Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1869-09-21
i LECTURE ON THA suTRs
TUNNEL. ETC,

few known as Taxpayers in the eommu-
nifty. 1t was a free lecture, and hence
the audience was larger than it would
have been if an admission fee of say
two bits had been charged. The theme
of the lecture, as announced BY Mr..
Sutro, was: "You have all heard Of
tho Sutro Tunnel-but you may not all
understand it-and If you will have
patience I will, in order to explain it,
expose the California Bank Mr.. Sutro
then read, for at least an hour, a history
of his projected tunnel-how the plan
was conceived by him (Which was at
least Eve years agoD, and Its great neces-
sity for the salvation Of this State.
Mr.. Su.ro, however, failed to show that
in these long Eve years, during which
the Comstock ledge has produced the
enormous sum Of at least sixty
millions of gold and silver, his
great tunnel project aided or pro-
dueed one dime in tho local wealth
Of this community. He said that when
he saw the necessity Of this tunnel, he
laid his plans aud submitted them to
the inspection Of tho different mining
Superintendents, who thought we'll Of
them, aud that nearly all the Boards OF
Trustees Of the companies on the Com.
stock subscribed large amounts to have
the tunnel constructed, and entered Into
contracts with him to that effect-but
that in a year or two thereafter tho
Bank OF California began to get contro!
Of several of those mining companies,
aud rescinded these contracts. This is
Mr.. Sutro's version Of the matter now
we will give our version, as we are quite
we'll acquainted with the whole bust
mesa from personal knowledge. Four
years ago hardly any Of the shafts on
the Comstock ledge were down over
seven or eight hundred feet, and in sink
ing that depth the large quantities OF
water encountered were a heavy draw
back to mining ; and it was generally
believed that as the miners went deeper
the quantity Of water would b increased.
Hence, the mining companies were de-
sirous Of making arrangements to have
their mines drained; and with this
view subscribed literally and promptly
in order to enable Mr.. Sutro to CON-
menee operations on his great drain
tunnel, and to inspire confidence
into the minds Of members of Congress
that it was a necessary enterprise for
the development Of our mineral wealth,
and merited the assistance Of Congress
through an appropriation from the ma
tional treasury. A whole year passed
around, and Mr.. Sutro had not struck a
pick in the ground towards opening his
tunnel. The Comstock during that
very year yielded the handsome
sum Of fifteen million dollars-snd
yielded it without the drainage of the
Sutro tunnel. But Mr.. Sutro says in
his lecture that he was at Washington
TO get the right Of way and a grant for
blind lodges not yet discovered Well,
he got the right Of way-and no has it
yet-but it ha, never yet drained a drop
Of water from the Comstock. In those
days men who wanted to dig tunnels
and open mines did not run to Wash
ington to get the right Of way-nos
much-if they had, they would have
come out /" very short " in having mines
or tunnels of any kind to this
day. The truth is, the whole
country had its "right Of way"
thrown open by Congress, to every man
who wanted to mine or tunnel; and as
the whole region which was designed
for the Sutro tunnel was unclaimed and
unoccupied, except the New Brunswick
series Of claims, there was no necessity
for a grant Of tho right of way from
Congress any more than it was to get
one to run the Cole tunnel into Cedar
Hill or its neighborhood, or any other
mining operation. Here was tho great
turning point in Mr.. Sutro's manage
ment. He was not satisfied with COM
menciuy his tunnel with the assistance
of three or four hundred thousand dol
lars subscribed by our mining compa-
MES, as an earnest that he meant
business, but his ideas doomed up into
millions Of dollars as the great essential
figure to carry out, as he expressed it,
/" the greatest mining work Of the age!'
Steadily the work Of mining was going
on under the management Of our enter
prising companies (iueluding the sa-
gaci,y and energy Of the much.abused
Sharon, Of the Bank, and another year
rolled around, and another twelve mil.
lions of solid wealth was extracted from
the Comstock, and that, too, without
the assistance Of the great Sutro tunnel!
Mr.. Sutro organised $50 he said last
night his company on the 4th Of Feb.
ruary, 1865, and, as hs had not done
anything to benefit tho mines on the
Comstock up to the LIST day Of August,
ls67-contrary to contract but had
wasted his time running about Wash
iugton and New York, living a high life
aud tslkiug about the great "Sutro
Tunnel" of which he was the big
Injun"-the Trustees of our mining
companies became sick and tired with
his trifiing, and accordingly voted to
rescind any appropriations or subscrip-
tons which had previously been passed
by them or their predecessors, and de-
clariug their contracts with Mr.. Sutro
null aud roid by reason Of a non-ful6ll-
ment Of the obligations on the part Of
Mr.. Sutro. This was a very plain busi-
meas matter, and soon let Mr.. Sutro out
with the mining companies; and for all
~ III A.