10. Government suits against trusts.
11. The tariff and the steel industry, the wool industry, and the sugar industry.
12. Railroad rate increases.
Exercise 309
Write the following from dictation:
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In New London, Connecticut, stands the oldest grist mill in the country. It is a picturesque building, having a water wheel like the one that it originally used when New London was first settled. The town was in the center of an agricultural community, and a mill to grind corn was a need that soon manifested itself to the settlers. Accordingly, in 1650 at a town meeting, six men were chosen to build a mill. John Winthrop and his heirs were granted the right to carry on the grist mill as long as they maintained the building placed in their charge. This is one of the first monopolies recorded in New England history.
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The same standards by which a farming or a manufacturing investment may be judged are not applicable to a mining investment. A farmer may earn eight per cent on his capital, and with care his investment may increase in value. A manufacturer may earn eight per cent on his investment, and, if he keeps up his machinery, his business may be as valuable ten years, or even twenty years, hence; but a mine, after each dividend is paid, is that much nearer its end. Now, it is well known among mining men that the average life of a gold or silver mine is under, rather than over, ten years. There are exceptions to this rule, of course, but, granting that the life of a certain gold or silver mine is to be ten years, then, in order to pay back both principal and interest, dividends of at least sixteen per cent should be distributed. Copper mining, of which the statistics have been most accurately kept in New York and Boston, offers many inducements to the investor; but too much care cannot be taken in the matter of selection, for copper stocks, in not a few instances, have been boosted out of all reason. As with gold and silver mines, so it is with copper mines. They have so much ore to begin with, and after each dividend are that much nearer to the day when they will close down. For such mines, provided they have a good lease of life, eight per cent or even ten per cent may be regarded as only moderate returns. These are merely samples of some general principles to be followed.—Roger W. Babson.
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