Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1879-06-04
JOHN MACKAY INTERVIEWED.
WHAT HE SAID ABOUT TAXES
AND HIGH WAGES.

Nevada Killing the Goose that
is Laying Golden Eggs-What
Would Follow Reduction of
Wages The Shaft Through
Which Sierra Nevada, Union and
Mexican Will Hoist Their Ore.
d. G. Croly, President Of the Bul-
lion Club, had an interview with
John w. Mackay, a couple of weeks
ago, a report Of which has been pub
lished in the New York Graphic.
We copy:
Mr.. Mackay thinks that would-be
politicians and Office seekers are Alto
gether too numerous in California.
No State in the Union has Jared
worse from INSCRIPTIONS political
adventures than has this land of
grain and gold. Mr.. Mackay is also
inclined to believe that the farmers
are not quite reasonable in their ad-
verse criticisms Of the Central Pa
ciic Railroad. California would be
a wretchedly poor State and its lands
would be valueless without railroads.
True, this corporation charges high
rates, but then the distances are great
and the population sparse. With an
added population will come lower
rates of transportation, and the
farmers will be cutting off their
noses to spite their faces if they
cripple the railroad system. Mr..
Mackay spoke with some slight tinge
of bitterness in reference to some of
the laws assedby the Nevada Legis-
'iature taxing mining properties. In
| Colorado it was decreed not to tax
mines or mining for ten years. This
was to encourage the principal in
dustry of the State. Communities
that grew cotton or grain would
never dream of laying an impost
duty upon the raw products of the
earth, yet here was Nevada trying to
kill the goose that was laying golden
eggs for her, while California, under
its new Constitution, had given notice
to the world of its intention to tax
and harass its mining industries.
Now" continued Mr.. Mackay,
"there is not a political economist of
note who has written for the last 200
years who does not condemn as inn
polite, unwise ard unjust any taxa
tion of raw material, be 1t cotton or
grain, silver or gold, or whatever is
taken from the earth by human hands,
and yet here are the Pacific States
paying 10 attention TO political econ
omy or the teachings of slistory.
During the last four years the bo-
nanza firm have paid over 1000, 900
in taxes, not one cent Of which should
have been exacted"
Your correspondent tried to get
Mr.. Mackay to detiue his position on
the labor question, but he replied
with great reserve. He said that he
had been miner himself, and be-
ieved in a fair days wages for fair
days work in his own case. He was
quite willing to accord to Others
what he had always demanded for
himself, yet when pressed for an
answer Mr.. Mackay was forced to
admit that the 81 per day paid to the
miners confined the extraction of
bullion to high-grade ores Were
wages reduced to SO per day, he
could at once put 10000 additional
men at work upon the Comstock
lode. There were literally hundreds
of thousands of tons of medium and
ow-grade ores which could be i'm
mediately utilized for the markets Of
the world, it the price Of labor were
reduced one-half, but the mine own
ers were handicapped by heavy taxes
and high priced labor as we'll as by
costly machinery and expensive wood
and water But Mr.. Mackay wishes
it understood that he would do moth
ing himself to force down the price
of labor among the miners.
Your correspondent asked him if
it did not seem to be supremacy
selfish for the Miners Union to keep
hundreds of thousands of laborers
out of employment that they might
get high wages, but he did not
care to discuss that point.
Mr.. Mackay made 40 secret of his
belief that there was soon to be one
bonanza opened on the Comstock
lode. l may add here that the belief
is universal ON the coast that great
bonanza is about to be opened up in
the north-end mines. The hoisting
works in the North Consolidated Vir-
ginia shalt will handle 1000 tons of
ore in twenty-four hours. 1t is
through this shaft that the Sierra
Nevada, Union Consolidated and
Mexican will hoist their ore to be
milled.