Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-01-23
HYDRAULIC MINERS SIDE.
Their Recent Address to the Secretary of
War Versus the Valley

Their Recent Address to the Secretary of
War Versus the Valley.
The address of the Hydraulic Miners
Association recently forwarded to the Sec
rotary of War having been heretofore only
published in part, for purpose of comment
by us, is now given in full Tor the benefit
of our readers, as follows
OFFICE MINERS Association,
SAN Francisco, Dec. %, 1885.
To the Hon. William C. EadicoH. Secretaru
Of Var, T. s., Washington, d. C.-DEAR
SIR: Your memorialists, the Miners Asso-
citation of California, representing nearly
100 hydraulic mining claims, held by pa
tent from the Government of the United
States, ard upon which they have ex-
pended in Improvements incident to the
prosecution OF This class of mining the sum
OF approximately. as found by United
States Circuit Judge Sawyer 100000 600,
respectfully desire to enter their protest
against certain statements contained in
memorial addressed to you and Endorsed
by the Board of Trustees of Sacramento
city on October 25th, and subsequently bv
number of individuals composing the
Board of Supervisors of San Francisco, but
not offlcially, on November 18th
Your memorialists, as citizens of the
mining industry, are now, ever have been. |
and are still DESTROYS that the General Gov
eminent should take measures to protect
tne haNlgabii1ty OF our streams bv the iu- |
dlclouS expenditure of such sums as have
heretofore been appropriated for that pur-
pose, but have been withheld bv your pre- |
decessor on false representations. and which |
are now reproduced i'll the document here
l "a referred to, 1t being duplicate OF
81 Ill 4
from the " Anti-Debris Association Of
Marysville." Neither of these documents |
contains any suggestions whatever with |
reference TO a proper expenditure of the |
appropriation of $4,000 already made and !
withheld during the term of office of Hon. |
Robert Lincoln. The whole tenor of the |
document is an appeal for the interference
OF Federal departments in matters now in |
allegiance in the Federal and State Courts, |
based on statements, some of which are
totally erroneous, and others matters of
controversy.
While your memorialists admit that the |
naVlgable condition of the Sacramento river F.!
during the low-water season is in q de- |
PiofaDle condition, we deny that hydraulic |
INNING IS, as alleged, the prime factor. and |
submit that the condition of the river is in |
large degree due to natural causes. and to |
the incidents following the settlement and
CULTIVATION OF the country on its water !
Sheu' comDlned with the loosening of vast |
amounts OF earth IN the search for gold at |
an early period of our history. This ma.
terial, which was enormously in evcese If !
all deposits since, was deposited in the |
mountain streams long before hydranlic |
mining was known, and has gradually |
worked Its way down to the main rivers |
mlngling EN- route with the detritus from
all classes of mining hydraulic. drift and |
quartz crushings-as well as from arricult- |
ural ana other causes. The two latter |
classes OF mining have in the aggregate
ana are now supplying as much. if not
more thah the hydraulic mines, and any
action by the Federal departments tendiua
to hamper or obstruct the business of nv
draulic mining will of necessity Apply to |
all classes of mining.
In this connection we respectfully sinh |
init that had the congressional annro- |
Prlauon oiU so, GOO been expended on the |
rivers by your predec assor, u lder the sinner |
vision of the proper Government engineers |
there would not have been cause of COM |
plant, and we reaSsert that the Obstruction |
70 the expenditure was by the direct act of |
tne authors OF the memorial hereinbefore |
referred to-the. Anti-Debris Association |
OF Marysyille, While we recognize that if |
Is the province OF your department to take
cognlzance OF the condition of the bays |
ana haroors, the navy yards, arsenals forts !
anu other government property, as we'll |
as navlgable rivers, we respectfully suo- |
gest that authentic and reliable data on
these subjects can be obtained only from
the recorts of the War Department. and
through It's resident officers and engineers
Inc boards OF Supervisors of the different
counties can have no personal or official
knowledge of the subject matter of the
memorial. 1O1io Ste
represent that the statements of the memo
RAJ III respect to the quantity of land
covered by mining debris, its. value. and
the amount of gravel put in the streams
are widely at variance with the facts. and
are not sustained by any official renort
emanatlng from a Government or State
engineer, or by any judicial finding. either
Federal or State. To controvert those
statements in detail would be a loss
the ipSe DIRT of unscientifc and
irresponsible bodies, so far as the issues in
VOWED are concerned. We repudiate with
Indignation the charge that "a considera-
bic number of the hydraulic mining cor
poratlons, and also individual owners of
mines, continue to run great quantities of
debris into the rivers, in defiance of law
And we assert that no mines are being RIM
without the knowledge and sanction of the
Federal and State Courts which have as
sumed jurisdiction, and in their wisdom
have judicially decreed that such mines
may be worked lawfully when the property
OF others Is not injured. Your memorial
lists further represent that the average pro-
duein5 capacity Of the gold mines Of Cali
fornla is at least $50, 100000 per annllm but
that by reason of litigation arising between
farmers ana miners and the insecurity TO
mining property resulting therefrom, the
gold product has been reduced TO S13 600
0G0, and is in danger of falling to 10000
Uoo or less per annum in the near future
TINS has been attended with much business
depression and suffering. pending the legal
adjustment OF the rights of the parties liti
CANT; but the whole matter has now re-
solved itself into few problems of law and
engineering, which can be settled without
the intervention OF your department. other
than IN the performance of its functions
as a protector of Government property.
We further represent that the goid-bear-
ing period OF lie in our State, based on an
average production OF twenty million per
annum, cannot be predcated with anv de
gree OF certainty, but from data cOn,Diled
from official and scientific sources we feel
confident in placing the minimum term at
100 years, and even then our mines will
not be exhausted. We assert without fear
OF contradiction by good engineering ar
thorlty- that very large percentage Of the
auriferouS gravel to be washed NAV be re-
tanned IN the mountain streams bv proper
dams, so it will never reach the nayipable
rivers in quantity TO tax their carving
capacity in the least, when such rivers are
improved. Many such dams have already
been constructed and maintained. some OF
them with the knowledge and sanction of
the United States Circuit Court; and both
the Federal and State Courts have mi
formly decided that on a proper showing of
the restraint of any mining debris com
planned Of, they would modify or dissolve
the injunctions heretofore issued. The
burden of the construction OF such dams
would fall on the miners. who are willing
to the extent of their ability to assume it.
on the assurance of on-interyention from
sources other than the Courts. Your
memorialisis, however, beg to call your at
tention to the fact that it is unjust to the
present mining interest to impose upon il.
II 1t was able to sustain il, the
entire expense now of such re-
stralning structures as your engineers
might deem necessary, in improving the
nayigabie rivers, which Improvements must
commence in ha ri