value of commodities, labor, materials, land, houses and other properties. It has given an immense impetus to all trades, manufactures, arts, sciences, and learning. There is danger, however, that should the production of gold fall off materially the credit based on the large supply of new gold would be seriously affected and business would receive a pronounced setback.

According to Gibbon, the decline of Roman wealth began even before the incursions of the barbarians. The administration of the Roman emperors may have been one cause of the amazing desolation which had become so obvious after the footsteps of the barbarians had been seen in Italy; but another cause had been operating, which, from its almost imperceptible progress, may have equally escaped the observation of the government and the notice of historians of their deeds. While the production of the precious metals from the mines had ceased, and the countries near the mines had poured the whole, or the greater part of their long accumulating treasures into the universal empire, there would be a consumption, a decay of the quantity of gold and silver in constant progress,

which, by lowering the metallic price of all other commodities, would check that industry by which alone any country can continue to prosper. Gibbon's Rome, and the History of Gold and Silver, Comstock, 1849, p. 72.

The production of gold might be decreased by causes outside the direct curtailment of gold-mining operations, such as, for instance, a falling off in the production of copper and other miscellaneous smelting ores, also from a reduction in the price of copper and silver.1

However, over-production has its drawbacks as well, as was shown in the case of the gold-mining booms of California, Australia and Russia. Both labor and capital were attracted to these districts from all over the world and the yield became so great that the purchasing power of gold declined from 9 to 15 per cent according to Jevons, which was the direct cause of Holland adopting the single silver standard and other countries bimetallism."

No attempt is made to enter into a discussion of the mining risk. It is true that much money has been squandered on mining enterprises, even when the element of speculation is eliminated, and it is commonly remarked that more money has been spent in mining than has been made. This may be true of certain districts, but by no means of all or a majority even. Even in California as late as 1880 mining had paid 18 per cent on the money invested, and that, too, in spite of inexperienced, impractical and unscientific work and. in a variety of mines. Further, besides this return, mining had built up and peopled a great state and had created industries for both city and country.3

Science. — “In a general way mining has done much for science. It has stimulated men of all modern time to strive more earnestly to solve the problems which relate to the character and structure of the earth's crust and the forces which have produced these structures. And in turn, science has done much for mining. During the past 100 years, the geologists in all civilized countries have labored in season and out of season, trying to unravel the problems relating to the earth's structure, and they have helped greatly in reaching an intelligent understanding of many of these structures in their relation to the extent, nature, and origin of ore deposits. This has been carried so far by the geologist and mining engineer, that 1 T. A. I. M. E., Vol. 33, p. 828.

2 Mineral Industry, Vol. 3, p. 304.

3 Eng. and Min. Jour., Vol. 40, p. 306.

these experts can to-day do much toward indicating in advance the entire absence of certain great classes of mineral deposits from large portions of the earth's crust; and, in the regions where these mineral deposits do occur, they can, with the aid of a limited amount of exploitation, go far toward determining the extent and nature and value of many of these deposits.

"The chemist, also, has made most valuable contributions to the mining development in the study of the character and composition of the various ores and minerals, thus making known more generally and by more accurate methods the extent and richness of the ore deposits. The chemist has, furthermore, coöperated with the metallurgist in discovering, from time to time, new and cheaper methods for the treatment of these ores. The chemist and metallurgist have also done much, at times, to stimulate mining, by discovering new uses for different metals and other mineral products discoveries which made not only possible, but profitable, mining operations which previously could not be successfully prosecuted.

"The latest of the great contributions from science has been in connection with the modern development of electricity. The electrical engineers have of late made most important contributions to the mining industry, especially in the arid and semiarid regions, by the development of isolated water powers, transmitting this power many miles for the purpose of operating mining machinery; and now the electrical furnace and other electro-metallurgical processes are doing much toward making possible the reduction of many ores and the refining of many metals. Furthermore, the electric furnace is to-day manufacturing graphite and other materials which are being used in the lining of metallurgical furnaces."

Mining Schools. "Until during the last few decades the mining school exerted but little influence in the development of mining interests of this and other countries. Indeed, most of the mining in the world has been done by men who picked up their information in the field, in the gulch, and on the mountain side, and the average intelligence and aptness of the American miner has been such that he has gained a vast amount of practical information in this way. But, from time to time during the past several decades, the young mining engineers who have gone out from the Columbia School of Mines and other later institutions, have taken to the pick and the shovel and the drill, and have worked their way up and made their influence felt in the development of American mining. More recently other mining schools have been established in this country, especi

ally by the Western States, as here in Montana, Colorado, Michigan, South Dakota, New Mexico, Arizona, Missouri, and others; and mining departments have been established at several of the State universities, as in Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, California, Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, and others. These various mining schools and departments are now annually turning out a number of young men who are trained in the theory of mining and metallurgy, and these also are going into the field, and are taking up the pick and the shovel and the drill, making themselves masters of their profession. In the future these will become more and more an important factor in stimulating mining developments." 1

Our large mines have proven to be veritable mining schools; for instance, the Comstock mines have furnished every country with superintendents. In times past the mines of Mexico, South America, Alaska, Australia, Africa, India, China, and Japan have drawn their leading mining men from that source, and the foremen and assistants were not loath to go as promotion was slow in the mines of the Comstock lode.

Looking back over the history of the United States as well as that of every other country, and especially those in which material prosperity has made rapid and brilliant progress, it is evident that there is much that is wanting which has been pointed out by another in eminently fitting words: 2

"But let us conceal from ourselves the fact that mere growth in wealth, mere development in industry, mere increase in population, are not the best evidences of national greatness; and unless our progress in art, learning, morals, and religion keep pace with our material growth we have cause rather of humiliation than for glorification."

"Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report" constitute the real glory of a nation, without which the magnificent national structure which in a century we have reared, will disappear "like the baseless fabric of a vision."

Development of Mining. Prior to the discovery of gold in California in 1849 gold mining in the United States was confined largely to Southern States, as Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. The last half of the nineteenth century.

1 Mines and Minerals, Dec., 1902, p. 220.