COMMERCE. 345 



There is such a presumption of the richness of its unexplored 

 portions, that a man worth one hundred thousand dollars can 

 be justified in venturing an investment of fifty thousand dol- 

 lars of it in Xew Almaden stock at the market price. Any 

 piece of property having a steady market price, promises se- 

 curity to justify the investment of money. This theory, there- 

 fore, is not satisfactory ; it explains nothing. 



A third theory adduced in explanation is the natural dis- 

 honesty of men, and the peculiar facilities with which dishon- 

 esty may be practised in gold mining. It is said that if a 

 mine is found to be valuable, the resident shareholders keep 

 the knowledge to themselves, levy heavy assessments upon 

 remote partners or stockholders, and take care that no divi- 

 dends shall be declared, by which policy all who do not know 

 the mine are at last driven to sell, and usually at a sacrifice. 

 The managers of the mine are, of course, either directly or 

 indirectly the purchasers. This system of management is 

 neither imaginary nor rare; it is familiarly known as "freez- 

 ing out," and is not confined to gold mining, but extends to 

 silver mines, and commercial corporations. In mining for gold, 

 however, there are greater opportunities and more speedy re- 

 wards for this kind of fraud than in any other kind of busi- 

 ness ; but whether the frauds are more numerous or greater 

 may well be doubted. Theft is another form in which dis- 

 honesty is dangerous to the owners of valuable mines. In all 

 those mining enterprises where considerable amounts of capi- 

 tal are invested, numerous laborers must be hired ; and in 

 California most of these men are strangers to their employers, 

 Avithout family, permanent home, or any tie that can give se- 

 curity for their good conduct. The great value of gold as 

 compared with the space it occupies, gives the thief fine op- 

 portunities for seizing and hiding it. Neither placer nor quartz 

 mines are exempt from this danger. The laborer employed 

 in deep hydraulic claims, or far from the daylight in shafts or 

 drifts, cannot fail to see the large lumps or the rich portions 

 of the auriferous rock. He has abujidant means of hiding 



