Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1858-05-01
MUNICIPALITY TO STAND WITHOUT
PROPS OBSTACLES IN THE WAY TO BET
TER SUCCESS.


PROPS OBSTACLES IN THE WAY TO BET
TER SUCCESS
No other pursuit in the State is so abe
to stand upon its own legs, from infancy
forth, as mining. 1t asks no legislation
nor legislative props, and feels lordly
spirit against begging aid from the State
o rock its cradle or dig its grave. A mo-
IN ontary expansion may divert miners to
other pursuits, but financial crisis fans
mining into life again by driving them
back to the shaft. II is the only power in
the State able to resist the banks and bank
paper; other gamblers and their device
are as little respected, and political black
legs can take root on more favorable terms
in any { ther country. Every form of mo-
nopoly offered in the mines has failed, ex-
cept to excite rich veins of ridicu.e. Com
pany mining has taken hand over and
over; companies of men have associated
their capital and bought up whole sections
Of land-then by stringent terms under
taking to own unreasonable portions of The
proceeds of mining labor; but, they broke
down-the lands falling, after subdivision
into lots, into the hands of operative mi
ners. Again, large bodies Of mineral land
have been bought, and the rates of rel
fixed so high as to exclude miners; that
process failed to pay. Even where the
rents were tolerably (intolerably) high, the
miners resorted to either stealing all the
mineral or covering up their discoveries in
hope some day to buy the land. Litiga-
ton, in every conceivable shape, was for
merly reso.teJ to for cheating the miner
out of his rights; but the public long since
settled down upon general rule, that the
best right to mineral discovery rests in
the discoverer, and that his rights are even
better than the rights of him in whom the
title to the soil is vested, certain liberal
conditions only excepted. Being the best
field in the State for geological explora-
tons, thesspeople of the mines more highly
appreciate the facts revealed pertaining to
that science; but at the same time, they
are the hardest to humbug. Biologists
never having made mineral discovery nor
enabled others to make any, so far as
known, their theories and high pretentions
to knowledg e of what the lower regions
contain, are trested-with due respect.
The chief obstacle in the way to better
success among miners ,is the pre- sing rents.
"A large proportion of the miners are Of too
high II oral principle to either steal the
rent or cover up their discoveries, and are
yet unable to buy the lands. Miners Of
ten tell us they are compe. led to give up
certain diggings, because sixth or even a
fourth is exacted for rent. Land proprie-
tors ought to abate their rates, or agee up
on uniform terms, such as would be deem
ed moderate besides, perhaps law should
be enacted regulating the matter 50 that
courts could have some rule to govern in
restraining such excuses. One good re-
suit comes Of these heavy rents: miners
are thereby compelled to scatter out, and
prospect upon improved lands. This wi
dens the area of mining and partially cures
The monopoly, for land preprie,ors don't
want to see the mines on their lands de-
serted. Rent monopoly,is after all, only a
small but annoying evil, remediable by
competition.
LECoMPT0N CONSTITUTION CONFERENCE