The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-07-29
~oUR ABSURD MINING LAWS
Under the above heading the New
York World saws.

Under the above heading the New
York World says:
Nearly all of the gold discoveries in
the Klondyloe region have been made
on Canadian territory, but there is ev-
cry reason to believe that discoveries
equally rich viii be made on the Amer
lean side of the line.
IN either case the land is public land
and the sold found on it belongs natur-
ally TO the state which is the owner of
the land. But both in Canada and in
the United States this valuable asset
of the treasury, this common property
of the whole people, is allowed TO be
appropriated by the first adventurer
who happens to be able TO stake a
claim. We do not even get a decent
royalty out of it.
As a result of our absurd mining laws
Klondyke viii produce a few hundred
millionaires, made rich at the public
expense, While the representatives of
the remaining seventy odd millions of
people in this country are struggling
and schennng to devise new methods
of taxation TO meet the necessary eX-
penses Of the government.
That comes near being a preaching of
the doctrine of socialism. Certainly
public land belongs to.the state. until
disposed of, but the theory of the
American government is that it is held
in trust for the people
Were the government to hold mineral
lands for itself and not permit them to
be worked by those who discovered the
mines, how many mines would be dis
covered? Would the hills and noun
tains be filed with prospectors year
after year as they are now, were such
a policy inaugurated2 Hardly. And
what of the thousands and thousands
of miners who never strike 70" They
spend millions and millions of dollars
in their search for the treasures of
earth They do the work preliminary
to the opening OF new mining countries.
Would the government do this work
Again. hardly. The World appears to
think that the gold and silver lie right
out on top of the ground all ready to
be shoveled up with steam shovels. like
Mesabic iron ore.
las a result of our absurd mining
laws Kiondyke viii produce few hun
dred millionaires. made rich at the pub
lie expense. while the representatives
of people in this country are struggling
and scheming to devise new methods of
taxation to meet the necessary ex-
penses of the government" says the
World. Too bad. isn't it? The Klon-
dyke country is in British territory. so
how can our absurd mining laws"
make a few hundred millionaires at the
expense of the American people? It is
also new departure for the World to
talk about the remaining seventy odd
millions of people in this country"
struggling and scheming how to devise
new methods of taxation to meet the
necessary expenses of the government.
It's usual talk is about trusts and pro-
tected interests struggling and schem-
ing TO devise new methods for bleeding
the people.
Our mining laws are absurd in some
respects, and could very easily be i'm
proved. They need to be amended so
that the interests of the locators of
mines viii be better protected; so that
conflict between claims will be less fire.
quent than now; but they need no
amending so as to give a part of their
proceeds to the government, any more
than the laws governing the disposal
of agricultural lands should be amend
ed so as to give the government a part
Of the crops. The way for the govern
ment to raise revenue is by taxation,
and not by engaging in any industrial
/ pursuit.