Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1900-03-24
DEPEW'S BILL.
It Will Be of Great Benefit to the Mining
Sections Of the Country.

introduced in congress by Senator
Chauncey NJ Depew Of New York to
promote the mining, mineral and met
AS New Mexico is a mining territory,
the bill, if passed will help much to de-
velop its resources. The funds it pro-
vides would be placed in the care of the
! territorial school of mines at Socorro.
The bill provides that each state or
territory which now has or may here
after establish a school or college of
mines shall be entitled to receive from
| the treasury of the United States the
sum of $4,000 for the year ending June
30, 1900, and an annual increase Of the
amount Of such appropriation thereaft-
er for ten years by an additional sum Of
| 81, 900 over the amount paid in the pre-
| ceding year. The money thus appro-
priated Is to be expended solely for the
purposes of science, the investigation Of
minerals, clays. stone, coal, etc, the
discovery Of processes Of reduction, the
| purchase Of machinery and materials
instruction of students in assaying,
methods of analysis, metallurgy, min
eralogy, petrology. geology, and kin
dred sciences. No buildings of any kind
may be constructed with this fund, and
the officers in charge of the schools or
| colleges benefited by the proposed act
are to make an annual report showing
| an itemized account of all expenditures.
| In the event that any part of this fund
is expended for purposes other than
! those authorized by the act, the appro-
priation for the following year will be
withheld until the money so improperly
expended is replaced by the state or ter
ritory. The payment of the appropria
ton to any state or territory depends
upon the acceptance of the provisions
of the act by the state legislature. but
in the event that the first payment be-
comes due before the adjournment Of
the regular session of the Legislature
the money may be paid upon the assent
of the governor, duly certified by the
secretary of the treasury.
This act and the proposed establish
ment of department of mines mark a
strong advance in the methods of gov
ernment relating to mines, and places
the United States nearer to the policy
pursued by the governments of New
Zealand and Australia. In each of these
British colonies there is department of
mines presided over by a colonial min
lister, and the money obtained from the
sale of mining privileges is all expend-
ed in the development of mines and in
the construction of works for the aid of
miners. A canal Is now being construct
ed by the West Australian government
that will bring water to the Coolgardie
district from a river 300 miles distant,
that will cost when completed upward
of $5,00O,OOO, and the government fire.
quently sinks shafts to ii u. 9TH of from
500 to 1000 feet for the purpose Of de-
veloping the mineral formation. Some
time ago the New Zealand government
bought the cyanide patent rights of the
Cassel Gold Extraction Company for
$4,000, and Is charging users thereof In
that colony IL per cent royalty on their
gold output. The Victoria( Australia)
government now proposes to buy the
same rights for that colony from the
Australian Gold Recovery Company for
100000, recouping itself by royalty
charge of per cent. With two eXcep-
tions the present royalty charged by the
gold extraction company in the colony
of Victoria is per cent. The Victoria
minister of mines figures that in five
years the impost of 2 per cent will be
abrogated and the use of the process
made free to all therein In paternal
way the Australian and New Zealand
governments try to encourage the min
ing industry. The South Australian
government allows rebate Of one-third
the regular freight charges in the trans
portation of machinery for the use of
new mines. and makes a similar reduc
ton in freight charges on the first fifty
tons sent away from new mine.