Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-03-15
Far-0ff Fields.

We have no patience Win tno men
" no are trying to make the people be-
lieve that there is good field for mining |
energy and capital in Lower California, |
when they know, or ought to know, that
the very reverse is the fact. In the first
place, mine must be very rich TO pay
the exploiters at all in that region. and
those who have already tried to work
ledges there have found to their sorrow
that it is bad business. A company OF San
Diego men opened ledge several years
ago not great distance from the Santa
Clara district. They put up machinery
and worked it until they found that the
exactions of the authorities were such
that the only way to keep the mine from
running them was to close it down. II
the mine had been on American terri
tory they could have made it pay; but
they found after they had got to work
that all the supplies they had to use
were not only subject to the regular
customs duties, but that there was
municipal tax which came in
to swell the cost of what they
were compelled to import to keep their
work going that ate up all they made and
more too. The laws of Mexico with re-
ference to mines are very stringent and in
order to secure a mine, it has to go
through great deal of red tape, which
is very costly. They are liberal about ma
chinery, which is let in free; but
outside of that, every step taken
is very expensive. Labor rates cheap,
as compared with the wages paid in
mines here. But, if labor is cheap ap-
parently, it is dear in fact; for the slow
and primitive methods followed, and the
set Incidence which is habitual to Mexi-
can laborers, make their work come
dearer than the high-cost intelligent
work of our own miners. In point OF
effectiveness, one American miner is
worth half dozen Mexican miners.
If those who are trying to turn the late
fiasco into an effort to prospect the ledges,
which they seeem to think are valuable,
in Lower California, would change their
tactics, and advise prospectors to leave
that country severely alone, and
turn theft energies to the pros
pecting and developing of known ledges
in mining districts this side of the line,
they would do work which everybody
could commend. Within a radius OF
three hundred miles of Los Angeles there
are dozens of well known mining dis,
tricts and innumerable ledges that
would justify all the energy that
could be put forth to develop them.
These known mining districts have
hardly been touched. They will some
day, not far off, afford fields of profit tc
enterprise and capital far beyond any
thing that can be shown in Lower Cali
fornia. The hidden treasures o.
these districts are only awaiting
the stroke of the miner to
pour their wealth in lavish guam.
titles into the laps of the men who
have the pluck to work them. We are
only wasting our means and our forces te
60 across the line for mines. The money
spent and the energy worse than wasted
already in the Santa Clara fake would
have accomplished wonderful results il
they had been directed to almost anyone
of the many districts that are known tt
be rich within one hundred miles in any
direction from the San Bernardino meri
dian.
If there are any good mining properties
lying perdu in Lower California, Ameri
cans can afford to let them remain SO
until, in the course of time, the PENN
sula becomes a portion of the United
States. 1t may perhaps pay our people
to develop lodges in Lower Californis
when that time arrives; but till then We
have attractions on our side of the line
that are far more attractive.