Arizona weekly citizen., 1884-12-27
MINING IN ARIZONA

1he IolloNlng article on the state of the mining interests of Arizona, taken from the Tombstone Record, IS az plicable to all portions of the Territory, and as it Is full of good sense we repro duce it entire:
 Mining Tn Arizona is but yet Tn its in
 fancy. The country has been largely run over and monumented, but very httle piospected. Taking Cochise coun- ty as an example, We have had largely a class ot men here wno knew but IitIle about prospecting, and iu most cases, could not tell the difference between ore and country rock. Those who had experience elsewhere, found here such a difference Tn the character of ore from
 what they had found in other parts of the United States, that they were entire | ly in the dark.
 Thousands of locations have been made m this Junty where no ledge was to be found; and the locations were made to set possession of the ground for the purpose of securing the timber, or for holding a spring of water: and last, though not least, of getting the possesslon of some ground in the | nelghborhoOd of claim that was likely to pan out very rich and make the adjacent ground of some value. We know of large numbers of mining claims being made m the vicinity of saw-mIlls, Tor the purpose of securing the timber Tor lumber: and also of large belts of oak timber being located in the intere- f ot some mines, for the purpose of cutting the wood off for making steam. While this has been looked upon as legitimate, 1t has not hnd the tendency of developing our county or enriching the Territory.
 Our mining laws are framed so as to retard the development of the country The power to make any number Of loca- tions, and the holding of the ground for the second year after the location Is made, Is a drawback that does not seem to be realized by our law makers. The opportunity of relocating ground Is an incentive for many men to do nothing upon their claims in the way of dev- elopment, and they are enabled tO hold ground for a long term of years without doing lick of work upon 1t. In large number of cases the assessment work, If done at all, is performed upon some pant of the claim where there is DO ledge and no showing to justify the work being done at that particularlplace. except 1t be the fact that the nature of the ground admits of the wlrk being done without much labor and at small cost to the owner. One of the great disadvantages of doing work Tn this way lies in the fact that such work does not | enhance the value of the claim or tend to stimulate mining. IL prOspectors l and miners intend to risk their money | and labor in doing assessment work upon mining claims, let the work be done where 1t will do the most good, 1 and in all cases 1t should be done upon | the ledge, without any regard for the hardness of the rock or the inability of sinking a stated number of feet for one hundred dollars.
 What We need Is an amendment to our mining laws compelling lOcators of miE ing claims to work them, and the time given to the assessment work should not exceed the year that the location Is made in. This would cause fewer lOca- ;ions to be made and more work to be l done, and in the end would result Tn much benefit to the country. Arizona today offers greater inducements to the miner and prospector than any other part of tEe world, but the class of men we need are workers, and not those who travel over the country building monu- neuts to acquire money out of the la | bOr of men who develop adjacent claims. | Our mining camps are infested with l men who have no intention of working, | and whose sole object is to levy black ! mail upon legitimate enterprise, and to obtain q living from the labor or the in- dustrious classes of the community.
 It is no wonder that while this state of affairs continues people should talk of dull times and complain ot the scare | lty of money. What we need is more work and less talk. and the sooner that men realize that nothing can be made by growing and complaining, but that work must be the order Ot the day, the better 1t will be for all of us. Arizona, like all mining countries, has Its ups snd downs; 1t has been and IS stll, populated by people who have fol- lowed every mining excitement Tn the United States; people who have been accustomed to flush times, and know but little of the value of money. The natural consequence is, that If every thing is not booming the people are apt to think that the mines are giving out and that the country Is going 10 rack and ruin. Legitimate mining m Arl- zopa has only begun; wildcat claims are being abandoned, and people seek ing really good property can hnd here a field for operations m mining that can not be excelled, if equalled, in any part of America This We can prove m spite of what the croakers may say to The contrary.