Arizona silver belt., 1888-02-25
PEHNECEOUs LEGISLATION.

ton from Congressman J. Wheeler calling attention to a bill prepared by a subcommittee on Public Lands, con- sisting of Messrs. Holman, of Indiana; Stone. of Missouri; Payson, of Illinois, and submitted to the whole commit tee, which proposes to make extreme changes Tn the laws governing the disposal and occupation of the public lands. It provides that all public lands chiefly valuable for deposits of coal, iron, or other minerals, shall be disposed of at not less than ten dollars per acre. It also provides that pubic lands chiefly valuable for timber, shall not be sold, but the timber thereon shall be appraised and sold at not less than the appraised value, but not less than ten dollars per acre.
 MT. Wheeler says: Feeling con- vinced that the proposed legislation would take all the public mineral and timber lands in the South (and he should have added the West) out of the market during the present gener- alton, and thereby retard our develop ment, am strenuously opposing the bill, and shall endeavor to prevent its final action by the committee until 1 can hear from the people," He adds further: "Wlll you be so kind as to ask those of yeur readers who have studied and thought upon the subject, to let me know what, ln their opinion, will be the effect of the proposed leg islation. Would not the proposed law operate to the injury of your peo- pie by increasing the price of fuel and timber?"
 It will require no great amount of study or thought upon the part of our people to make them fully realize how injurious the operation of law con- taining such provisions as those emu merated by Mir. Wheeler, would be to the Southwest. The development of our mineral resources depends largely upon the prospector, through whose persevering industry mineral lodges are located, and their value often ascer- tained before capital steps in to deyeJ- op them. Prospectors as a rule are men without means and to compel the payment upon each and every claim located, at the rate of ten dollars per acre, would destroy all incentive tc the discovery of minerals, and even force the owners of many claims already located to abandon them And it would be detrimental to min, ing, as suggested ln Mr. Wheeler's letter, and affect almost every other interest in the Territories directly through the increased cost of fuel anG timber, which are already so exorhi, tant in price, as to make the mining and reduction of precious metal 2 hazardous undertaking except where the ores are of great value.
 It is incomprehensible why oul government instead of fostering an in dustry which last year yielded over S86OO0,000 n gold and silver alone II the States and Territories, should bt continually throwing impedlments II the track of its progress, while Mexico a country looked down upon as show ing much less wisdom in the framing of her laws, offers every inducemen to the development of her mining re sources, net only to citizens of the re public, but to foreigners as well.
 One of the subcommittee mentioned by MT. Wheeler as having preparec the bill referred to, is Payson, of Ill noiS, author of the Alien Act whicl has worked such detrlment in tn West, especially to the mining indus try, by prohibiting foreign ownership in mines, and the other members o thls subcommittee, as will be noted are representatives from Easterl States, havlng little or no knowledg of the question upon which they pro pose to legislate. They should confn themselves to matters which nor nearly concern the districts whIc they were elected to represent an leave the framing of measures affect ing remote sections to those nor closely interested in and having
 clearer conception of what is require for the welfare and advancement c the sections to be affected.
 However, there appears to be n immediate danger of the passage such bill as that proposed by thi meddlesome subcommittee, since has yet to be passed upon by the con mittee of the whole before being sul mitted to Congress where, should it L presented in its original shape, W may hope that there will be me enough of Mir. Wheeler's good sens to insure its defeat.