The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1897-05-06
NEVADA'S CAPABILITIES.
Mr.. SmYthe's Forum" Article Com.
mented Upon by the New York Sun.

number OF the Forum is an answer to the
Chicago Tribune. which lately urged that
Nevada should be deprived Of statehood, OF
that, at least, her senators should be ex-
eluded from Congress. as was done with the
seeding Southern states during the war
aud reconstruction period The same news
paper asserts that Wyoming, should that
state fail to show in 1900 a Satisfactory
growth IA population, should also be invited
to march out of the Union The Chicago
Tribune, in word. appears to think that
simply by an act of Congress a state may be
deprived of its constitutional rights through
being merged ~ another tate, or may be ab
ruptly reduced 10 the position Of terri.
tory.
Mr.. William NJ. Smythe. the author of
the Forum article, gives four reasons wh,
Nevada should not be deprived of her state
rights. Before glAneing at these, We may
point nut that 1t is not question of loiti.
cal expedieucy, but of constitutional power
In the first place constitutional amend.
ment would be required to merge Nevada
into Utah or any other adjoining state, an.
less the Legislature Of Nevada aud that of
the other state should concur with Congress
in the act. The third section Of the fourth
article of the Constitution Of the United
States provides that ''No new state shall be
formed or erected within the jurisdiction Of
any other state, nor shall any state be
formed by the junction of two or more
states or parts OF states, without the con-
sent of the legislature Of the states con.
cerned, as well as of Congress. 1t is, of
course, inconceivabla that Nevada, acting
through its legislature, would ever acquiesce
in the extinction of its own statehood. As
for the reduction Of the state to the posi-.
tion of territory, not only could this not
be done by an act of Congress, but it could
not even be effected by constitutional
amendment Article of the Constitution,
which creates the machinery for its own
emendation, excludes one subject from the
operation of such machinery by the clause
providing "that no state without its consent
shall be deprived Of its equal suffrage in the
Senate" That Nevada would ever consent
to such deprivation is, of course incred.
ble. The discussion, therefore, started by
the Chicago Tribune is purely academical
Assuming, however, for the moment that
the constitutional impediments to the ex.
tiuction OF Nevada statehood did not ex.
ist, let us look for moment at Mr.
Smythe's reasons for believing that it would
| be inexpedient to deprive her Of her pres.
ent rights. 1t is not true he says that "the
silver mines which made her all she washave
been exhausted;" it is not true that ''she
has no other mineral wealth. it is not true
| that 'she has no agricultural resources
and 1t is not true, as the Chicago Tribune
has alleged, that "she is hickerng out" in
consequence of the fact that "she has moth
ing to attract people Mr.. Smythe ad.
derived from the mines of the Comst ,ek lode
can scarcely be again looked for, but he as.
serts that even these deposits still possess
well nigh unlimited quantities Of ore worth
| from Sc to Sl5 per ton. The same is true OF
/ the other old mining camps Of Eureka,
| Austin and Tuscarora, and OF the districts
| in Lincoln and Esmerella counties; they are
/ still rich in silver ore, averaging from IS to
$40 pr ton. The extreme southern counties
of the state suffer at present from the lack
| Of transportation facilities. Some of the
mines there have to ship ore to the reduc
tion works at Salt Lake City at a cost oil
Sl5 per ton. There ate other localitie:
where the freight charges range from $50 tC
800 per too, aud where, consequently
great ore bodies carrying $50 to $50 per tor
in precious metals lie unworked. The de
preston OF the silver industry in Nevada il
due to number of causes, but according tt
Mr.. Smythe, the alleged facts that he
silver mines have been exhausted is not on,
of them.
As to the statement that Nevada ''has NJ
other mineral wealth" the roll of fourteen
counties is called to bear witness to tn
amazing variety of the states natural en-
dowments. Humboldt county, for instance
possesses not only silver, but gold, copper
tin, lead, iron, antimony, nickel, cobalt
bismuth, nitre, sulphur, gypsum, boras
and salt Near Lovelock, this county, thcr
are great hills of fine Bessemer iron or
yielding Sc per cent of iron and II per ceu
of aluminium, with no trace Of impurite,
Eureka county, in the central part OF til
state, has large deposits of magnetic iro
ore, of lead, of granite and other buildir
stones. Lander county, adjoining Eurel
on The west, has the richest mines
antimony in the world In Lnco
7 county there is a deposit of zinc est
mated to be worth several millions
: for lack of transportation facilities The
= are hills OF salt, the outcome of which cot
/, mands locally but one dollar per ton. thou.
I. elsewhere in the state from $50 to $40 p
: ton is paid for salt, Finally there is in Ell
: county large deposit of something sa
never to have been discovered elsewheI
namely, mineral soap, superior in elensi
' virtues to any manufactured soap
/, Has Nevada no agricultural resources!
d is true that the state is very arid, havi
y but ten inches of rainfall, and but little
that in the growing season. The most palt
taking and systematic inquiry, howev,
ever made with regard to the extent of }
! water supply resulted in the conclusion tn
:, at least 5000, 900 acres OF rich ground cot
;, be irrigated The commission of 1898