Weekly Arizona citizen., 1880-09-04
How Democrats Encourage Mining.

future seems Inevitable. GYGES. How Democrats Encourage Mining.
 There is in the Statutes Of this Ter : ritory law regulating taxation on the net proceeds of mines which is looked ] upon as q law passed simply for Sn outrageous extoriion, discriminating manifestly against the paramount in dustry of the country for an unneccs- sary purpose and without a parallel in mining regions. By il a tax of two per cent is levied upon the net pro ceeds of mines, payable quarterly, and twenty five per cent of this is for gen eral Territorial purposes, and the re maining seventy five per cent. for fund to be used in building roads by the county. As will be readily seen the tax is purely arbitrary in amount, and t is held by eminent lawyers who have been called upon to investigate the natter, to be illegal inasmuch as il IS a special tax levied against in gle industry. Other taxes, again, are paid yearly, but this parti ular ;ax has 10 De paid every quarter. Seventy five per cent of the amount paid goes into the County Treasury for road build 'ne purposes, ant in this con nectiou it is notorious
 l. That, particularly in Pima county, natural roads are very super for. and but slight expenditures arc required to keep them in excellent condition.
 2. When mining district wants a road constructed it has had in every instance to build il itself.
 3. That the Boards Of Supervisors have heretofore been composed of men not .'iarIy interested in mining, and who have been averse to road building unless under peculiar c1ndi- tions that are now pretty generally uu- derstood.
 1. That these Boards of Supervis- ors have been con rolled by Demo cratic influences.
 Such is the law as it stands. and the reason that particular interest has not been extended td il before is tha; mines until recently have had no net proceeds of moment hereaway. Now that large sums Of money are being produced, mining companies are in dignant at the legal blAckmail levied agains, them, and pay tue tax under protest, waiting either for an early change of the law or for au opporiu- nitv to test il in the courts.
 Such are the facts, and We now in vite the attention of our readers to the action of the great progressive and pc culiar Democracy of Pima county on this subject.
 Thos. E. Parish, Superintendent of the Head Centre Mining Company Of Tombstone, was a delegate 10 the Democratic Convention, and was rec ognized as the man of largest exDer- fence and best judgment and standing probably among the delegates. NIT. Parish is one of the very few Demo crats managing large mining proper
 ties in this county, and it was conf
 dently believed that some cOnsidera
 tiou would be shown him as the leading Democratic representative of the min
 ing industry in this section In the con
 vention he had a resolution introduced
 calling attention Co the absurd and
 outrageous law ani demanding 'tha 1t be modified, but the resolution wa,
 promptly voted down. NIT. Farisl then indignantly withdrew from th
 convention. This k the gentleman l first experience with Pima county ! Democracy, and he now has had hi
 first lesson in showing that the grca
 principles Of his party here consist il
 struggles for office and without atten
 ton to the public good. In this con
 nection it may be well to call attcn
 ton to the fact that the list of put
 lished aspirants for legislative honor before the convention consists yer
 largely of members thereof who vote down the resolution.
 We desire to call the attention of al interested ID mining to this attemp
 of the office-seeking, shell-back an controlling Democrats ofthe county lay heavy and violent hand upon th industry which alone must make A , izona a country desirable for men , live in, and to ask them if they ca
 lend support 10 legislative uck' named by such men and with sue
 views.
 LArER-Since the above was wri l, ten. we learn that the convention h. - crawfshed, and passed a resoluiic n against the present law. On Mo | day. when the platform vas drawn :, and ihe subject fairly presented, Il
 party put itself upon the recon s on Tuesday, having found that mi } inc men were bound to protect theI d | selves, the convention plainly show If that il was mere emniy cunceI [ without opinions, and entirely . ss worthy of respect or confidence