, 1864-03-12
THE WASHINGTON STATESMAN
MORNING MAR. IL, 1864
Cn1NrsE LApoR.-some parties at Oro

I
CHINESE LABoR.-Some parties at Orc
Fino are discussing the propriety Of repeal
ing the miners law there which prohibits
the emigration of Cinnamon to that camp.
It is urged by claim-holders there that they
could not get hands to work their claims
last summer on account of the excitements
elsewhere, and that the only way to remedy
the inconvenience is to encourage Chinese
emigration The only advocates of the
change are the heavy claim-hOlders. The
Golden Age discusses the subject at some
length, rather favoring the Chinese labor,
though apparently, conscious of treading
upon slippery ground About the only rea-
sons it assigns in favor of this sort of labor
are that the American miners are constantly
following up the richest gold veins and do
not settle upon moderate paying ground, and
that by a system of cheap, Chinese labor,
much of the ground now left unnoccupied
could be made to yield up large amount of
the golden treasure. 1t isS.-, natural for
American miners, as well as those Of any
other country, to mine where they can make
the most money. An American, or China
man, either, would not settle down to work
at Orc Fino, at So per day if he could make
SO per day at camp only few days travel
beyond. At the present rate of emigration
to the Idaho mines, it will be but short
time until the supply of laborers will be in
excess Of the demand. 1t is confdentyas-
serted by the eastern papers that there will
be at least $4,000 persons leaving the States
the present season for the Idaho mines
This, together with the influx from Oregon,
California and other places will certainly
make up a number sufficient to supply with
labor all the camps in Idaho of which there
is at present any knowledge. We certainly
would have very little appreciation of our
countrymen if we assisted in policy which
would have the effect to exclude them from
the mines to the benefit of the halfcyilized
Mongolian race across the waters. We can see
no necessity for hurrying the gold depostes
out of the ground quite so fast Let white
labor have chance and the mines of this
country will all be worked out in good time
and the country will receive more benefits
and be left in more prosperous condition
than by adopting the cheap, Chinese labor
system. Mines that will not pay working
now at present prices of labor will pay when
the agricultural resources of the country be-
come developed and the facilities of transpor-
tation are made commensurate with the wants
of the inhabitants. 1t is a we'll established
fact that the Chinese labor system in Califor-
MIA worked badly enough and without any
lasting benefit to the State. We. ought to
profit some by the light of that States expert
enee. f.~ ID
Too MANY Go1NG.-Persons who have
recently returned from the Boise mines
give it as their opinion FOUNDED on a knowl-
edge of the extent of these mines) that
many Of the hundreds who are now flock
into that region will be unable to get claims
or even employment as laborers. 1t is gen
orally conceded that the diggings are good,
but as there will, in all probability, be a
scarcity Of water to work them extensively
this season it is thought that there must be
a large number Of persons who will be with
out employment and as a consequence they
will be compelled to return to the valleys
much poorer in pocket than when they left
them. 1t is very reasonable supposition
that many will meet with disappointment in
going to "Boise' 1t would be contrary to
the history of all the prominent camps and
their accompanying "rushes" and excite
ments to suppose anything else. Still many
of the disappointed Boiseites, and especially
the perseyering ones, will work their way
into the older camps on the Clearwater, Sal
mon, John Day and Powder rivers There
are still good paying diggings on those
streams and their tributaries, and they will
be worked. For the present, people must
go to Boise with the rush; it wouldn't be fash
ionable to go anywhere else, and besides it
is the almost universal belief that the cream
of the upper country gold mines lies in the
Boise Basin So everybody goes where the
strikes are the biggest and the most numer-
GUS but Boise will necessarily be oyerun
and out-generaled after while. Until that
time no other mining camp can F8ceiYe much
attention from the public. It would be the
hight of folly to tell people to go to any other
camp to mine, than Boise. The nearest way
to get to the Orc Fino mines, the Kootenai
mines or any other mines, just now, IS to 60
by way of Boise. Eaa
SANITARY BALL.--A proposition has
lately been made by some e--of the ladies Of
our city, to get up Sanitary Ball. The
idea is good one; provided the Ball is got
ten up in such style that it will not take