Weekly Calaveras chronicle., 1868-02-15
OUR COUNTY,.


will look closely into his business affairs and
examine his accounts, and see exactly how
he stands. If his liabilities are large, and
his resources limited, he Will cast about him
and endeavor TO find some way By which he
may extricate himself from the embarrass-
ments which threaten to make him bank
rupt; other men go on recklessly; the more
they become involved, the more careless they
are, and it is only a question of time when
they are irretrievably ruined.
| Communities must pursue the same course
as would individuals. under like circum-
stances. Calaveras has an expensive county
organizstion-a large Indebtedness, and at
present, few resources. Our placer diggings
which formerly gave employment to large
number of miners, are nearly worked out.
The deep diggings which succeeded the
surface and ravine mining. are now mostly
exhausted, and we have only our quartz and
copper leads to depend upon in the future.
The copper mines have been sufficiently de-
veloped to prove that they will be one of our
main dependencies; as yet our quartz lodes
have not been sufficiently explored to war
rant any positive belief in their richness or
extent.
That by prudent management we may get
out of debt in the course of few years, we
do not doubt; but so long as our taxes are
so exhorbitant capitalists will be deferred
from seeking investments in our midst. 1t
would seem as if county as large as ours,
with such percentage of foreign population,
ought to receive a greater income from the
foreign miners tax. When Americans and
Europeans cease to work placer mines, Chi
namen generally take their places although
we see falling off in our voting population,
there is not corresponding increase in our
receipts from the Mongolians. We doubt
whether the present system of assessing prop
erty is the best that could be adopted; every
man who is elected Assessor and Collector,
knows that his reelection will depend upon
the manner in which he conducts his affairs
while performing his duties, and it is very
natural that he should strive to please his
constituents, and is therefore as lenient as
possible with those who have the power to
either elect or defeat him. That the salaries
of our county officials are larger than the
average profits of business men of the same
capacity, is undoubtedly true. The affairs
of the county should be conducted on a more
economical plan; every unnecessary expense
should be avoided and the utmost caution
exercised in all pecuniary matters, until we
see our way clear for the liquidation of our
indebtedness.
But while we are retrenching our expenses
and are adding to cur monthly collections,
we should also, as individuals, pay more at
tention to prospecting; every community
should develop, so far as possible, the quartz
lodges in their vicinity; the more property
we have in the county the lower will be the
rate of taxation. A debt which is oppressive
on a valuation of two and a half millions,
would be light if our assessment roll showed
property to the amount of fifteen or twenty
millions of dollars. We have here the min
erals, but lack the capital. Now there is an
immense amount of currency in the Eastern
States seeking profitable investment; if we
invite it hither, and acknowledge it money
by receiving it for taxes, it will come at once
and open our hidden resources, build rail-
roads, quartz mills, copper smelling works,
and make our old hills fairly ring with the
music of industry. We have stood long
enough in our own light and enacted over
again the fable of the dog in the manger; it
is time that we were trying some new exper-
iments, for our old system is impoverishing
US. We must either change our tactics or
succumb to the pressure which is crushing
the life out of us.