The Elk Mountain pilot., 1880-12-30

~ ~AA~ANA OulIOiuk uSCU ny tuC
Presbyterian church and assisting the
Sabbath School. The officers Of the
society ars-Mrs. E. P. Stevens, pres
dent; Mrs. E. c. Reid, vice presi-
dent Mrs. W. H. Graves, secretary,
and Mrs. ]. L. Lacey, treasurer.
As a promoter Of sociability the So
ciety has been magnificent success
and the high social status of its mem
bers inthe states from which they
came, both north and south, answers
fully in the affirmative, the question
so often asked ofthe PlLor, is Irwin
a place to which a man can bring his
family. The refining and christian
izing effects Of good moral society
are soon made apparent in any mining
camp, and we congratulate the ladies
upon its influence here.
The Methodist and Baptist denom-
nations, although not so strongly
represented as the two first mention
ed, have occasional meetings.
We have but one benevolent society,
the Ancient Order of Hibernians,
which has membership of forty five,
of which Terrence Connolly is Presi-
dent; L. c. Gull, Vice President
Felix Berry, Financial Secretary
Timothy Decy, Recording Secretary ;
John Mccormick, Treasurer and !.
M. Mccormick, County Delegate.
Our Military is represented by a
company of sixty members, called the
Ruby Scouts, Of which U. M. Curtis,
the Ute Interpreter, is Captain.
POST OFFICE.
Our Post Office does the largest
business of any in the county, Gun
nlson City not excepted, and yet
the government makes no allowance
to our P. NJ. for either rent, clerk
hire, fuel or other expenses. One
thousand five hundred letters were
sent from this Office in one week
in December, and that when oul
population had largely emigratee
to Gunnison City. Eight hundred
and fourteen dollars and ninety sever
cents was the gross receipts for stamps
sold for quarter ending September
goth, out OF which the government
reaped net income s614,11. Three
thousand five hundred differen
persons received mail at this office
and the average daily receipt of let
tiers has been as high as 1,5oo,per day
for weeks in succession.
FINANCIAL.
Our financial matters are attended
to by the Bank of Irwin, a medium O.
exchange and deposit, of which Mr.
S. S. Metzler is the manager. OF 1t:
capacity to furnish money for any o.
the ordinary purposes of exchange,
or dlscounting short paper, there adj
mits of no dou5t; but to provide the
means to properly develope the re-
sources of our camp we need no less
than from 100000 to $4,000, 900
cash capital and that invested where
it will do the most good.
THE WHY.
We do not exaggerate one iota
when we say that there are hundreds
of mines in our immediate vicinity
that would rapidly enrich their own
ers if they had the capital to put them
in a working condition. Many capi-
talists not familiar with practical
mining would naturally ask the ques-
ton, How is it, if you have such a
large number of rich mines, that the
mineral will not pay for the develop
meat ?" The answer to this is very
simple; many, in fact almost all of
those who take the field as prospectors
are poor men. Outside of their mi
ming tools and short supply of pro-
visions, they have nothing. When
their supply of provisions fails they
are compelled to hunt job and work
until they can raise sufficient money
to buy more provisions, when they go
on prospecting as before, or if they
have found mineral, a greater or less
amount Of developing is necessary to
be done ere one cent of revenue is
obtained.
Ifthe owner is poor man he must
be continually stopping to earn a"grub
stake" before he can 70 on With his