Daily national Democrat., 1858-12-09
a Mean PractIce--CollOteral RcdSctiOns
Thereon.

We see II charged Dy Chlllofha NoTreS-
pondent of the Portland (Maine) Transcript,
that the owners Of huming companies have
been in the habit Of swindling the laboring
portion Of the community, on large scale
1t is alleged that they give notice that two
or three hundred hands, Qess or more, as the
case may be) are needed on a certain fluming
claim, when a much smaller number are all
that can really find employment The conse
quence is, that laboring men flock to the
place, portion are employed, and the bal
ance put off with the assurance that they will
be needed ere long A big eating and sleep
ing establishment is usually on the claim,
kept by the owners of the latter, and this es-
boarding TIE persons who are waiting for
employment Persons, with money are board
ed for an indefinite length of time, Of course
at a large profit, until their money runs out,
and then they are boarded on credit until
they become largely in debt, when they are
given small wages to work it out, quitting
their employer without a red cent in their
pockets Persons who are dead broke" from
the beginning are put through on the same
principle, and, thus, honest, hard-working
men are made mere machines for the profit
Of swindling heartless spectators.
Such is the charge We know not if it be
true. But, if such things are done in the bu-
siness of fluming companies we do not see
why it may not be done in the business Of
tunneling, quartz mining and all other heavy
mining operations, and the laboripg popula
tion thus be made the mere slaves of the rich
BE this as it may, there is no doubt that
things are fast verging in this country to-
wards a condition in which all the valuable
mining claims will be in the hands of capital
ists-the few instead of the many-while the
numerous class of men, who have, in the
PALMER days of California, gone from place
to place in the placer diggings and made their
living or fortunes as the case might be, like
Independent men, will become mere hirelings
at bread and meat wages The placer dig
gings, it is well known, are about worked
out, and it now takes money to carry on sue
cessful mining. frequently the case, that,
even where poor nan discovers rich
claim,-the gold being deep in the earth as
is now almost invariably the case-he is COM
PEELED to sell out his interest, before he ever
reaches the "pay dirt" in order to relieve
himself Of the Indebtedness to which he is
obliged to subject himself in order to carry
on the expensive business of opening his
claim. A poor man, for instance, may be in
a joint stock company for working what is
believed to be an immensely rich quartz lead.
1t takes perhaps year to test it, and after
wards to get it into operation, by the estab-
lishment of a quartz mill, the construction of
underground cars DC, DC. In the mean
time his interest is assessed, heavily, as it
must necessarily be, in order to keep the bu-
siness on foot, and, long before he is able to
realize a cent, he finds himself wholly unable
to pay his accumulated assessments. They
must be paid, and he sells out to some greedy
capitalist who stands by, with the ready
money in his hand
The policy of selling or leasing the mineral
lands, which the General Government at first
thought of adopting, was on consideration,
set aside, for the very purpose of preventing
the absorption Of the mineral wealth of the
country by spectators and monopolists-the
IDENTICAL result we are now contemplating. |
It was thought that by throwing the mines
open, free of charge to all who chose to go
into them, the poor man would have an equal |
chance with the rich And, for while, it
was even So Before the rich placer or sur
face diggngs were worked out, the cost of
carrying on mining operations was within the
means of the poorest, and large fortunes were
realized by the simplest processes of picking
and shogeling and cradling ard tomming.-
Many men who were then poor are now mum
bered among the capitalists who are able to
invest in large and magnificent schemes of
mining speculation. But the poor man, as
we have shown, has at the present period no
such opportunities.
1t would seem, therefore, that whether the
mines be sold or leased, or thrown open free
of charge, the result is, in any case. that capi
tai will, as a general thing, possess and work
the richest mineral lands The subject is
worthy the attention of both our National
and State Legislature. The grand idea of
free Government like ours, should be to pro-
tect the working classes. They are the glory
of the land the base of our national prosperi
ty, and the dignity of labor should not be
permitted to dwi1dle down into a mere hire.
ling service at starvation wages There is
one remedy within the reach of our State
Legislature, and it should be applied, if it is
found to be Just to all classes and that is, the
reduction of the rates of interest Were
money reduced to its proper value, that is
were the use of it put to standard which it
would readily bring when invested in any
species of business, the poor man, discovering
a rich mining claim, could then afford to work
it, borrowing the capital with which to do
So but to undertake such an operation now,
the per centlm would eat him up, body and
soul, directly. However, we are not inditing
this article with the view of suggesting rem
edies but merely for the purpose of laying
down facts which our readers may reflect on
at their leisure
a SINGULAR INcDENT-In Richmond, says
an Atlantic exchange, as Edwin Booth was
performing the character of Macbeth with his
wonted and splendid effect, very singular