Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-08-01

it is the intention of their owners to con.
tinue working them. Judge Temples de.
cision will be appealed, and even should
the Supreme Court affirm it the end will
not be at that point. The purpose for
which litigation was undertaken certainly
has not been achieved, and the remarks of
the appeal only show how easy it is to
fall into the error of mistaking shadow for
substance. The truth, evident to all who
will use their eyes, is that SO far nothing
tangible has been gained by the valley.
The Afpeot says that "the miners have
concluded to build dam without con-
cession of any sort from the valley peo-
"ple. Have they concluded to build
dam? Is not cur contemporary somewhat
premature on that point also /? So far as
we are aware the miners have only dis.
cussed the building of dam, and of late
it has seemed rather unlikely that they
would &c on with it, seeing that they have
been threatened with all manner of OBJ.
structions if they do so.
Judge Temples decision was compro.
mise, but it required to be accepted by
both sides, and unfortunately it has been
accepted by neither. The miners have in
sisted on going on with their work while
the dams were building. The farmers
have refused to accept any conceivable
! kind of dams as solution of the problem.
| The inevitable effect of this is that both
sides feel as bitter as before the decision
was rendered, and that the decision itself
is virtually set aside. We can perceive in
this state of things no justification for
exulting over the success of the litigation
programme. On the contrary, the facts
conclusively prove that the predictions of
this journal have all been fulfilled almost
to the letter. We have steadily warned
the people of the valley against trusting
too much to the processes of the Courts.
We have predicted that the laws DELAYS
were likely to be almost intermiuable. We
have repeatedly shown that even when
apparent trinmphs in the Courts hau ,een
obtained, there might be a long period of
suspense before the fruition of such vic.
tories. And now what are the facts !?
how many of the hydraulic mines have
actually been brought to "a standstill by
the warfare upon them What is the
prospect for compelling them to cease
working? We are very sure that the
appeal cannot name day when this ces.
sation can be relied upon is fixed fact.
The valley people have refused all offers
of compromise, says ours contemporary.
That is true But what have they gained
by it: Had they accepted the last propo.
sition made to them they would have
insured the building of 5 dam. As it is
they have no assurance than any dam will
be built. The present probability is that
the mining capitalists will refuse to invest
In structures which have been already
threatened so loudly With obstructive
litigation, and that they viii simply 60 on
working their mines to The last, making
every effort to postpone the action of the
Courts, and striving to get as much out of
the ground as possible while they can em.
ploy the resources at their disposal. They
Will be very apt to double their working
forces, to wash down ten yards of earth
where before they only washed one, to
treble and quadruple the amount of debris
poured into the streams. This is the kind
of course natural to men who appre.
bend legal inhibitions, and who are bent
upon making the most of brief or posi-.
bly, brief, opportunity. Had the RECORD.
UNIONS advice been taken all this danger
would have been avoided. As it is, every.
thing has been trusted to litigation, and
nobody to-day can tell when this same
litigation will have accomplished its ends.
1t will not do to talk as though Judge
Temples decision had settled the question.
1t has not settled the question. In fact,
nothing can be regarded as settled SO long
as the debris is still pouring into the rivers.
The farmers have chosen their own ad
visers and have followed their own course,
but assuredly they have not as yet won
any real victory, and this we should think
they must see for themselves. If thew do
not see it, however, next winters rains are
likely to open their eyes for them, and
when they realize that the debris is still
coming down, and that there is nothing to
check it, they will perhaps understand tina.
in contest of this kind judicial decision,
no matter how imposing it appears in print,
may count for very little in practical way.
The appeal gays: "The steady march of
events has all along proved our esteemed
contemporary to be in the wrong on this
question. On the contrary, the steady
march of events has all along proved the
RECORD UNION to have been right on this
question. We have said that something
more than litigation was needed. Every.
thing that has occurred up TO this moment
confirms the accuracy of that provision.
Litigation has not settled the question, for
the question is not settled. Nor does any
one know how long it will take 10 litigate
it out. Some suits of this kind have been
pending six or seven years, and are
not any nearer the end yet. To those
who are unfamiliar with legal processes il
may have seemed swift mode of redress
but we have seen too much of litigation TO
expect rapid results from it. The actual
situation at present we are compelled to
regard as most unsatisfactory and even
dangerous. It is quite doubtful whether
the miners will now attempt to build any
dams, and it is still more problematical
whether the mines can be made to stop
working within any reasonable period. |
Meantime they are likely to be worked all
the more desperately because of the litiga.
ton, and thus great mass of new debris
is beng prepared for the coming winter.
Considering all the circumstances it was
very rash for the Appeal to undertake to
glorify over the intangible results of litipa.
ton, and me- less so to make reflection,
upon the Re pRD.UNIoS's advice to the
valley. Whatever the future may bring
forth. the pas sand present have most Ger.
tainly vindica ted the wisdom of our course
in a very rem rkable way.