Professor H. S. Munroe, of the Columbia School of Mines, when
asked whether such a thing as general supervision of mining
investment could be possible, answered: "Yes, if some
philanthropist will give us ten millions to endow such an
institution, and maintain a corps of engineers in the field who
will do work similar to that accomplished by J. Curle under the
auspices of the London Economist. Such work should, of course,
cover all incorporated mining companies, not merely a few hundred
of the more prominent gold mines; and it should be continuous and
not spasmodic. Such a plan is of course Utopian, but I feel that
anything less would be likely to do little good. Even Curle's
opinions began to lose their value within a month or two after
they were written, and are of less value every year. Mining can
never be put on the same basis as agriculture, for the reason
that the risk of failure is infinitely greater, and that it is
impossible to prove the value of any mine or mining region
without spending a large amount of capital, the greater part of
which will inevitably be lost in this work of initial
development."
Those are the sober words of an expert who spends his life in
studying the theory and practice of mining.
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