Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1870-12-30
NATIONAL SCHOOL OF MINES.
from the Reese River Rcveille.l

AS &~Se "
We are glad to see that the people
Of Colorado are agitating the question
of the establishment of q school of
mines in one Of the mining States or
Territories Of the Union. The endow-
ment Of such a school has often been
urged by the Rereile, and now that
Congress Is in session we rciterate our
demand for the establishment of such
an institution. There Is 10 measure
now before Congress Of greater I'M
portance than this, for upon Its adop-
ton depends, to a great extent, the
maintenance Of n healthy financial
condition for the whole country. The
Colorado Miner very aptly observes that
it Is a lamentable fact that young men
who wish to obtain a complete mining
and metallurgical education must do
so by visiting foreign countries, and
become members Of foreign schools for
the requirement Of theoretical and
metallurgical science. Notwithstand-
lug the fact that immense tracts of
land, rich in the precious metals, have
been discovered within the last few
years, the bullion product Of the coun-
try has steadily decreased. This is
owing to the fact that a vast portion
of the veins newly discovered are conf
posed of metals the successful treat
ment of which battles our metallurgists,
or, more properly speaking, u "mill
men," Our own district of Reese river
Is a sad illustration Of this. The hills
surrounding Austin are a perfect net
work of veins, each Of which contains
ore worth not less than 800 per ton,
but owing to the combination of n
variety Of metals, the profitable *
traction of the silver which they con-
tain Is found to be impossible, except
in the case of Lander Hill, where the
ore Is Of extraordinary richness. The
difficulties connected with the working
of these ores are beyond the reach Of
mechanical appliances. Were 1t other
wise, American ingenuity would have
overcome them long ago. That a pro-
cess will be found In the course of time
by which these mines, now a dead let
tor, will be rendered valuable, we have
no doubt, but this must be the result
of a thorough knowledge Of metallurgy
and chemistry combined. As long,
however, as our scientific men obtain
their knowledge In foreign schools We
need expect no relief, for mel so edu-
Gated are not fully qualified to exercise
their profession in the United States.
The following extract from the re-
port for 1869, Of ROSTER W. Raymond,
Special. Commissioner of Miping Sta
tistics for the States and Territories
west of the Rocky Mountains, Illus
trates this proposition
but, while the principles Of theo-
retical science remain everywhere the
same, all questions of the best modes
of applying these principles vary with
circumstances. The economy Of the
different methods and processes Is so
intimately connected with the price of
labor and fuel that the process which
Is best In n country Is cast aside In
another. 1t is a severe requisition that
we make upon a young graduate OF a
foreign school Of mines, when We ask
him to adapt his acquired science at
once to our widely different cireum-
stances. Every such graduate has to
reconstruct, alone and for himself, the
whole art which lie has learned-a
work requiring genius rs well RS intel
ligent perseverance, and one in which
many men fail, who, If they had been
educated In the region where they were
to practice, would have been respect
bly, and deservedly successful In their
lives. A school Of mines would soon
give us a settled and digested Ameri-
Tan science of mining and metallurgy,
and tho reproach that has been cast
upon science would pass away"