Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1897-11-05

their pockets with precious ore in the
far-away mines are suffering from the
golden malady. In every city and viii
lage of the country the disease prevails.
In the short space of time intervening
between the receipt of the news of the
finds and the goth of August, Klondike
companies have been organized with
capitalization of scores of millions.
From New York, Chicago, San Fran
cisco, Seattle and Toronto circulars are
being sent out to everybody in the land,
Offering stock, (which is sure to pay
enormous profits" at ridiculously low
prices. Commercial companies, trad
ing companies, mining companies,
many of them managed by one enter
prising individual located in an SX10
office in a city skyscraper, are willing
to share the fortune to be reaped next
year with a disinterestedness that is
simply astonishing; unless one should
happen to be of a humorous turn of
mind, when it mesamusing. Stocks
that will be worth $1,000 per share
year hence-according to the pros
pectus-can now be had for $40. So,
after all, we who stay at home have
chance of getting slice of the riches
of Alaska; and without fatigue, too,
and without having to forsake our COM
Portable beds or sacrificing our tender
loin steaks and homemade bread.
Many have availed themselves of these
tempting opportunities, one company
of which l know, capitalized at $780,
600, or thereabouts, having already dis
posed of 20 per cent. of stock at ten
cents on the dollar. The happy stock
holders of this concern live in all parts
of the country, from Maine to Califor-
MIA, which gives renewed assurance
that the wealth of the Klopdike will be
evenly distributed, without enriching
one section at the expense of another.
The only organization which has
thus far exhibited hoggish proclivities
in connection with the Klondike gold
output is the dominion government of
Canada, which has fixed the rate of
royalty on all gold mined in the Yukon
river country at 10 per cent. on week
ly output of $500 and at 20 per cent.
when the output exceeds $500 a week.
The greediness of this exaction is un-
paralleled in the history of modern
mining, and far exceeds that of the
Transvaal government in South Africa.
1t will be remembered that not so
very long ago Great Britain protested
most vigorously against the royalty on
gold mining imposed by President
Kruger, and tacitly sanctioned the i'll
fated Jameson expedition against the
Boer republic. the principal excuse for
which was this same royalty on gold
mined by foreigners. And now a
British province is guilty of the same
offense, and the action of it's officials is
applauded by the home government.
Truly, it makes quite a difference
whose OK is being gored. The only
equitable feature of the Canadian roy
atty tax is that it must be paid by
British subjects as well as foreigners,
the excuse for it's existence being
found in an old English law, which de-
fines precious metals in the earth as
property of the king, the miners
being simply tenants who must pay
royal rent for the privilege of work.
ing the mines.
However, if even half of the reports
now current are true, the richest aurff-
erous deposits are located on the Amer
Jean side of the international boundary
line, and as the United States does not
exact royalties OF commissions from
lucky miners they will have to pay no
tax on the gold they may accumulate
in that blessed star-spangled region.
In the meantime, tax or no tax, thou
sands are preparing for the northern
journey next spring, buoyed up by the
hope of becoming independently rich;
and their hope is bound to be realized,
too, if the words of the philosopher
that experience is more precious than
gold" contain even grain of truth.
G. w. WEIPPIERT.
Silver Issue Dend.
EX-GOy Horuce Doies of Iowa is