Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1894-08-01
ABOUT ASSESSMENT WORK.

BRADSHAW, July ? Editor of JoUGNAL MINER. T see by the pa pers that Congress has passed some kind of law p0stponiag the annual assessment work on mining claims You will confer favor upon miners by publishing the law.
 ] voice the sentiment of all work ing prospectors or miners, when | say, we protest against such a one. sided law,
 The United States law is too lenient now, as for instance. s person locating a mining claim ou the first day of January 1872 would have until the 6rst day of January ls9i to do his fiYst work.
 In 1893 Congress passed a law giving another year, when good many had their work done. and good many have their work done for this year, apd the men that did their work last year arc the very oaes that have ai,oady done their work this year.
 venture to say aud 1 kpow for a fact that iu nearly every district you can fad oae or a company M men holding from ten to thirty locations. who scarcely ever do any work on them, except tO relocate from year to year, and Congress IS pas 5iug laws for the benefit of such men as these. Some men have done ; their work f1r two years and others none Is there any justice in such laws' If they had exempted those who done their work last year, there would he some fairness or equality i about 1t. PROSPECrOR.
 Referring to the above inquiry, while the JOURNAL MINER has not noticed, in the congressional pro ceedings any report of the passage of any such law, the Tucson Citizen states that such 8 law has passed both houses of Congress, aud gives the following as being the full text of it:
 That the provisions Of section number 1924 of the Revised Statutes of the United States that require that on each claim located after the 10th of May 1872, and until patent has been issued therefor, not less | than Sl00 worth Of labor shall be performed or improvements made | during each year, be suspended for ! the year 1891, so that no mining ! claim that has been regularly located aud recorded, as required bv the | local laws and mining regulations shall be subject to forfeiture lr non performance of the annual assessment work for the year 1894, provided, that the claimant or i claimants of any miging location, | in order 10 secure the benefit of this : act, shall cause 10 be recorded Tn 1 the office where the location notice or certificate is filed, on or before December 3l, 1891, notice that he or they, in good faith intend to hold and work said claim. Provided, however, that the provisions of this act shall not apply to the State of South Dakota, and the second con- gressional district of the State of Colorado"
 It will be noticed that the above is practically the same measure as that passed last year. While the act of 1893 was intended 10 benefit poor and honest miners, it was dis covered that in its application it benefited very few of the class intended. As the above correspond ent says, instead of passing more lenient laws, they should be more stringent. Instead of encouraging the holding of mines from year to year without any work, laws should be passed to encourage the develop ment of mining properties. By doing this, the claim owners. as we'll as the country generally in which they are located would be benefited Ii the above bill has been passed by both houses, as stated by the Citizen. it is hoped that the president will interpose one of his handy vetOes.