The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1872-05-25

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THE MINERAL LAND ACE
Byicoeysksa&son ord b the peees we ind
there 10 complaint against shae portion Of
Tie new Mineral Land Act requiring . or.
tain amount Of work snnually upon each
led held. This complaint comes wholly
from those holding quarts property which
they ore unwilling or unable to work, tor
the provision 10 certainly most bese6eisl 70
the country at large, and viii iustigate de-
velopment Of property that else would be
idle for yearA While therefore W appre.
ciats the position Of those who have, 10 good
faith. discovered, located and recorded nm.
der the local laws, Or purchased, and under
the ct they must develop past the ability OF
many Of them to door abandon title to
them, 1t ID proper to take in the full scope
Of the case, and consider with view TO the
greatest good to the greatest number, the
history, causes, and eventual - we'll - i'm
mediate results Of this provision.
!. The title to al mineral lands inheres In
the United States, and 10 retained to It until
BY letters patentit IL conveyed to the indi-
vidual citizen. All the privileges that have
ever been conveyed BY government, law or
custom prior to that issuance Of patent 10
the privilege OF working those mineral
lands, holding possessory title BY that
work, and receiving the proceeds thereof.
In Mexico, tho oldest worked mineral 70.
region on the continent, the same facts ex-
lot. There, We believe, the Ordinances 70.
quire certified amount Of labor each three
months. In failure to do that. notice of
failure ID posted In = conspicuous place In
the district, and If 1t the end of that time,
that certain amount of work 10 not per-
formed, the officer goes upon the lead and,
In legal parlancs, "denounces" 1t, when it
reverts to the State and IL open to Z reloca-
ton and work BY some other party. When
quartz was discovered In California, and
laws were enacted, tho Ordinances of Mexi.
CO, the result of centuries Of experience,
were adopted - the basis Of California
laws, and the same were adopted IN Ne
vada. There work and development are
the title to unpateuted leads, - provided
In this bill. There are scores of former Ne.
vada and California quartz miners In Nom
tans o-day who make no pretense to have
longer titles to the claims they once held
although not sold or assigned away. When
Pixies Peak caused the stampede TO Colo.
rado, and the quartz of that Territory
attracted attention the rush came from the
East, and the quarts laws of Colorado,
which have since been adopted In Montana,
were fran ed by those in blissful ignorance
of any practical knowledge Of quartz
mining, and it would seem almost from the
legislation, that they went upon the pre-.
sumption the gold and silver lodges of the
country belonged for once and for oil, with.
out other condition, to whoever found them
first. That rule does not hold good with
agricultural or placer lands, nor does It
with leads. The government still says,
''You who viii work, take Ill, or procure
title and hold your leads in perpetuity. But
these mineral veins are the property of the
United States. We wish them developed
that they may yield their tribute to the
wealth of the nation. We cannot rccog.
nize the right Of IN individual 10 hold
twenty l,neal miles or twenty linsal teet Of
the ores which belong to the whole coun.
try, unless by actual Development be earns
that right. A vast amount Of mineral
lands are held under local title in the terri.
tories where laws were enacted upon wrong
theory. We will place the minimum Of
work on these % low that any man may hold
. lead, hut there must be requirement of
development, the failure Of which will 70
vert the lands to relocation" This Con.
gress hes done, Local laws require Ger.
tain amount OF work each week, during the
water season, in placers. The government
requires very little moro work each year on
. quarts claim. Agricultural lands must be
resided upon to homestead and pre- empt.
All these things are accepted - proper.
Why not the quartz sctf Il will be. For
time there will b complaint, for with
some It works real or seeming hardship.
But the good sense Of the people viii rec.
ognize it, propriety = consideration 10
given to the question In oil IT. bearings, and
it, result viii b tor the general good.
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM.
While the sore heads end ONCE seekers 1t
Cincinnati were bsbbing In glit.ering gen.
esslities, about Civil Service Reform