Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1896-03-30
.'sTIcK TO LAS VEGAS"
10 The Editor Of he opsse

TO the Editor Qf the Onto
LAS VEGAS, N. NJ, March 30th, 1S96.-In
your article, last Saturday, "Stick to Las
Vegas" the writer thinks you omitted one
Of the most important items In which the
inhabitants should stick by her, and that
is In developing mining enterprises, by
which is meant minerals, coal and stone.
There has hardly been a mining camp
started in the Territory that has not had
some Las Vegas money put into it. There
are Lake Valley, Hillsboro, Kingston, So
zorro, Water Canon, Kelly, White Oaks,
San Pedro, CerrilIos, Golden, Jicarilla,
Cochiti, Noga,, Taos, Hsmatite, Amizetr
and one or two more, but how many of
these investors ever receive any dividendsi
1t has been one continuous out go Of
money to those various places for years,
but our mining milIionaries therefrom are
few and far between.
But, we are told, there are no mines
around Las Vegas, aud no investments
can he made in mining property here
considerable money has been spent 10
prospecting here and no one has found
dAtCuiHBs GVou 4 buiS Is tuo CdS6 81 lar,
In which we differ with them, how much
worse is it than where these parties have
placed their money? We will admit
that there has been some money spent
in prospecting. but a greater part
of it vas absolutely wasted for lack of
knowledge In relation to where and how
to prospect. One man will go out and go
in on q sandstone; another on a limestone,
another go through a float boulder and
down below it after a vein that is probably
a thousand miles away, another on a place
that common sense, let alone geology,
would show was nothing. and all report
mo mineral" But even in the most prom
Using place where a shaft has been sunk,
no one has gone over 100 feet. Several ex-
perts have been here at different
times, and all declared that it is a mineral
section around us. Prof. Longuemare has
stated to many Las Vegans, that 1t was
one of the best places around here for
prospecting that he knew of, and a gentle-
man now stopping in the city, who Is thor
oughly posted on m~ineralogy, says that
between here and the main range Is a min
eral belt. These opinions are also borne
out by the float that Is found In the noun
tains.
Now, suppose that this money that has
been sent away had been used in judi
ciously prospecting around here, does any
one doubt but that at least one or two good
mines would have been found before this
Further, the money that has been sent
away, has most Of 1t been absolutely sunk, |
but while this would have been the case
with some of that used at home, the work
OF one or two good mines discovered
here would have benefited the place and
thus indirectly helped all Of our citizens.
Even now 1t looks as if the expenditure
of a small sum by a few e~nterprising per-
sons was soon to give us a good coal mine
a few miles of town. And now i'll
will 'sget a move on themselves
and we can get good paying mineral near
by, we can soon secure smelters and reduc-
ton, which now we would have no use for.
But the subject is too large to discuss
thoroughly ina short space, in fact ii
would requirestneny columns to do ii JUS
lice. To the writer it seems that the old
"'tis distance lends ~enchant-
to the view'' applies in Las Vegas to
mining. Xxx