Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-08-04

vestgatien of this question by board of engineers.
After elaborate surveys had been made the State
Engineer reported that sufficient remedy could
thus be obtained not only to guard against future
deposits of debris, but also primarily TO protect the
rivers and valleys from the very many millions OF
cubic yards of sand and gravel, which had been
cumulang in the streams since the food of 1872.
1t seemed unjust that the present generation of
farmers and miners livirg IN the northern part OF
the State should be compelled pay exclusively for
remedying damages caused by mining many years
before, which had largely benefited the whole State,
and especially San Francisco.
With this in view the now famous Dehri; Act was
strongly advocated by both miners and farmers, who
in that measure asked for State aid so that the
essary funds could be procured to inaugurate thor
ough system Of protection. In this legislation the
miners showed their willingness to pay their full
share of the burden, by being taxed in three differ
ent ways and very much more heavily than any
other class.
Under the operations of this Act two restraining
dams were built in 1850, one across the Yuba and
the other across Bear river at cost of $780,,
900. The residue of the money procured by the
taxes levied under the authority of the Act amount
ing to some $3.50 900, spent chiefly in building
evees, for the purpose of combining the rivers,
that they might, by securing action, deepen their
beds.
These works were hastily built, and of course are
vet necessarily incomplete The DAMS although
broken. have been Of much service, the on the
Yuba river having, it is thought, saved Marysville
last winter from InundatioD. Able engineers now
report that the dams can be made permanent, and
that they will answer the purpose for which they
were designed.
1t was never the intention of the mining inter
ests to advocate the permanent continuation of a
general State tax for this relief 1t hoped that
the State at large would willingly contribute the
small tax of five cents the 800 Tor three years.
and that after that time the parties directly inter-
ested could take of the works at their own cost
and thereafter maintain and extend them as neces-
sty demanded.
CONCLUSION.
The condition of affairs is briefly this: Engineers,
able as can be found in the United States assert
that the mines can be worked that the valley lands
at the same time can be protected, and that the
nayigaele watereourses OF the State be brought
into good condition.
authorities it is proposed to at once cut off from
the annual revenue of the people OF the State
Sl3,000,00 0 The ruin OF the mining counties will
then follow, and yet the danger fire m the vast de-
posts OF debris now in the rivers will have TO be
met.
With no other result than the payment of huge
fees to greedy lawyers. multiplicity of suits has
been commenced when one alone would definitely
settle the controversy.
1t is with regret that we see hundreds of thou
sands OF dollars about to be spent in bitter litiga-
ton, when the same money, properly expended,
would so largely contribute to the relief and settle.
ment OF the injury done to the turner's.
1t has been shown how IDLE are the statements
that the product from mines simply enriches
foreign owners. The truth is that much the larger
part OF it is spent for labor and supplies and that
in the end most of it centers in San Francisco Had
it not have been fer the mining industry that city
would never have become the metropolitan and
wealthy place it now is but would at the best have
been provincial town slightly superior to Port
land Can San Francisco afford to see one OF the
chief sources of its prosperity destroyed:
The individal members Of this Association are not
alone engaged in ining but are many of them also
largely engaged in agriculture, trade and man
ufacturing; They deprecate the attempts made to
injure mining, not only because they believe it to
be legitimate industry, but because they realize
that its destruction would most inuriouslp affect
every mate rial interest in the State
MINERS ASSOCIATION,
By its Board of Council
Thomas Bell, Alvinza Hayward, William Ash
burner, r. E. Brewster James L. Gould, n Cad
wallader, Egbert Judson, Thomas Price, A. A. Sar-
gent. L. L Robinson, J. P. Brown, j. S. Mcbride,
James T. Pierce