The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-02-13


tinuous stretch If those claims should
prove exceptionally rich next summer, II
is likely that troops win be needed 10 Keep
the men who 90 there from mining H.
Troops 10 Enforce outrages'
81 am thoroughly satisfied that II troop,
are needed at Nome next summer, u VIII
not be to prevent serious trouble 'Inohe
the miners on the beach, but to enforce
and compel them to submit 10 snch ol.-
RACES against humanity. common sense
and common Justice as those / have here
described If the law had been enforced
IL IL not likely that the beach would nave
been worked az all as II was attemp.eu
TO be held principally by the gentry re-
ferred to- who had located the tundra by
power OF attorney, had placed their STAKES
along the natural high water marx Il the
line OF vegetation and drift wood and used
the military force to protect them, claiming
vested rights on the beach. IL they mad
succeeded in their attempt TO prevent the
beach from being worked. the people OF
the United States would be over Sl.VOo0OO
poorer than they are now and 5000 men VINO
had failed in mining on Kotzebue sound on
the Koyukuk and In other parts OF Aiaaka
would have been compelled to return brok-
en- down in health and spirits to destitute
families and mortgaged homes, nearly all
at the expense of the United gates gov
ernment and everything now seems to he
shaping to haye this same condition re-
peated on an enormously larger scale. But
on account Of the law not being enforced
they were enabled to return with from $500
to So 600 each.
"When I see a professional politician GO
ing TO Washington and staying there for
months apparently at his own expense, and
claims that he Is there In the interest OF
the miners without any OF the miners ever
asking him, or wanting him to go there. I
conclude at once there is some interest.
other than that Of the honest, hard-work-
ing miner, that ne is looking after
The Legislation Suggested.
IAN the legislation should suggest to
you IL: II II was not lawful for miners TO
work on the beach as they did last sum
mer. please make II lawful as quickly as
possible. We want no more privileges on
the beach than what we got. or rather
took without anyone's consent last sdril-
mer. If you will give us a permit to mine
on the beach, up to the line OF vegetation.
and permit us to make our own regulations
In regard to working the beach, we snail
ask no more. II seems to me that you can
do this by chasing the whole OF the beach
as tide lands.
you need have no fears whatever that
there will be any serious quarrel among
ourselves next summer We did not quar-
rel among ourselves last summer. We had
ten times as much to quarrel about AZ we
can ever hope to have again. All who saw
that we shall not behave ourselves on the
beach next summer either do not under
stand us or do II from wilful malice, or else
have some purpose OF their own to serve by
so doing.
IF such a law had been in force when
the Nome diggings were first discovered
ttlt miners would nave at once met and
made regulations that would have been
agreeable to all, was done in California
ana In Australia, and as we did in the
Birch creek country, before civil law was
introduced into Alaska Our mining laws
there provided that no man should hold
more than one claim. and that not more
than 800 feet in length, the discoverer of "a
creek to be entitled TO two claims We aI
know that 500 feet was altogether too muci,
for one man to hold, but we allowed him
10 nave twenty acres, though he could not
has aAr.k 80
creek. the remainder OF the twenty acres
bad to be on the hillside. We also provld-
cd that man had TO be on his claim or
have someone else on 1t. during the whole
or july. II IL was summer digRings and
during the whole of March II II was winter
oiggings. and II he was or his claim for a
single day the claim was liable to be taken
by anyone that wanted II. II some such
law as this could be passed for the Cape
Nome country. II seems TO me that a very
greivous wrong could be made right.
Claims should ne worked.
As all the dgsinss in the Nome coun-
Try are summer disgngs, law should be
passed that all claims that were not repre-
sented during the whole Of July should be
forfeited. The result would he that about
20 per cent of all the claims in that coun-
try would he open for reloCa ton and every
one that went there next summer would
have some chance to dig somewhere III
everything remains az Il Is now il Is SIM
ply crime for a man 10 attempt 10 dig for
gold anywhere on his Own account. unless
he has money enough to bury a claim or buy
some interest In one.
II believe that one-half to two-thirds o,
all that VIII 90 there would come back
with stake or as much wealth as tho
average miner took out OF the beach on
the other hand. IL the conditions remain
Just AS they are nov there will he A few
tn all probability less than 100 who viii
come back rich. Some OF them will have
about ton az gold and perhaps some OF
them ton and a half. or the rest shout
- per cent VIII come hack brokr-and about
half OF these Will be destitute ana viii
have TO be brought back It the govern
ments expense"
This Is the last day for regis
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