Arizona weekly citizen., 1888-06-02
ARIZoNA's DRAWBACKS.

MINING industry ID Arizona IS ever prone to drawbacks. Apache troubles, no water, pinohed lesds, low grade ore, bad management and others enough to discourage and diShesrten the strongest hearted miners Tn the world. But add ed Co these, and worse than all, is the government spy, land agent or whatever yoa chose to call him, generally some petty politician rewarded with office for having filled some little chink in the democratic body polinc, sent to Arizona, the dumping ground for all such dem ocrstIc offsl, where they too frequent ly succeed ID making themselves ob- nOxious by their over officiousness, Armed with a rowing license they go nosing around the country creating trouble wherever they go, putting the government to unnecessary expense in the prosecution of ipmsginsry frauds forcing property into litigation and their betters into court to protect themselves against the charge of criminal wrong doing, unsettliDg titles and raising the devil generally.
 The latest moves in this direction gre the suits brought against the Mammoth and Silver King Mining Companies for cutting wood of government lands. The damage laid against the former is for $5,CC0, and an attachment was gotten out sgsInst the property, but in this little attachment game the government was non suited ss it deserved to be, so soon as Jeffords & Franklin the sttor- neys for the company, could get hear ing in court.
 The suit against the Silver King Con- psny Is for Sls,O00, and while it Is hard 70 torsee the aggregate cost of defending such suit. the ultimate result is less Ob 5cure. For, in the first place allow ing that the wood cut was on gov eTnment lsnd-or rather 1t should be said on government rocks-It was of neither earthly nor heavenly use to the United States Government nor anyone else outside of mining company. The wood for which the SlS,0O0is clsimed, is a cedar of the scrdbbiest kind, and the rocks from which it was taken will deny even the goat herd a living for the next 1OOC0 years.
 Only those familiar with the old Heint- zelman trail over tbe Silver King noun tsius and along which this wood IS cut and packed, at cost to the company of SIP per cord. can have any adequate ides pr conception of the country from which is 1t Is taken. It has the appear 8nce of being an immense morsin, lhe veritBele rock dump of all creation through which a dwarfed and stunted cedar occasionally finds its way, and II IS for using this wood company that has added millions to the wealth of tue country, and given employ mens .o thou sands Of men, is forced to defend itself against this great government of ours.
 Jefords & Franklin, as attorneys for the company, will defend the suit. and there IS. therefore, but little likelihood oi the government making anything out O: 1t, but tn n its agents will get their fees all the same. aud Gs this is the alpha and omega in the business. what more on their part can be desired. But looking at the oIher side We find two mining companies, one of which IS struggling under adverse circumstances to exist, subjected to the annoyance and expense Of defending themselves in court.
 If a good csuse conld be served We would say amen to the prosecution, and none would be more ready to add iis moral support than the CITIZEN, but considering the circumstances We do not think there IS 0 Democratic journal ID the Territory that will cOunteDRnce these petty, governmental prosecutions.