The Madisonian. (Virginia City, Mont.) 1873-1915, 1895-01-26
TO THE MINING MEN OF
MADlSON.
The Virginia City Citizens Commit
tee Issues an Address to the Minin:
Men of the CoUnty-Plain. Cnvnr-
nished Facts set fuurth-Tmme diate
Action lmperative-The BOzemam
List.

honest effort to Keep the Northern
citic Railroad Company from securing
patent to an immense amount of miner
al land in this county on which the
com has fled. The following
strong address was issued by the com
mittee yesterday.
To the citizens of Madison County:
We. your committee. TO whom was
entrusted the duty OF looking after h
safety OF Ii mineral lands, earnestly
call your attention to the immediate
necessity of prompt and decisive action
on your part if such lands are to be
preserved from the rapacity Of the
Northern Pacific Railway company.
You must be aware that in this county
alone, many thousands Of acres OF such
lands have been entered for patent by
said railroad company. If protests TO
such entries are not flied in the Helena
land office by FEB. -. o IN Bozeman
office by March Is such patents will Is
sue by default on your part. Every
miner having mineral locations on
such lands is in imminent danger Of
losing his property representing t 0 HIM
as in many cases it does, years OF labor
and in it's value protection against the
wants OF himself and family. Can 1t
be possible that you will stand idly oy
and see yourselves thus defrauded.
Every citizen of the county is or should
be interested be he a farmer. merchant,
mechanic or miner. The prosperity OF
our county depends upon our mines. not
only upon those which have been dis
covered and are being worked but also
and in greater measure, upon those
which are still waiting to pour their
wealth into the lap of the earnest pros
pector. Our mountains are full OF gold,
silver, lead, copper II T. ores. Can
any intelligent nan point to a single
section in the mountains on which
mineral can not be found.
If our valleys we're being invaded by
q band of hostile Sioux and our horses
and cattle We're being driven away.
you would all as one man rush to the
rescue. If a gang Of organized robbers
was planning a descent on any Of oul
business institutions, you would be
ready to protect the threatened institu'
tons with your lives if need be.
And yet this present raid is more
dangerous, more deadly in its certain
results, and because it is proceeding un
derthe insidious cover of the law foster
ed and abetted by the instructions an(
new tangled rules of the land Office you
lull yourselves to sleep in fancied Sc
curity and will only awake when it il
too late, and your inheritance is gone
We, our committe, are helpless
without your active cooperation. W.
can not furnish the proof necessary fol
your protection. We must have thu
necessary affidavits, Or you must fur
nish them yourselves direct to the lant
Office. Let every miner take hold. lie
every citizen be active. Let your severa
communities organize sub-comit
tees and let such subcommittee. lool
after known mineral sections to which
individual claimants are not found
The communities most directly inter
ested and most severity threatened ar
those of Red Bluff, Pony, Meaao'
Creek, Sheridan, Rochester and at tn
head of Granite.
What have you done, and what d
you propose doing? Organize and &c
al work. Let this matter be your ir
dividual business.
Your committee has published list
lands entered at Helena. We have bee
= hampered by the action of the Boz'
man land Office, whose officers say the
are too busy to send lists and if partit
wish to see such lists they will fin
them posted in the Office at Bozemal
What a liberal proposition. VIII;
cheerful cooperation: but with whom
However. the lists have been obtaine
through private parties. an
appear in this issue Of tt
MADIsONIAN. We have prepare
blank affidavits, which only ava
your filling out. 1t is not necessary th'
one should be an owner OF mineral lane