The times., 1898-08-01
A KLoNDIKER's WARNING.
Mr.. Myers Thinks the Yukon "a Good
Place to Avoid

Mr.. Myers Thinks the Yukon a Coos
Place to Avoid.
| Rochester, July 3l.-Jacob H. Myers, oil
this city. inventor of the Myers ballot ma
chine. has just returned from gold
/ hunting expedition to the KIondike.
| Among other things he says:
"On our arrival in the K,ondike regicn
last fall we found an estimated popula-
ton there of 11,0o0 men. This Spring this
was augmented By 1900 new men. This
number will be decreased this year by g.
O0o counting those who die and those who
| leave for home In disgust because of the
extortions of the Canadian government.
/ On account of these extoriicns many
miners leave the Yukon for the American
mines. where there is no such system Of
rank extortion. These Canadian extor-
| tons are alleged by many 10 be due 10
| the fact that 80 per cent OF the miners
are Americans. and the Canadians thus
| see good chance to feather their nests
| at the expense of the Americaus Every
miner is compelled to pay personal tax
| on all his supplies of food, and even on
| his clothing in actual use, at average
| of $40. Counting this years arrivals at
16 $50 men, the Canadian treasury will be
the richer from this source by $500, 900. In
the next place every one of the arrivals
| Is required before he can legally cut wood
10 cook his first supper, before he can
turn windlass, fish or hunt or get any
information from the officials. TO pay for
a free miners license, the cost OF this
being $1115 What this amounts to in the
ta ia m OtIf aYt
experience shows that at least 1900 will
stake during this year an average of
three claims each on good and wildcat
creeks combined on which a recording
fee of SIG each has to be paid. Before the
expiration of each year renewal of Slo
is charged on each of these claims. I'm
til recently this fee was Sl00. and at least
5000 claims were renewed on that basis,
making $500, 000 Add to this the present
renewal fee of sl5 each on 25.0o0 claims,
making 1915, coo additional, and the aggre-
gate is sl.175.9O0.
Another feature of the Canadian gov
ernment's grasping policy is that where
by alternate claims are reserved for the
crown in order that they may be made
valuable for government sale through the
labor and expense forced upon the adj
joining miners. 1t is moderate to say
that the cash received by the government
from this source will aggregate more
than 81, i40.0O0
"A royalty OF 10 per cent of the gross
output of each mine is charged on all
claims yielding over $500. whether
worked singIy or by ten or twelve lessees.
1t is estimated that about s. go will be
produced this year in the Canadian Yu-
kon district. About $1,000 0oo. of this will
be subject TO the royalty, thus yielding
10 the government $780, COO
Recently the government leased the
narrow water front opposite the front
street in Dawson to two spectators for
one year at so. 000. They in turn imposed
a yearly ground rental of 1920 each on
the small shopkeepers and BARRIERS VINO
had previously peacefully occupied it. The
next day prices went up and the BARRIERS
doubled the price of shave from 80 cents
10 81 Thus each drudging miner has to
pay an indirect government eXtortion of
50 cents for each shave. The sum total
of all these extortions for one year is thus
seen TO be A.495. 500 -
MIR Myers says that no amount of mon
ey could induce him 10 encounter the
hardships and risks of another trip to the
Yukon. Regarding the chances man
has of getting rich, Mr.. Myers said
1T is truly claimed that in the Klon-
dixie or any other gold-bearing region.
not more than one man out of a hundred
Is fortunate. The ninety-nine unfortun-
ates expend as much money and endure
the same hardships and extortions as the
lucky man. The miners say that in their
opinion s. is spent for every dollar taken
out by the lucky ones. The great mass
either die or return dead broke. The
privatious of the miner along the Yukon
are terrible. Exposure and consea ant un-
remitting drudgery are his lot. No roads
are provided. and all supplies, firewood
and other necessities must be packed on
his back and carried for long distances.
Swamps and bogs on mountains must be
struggled through. and most of those who
do net die are broken down in health.
I could not advise any person to venture
into the Alaska, mining country. and none
should venture who is not strong and
hardy and has not capital enough to pay
for a years food, and his fare there and
back. for it Is a fact that not one out of
hundred makes enough 10 take him
home
There is but one story and true belief
among the thousands of US who crowded
the homeward steamers beyond their ca
pacity this Spring. and that is that 1t
would be criminal for us to lend our
voices to aid the cleyerly devised adver-
tising schemes of the two mercantile
Alaskan monopolies. Little is said about
the ninety and nine unfortunates. Only
the large gold sacks of the three rich
mines are eNtOllSO- r OF
I might have in self-lauda ton added my
little gold sack to the general list on the
arrival of our ocean steamer and failed
to say that / had expended nearly double
its value in its procurement. but it would
have been acting a lie and helping to in
jure and deceive my fellow men. 1t was
apparent at Dawson that the two COM
mercial monopolies were selecting pas
sengers for their downriver steamers
and delaying them with the design 'of
showing the largest possible output of
gold
Il have conversed with very many of
those coming out and they all agree that
over 90 per cent came out in poverty of
pocket and health, barely able to reach
their homes. This statement is made as
a matter of public duty, and certainly
lover of humanity and the United States
should not withhold the facts, but rather
confess his own mistake and thus warn
Others of the folly that has wrecked so
many men and is draining the United
States without return"
Cuban Fire Flies