The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-03-17
ABOUT MINING.

She Tribune asserts that this paper says
mining amounts to nothing or practically
nothing in this territory"
Nothing of the kind has ever been seen in
the columns of thiS paper. We simply
gave in answer to its assertion that mining
was s'the leading industry" and that the
prosperity of this territory WINS ''all due to
mining" the census figures showing that
mining gives employment to 8 per cent of
our working population, while agriculture
employs 80 per cent of our working popula
ton. We further showed that the indirect
benefits of mining to this territory must be
limited to that portion of the miners wages
spent for home products, since the dividends
of the mines are mostly sent to and ex-
pended in other places.
The paper that thus deceives its docile
readers as to what its opponents say, rarely
dares to quote the argument or facts it
pretends first to interpret and then to re-
flute. For example, it says: "How much of
all the agricultural product, Of which he
hears there is S., 900, 900 worth a year, is ever
converted into money!" 1t pretends, of
course, that we gave this amount as the
value Of 'all the agricultural product
whereas, it was simply the value of the
hay, cereals and potatoes.
The paper asks, "Why is it not necessary
any more to present carrots at the theatre
door for admission?'' For the same reason
that it is no longer necessary in Minnesota
or Ohio, where it was once necessary like
it was here.
The paper continues:
The territory realizes some IS, Oo1 0G0 from its
mines annually;
Stop right there. The territory does not
realize S. 000,0 600 from its mines annually.
The mine -owners who live in Denver and
San Francisco realize that amount, out of
which they then have to pay the wages of
the miners,
More than half that amount is paid out for
wages, for wages and supplies. 1t has been.
through these payments that progress has
come
Good enough as to the probable amount
paid in wages and supplies, the only part.
on the whole, that aids Utah-S4, 900, 900.
Most of the supplies come from abroad, in
Guiding the ordinary supplies of the miners
themselves, excepting beef, vegetables and
-four. A portion of this 100000 is
spent for supplies produced in Utah. Let
US suppose one half of this amount is thus
spent for home produce land this is far.
beyond the fact, in favor of our opponents
theory. We thus have it from the very
words of our contempor that s., 100000
year spent for home produce by the miners
is the sole cause of enabling the payment
of money wages to the other "a per cent of
the working population! The wages to be
paid out of this s2,0O0,0 900 aggregate to
something like $4,000, 600; and no one on
earth has ever heard anything more ridicu-
.lous than this alleged feat of supporting "a
per cent. of the population by that portion
of the wages Of 6 per cent of the working
population that is spent for home produce.
We have nothing against mining, nor
have we ever said anything against it,
much Jess have we everpuplished the sense
less twaddle that our contemporary pre-
tends to quote from US. We merely quoted
census figures showing that agriculture is
the leading industry Of this territory, en-
ploys more men than any other (six times
more than mining does and, above all, its
profits are invested right here and not sent
out O. the territory to build up other places.