Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1900-06-22
Lx,,uur-e Blood Invites Disease.

sissippi at Galena. Then came the won-
derful discovery of gold in the newly
acquired region on the Pacific coast in
1S48, and about a decade after that Of
both gold and silver in the Rocky noun
ain section; and from those dates the
mineral production has been steady and
rapid. To-day it has passed the mark
of $500, 900. 900 of annual production; In
every n of the more important met
ais and minerals it exceeds the product
of any other country; in iron it is one
third Of that of the whole world; in coal
it is four times that of Europe, and in
copper it exceeds that Of all other ma
lions combined.
While the agricultural product Of the
country is greater than the mineral, yet
when we consider permanent -substan-
tial gain the latter is far superior. At
the end of a year the agricultural prod
uct is consumed and has disappeared
from the face of the earth; even in it's
production a part of the previous sup
ply has to be destroyed as seed. But it
is a peculiarly gratifying feature of the
mining industry that it is constantly
adding to the permanent stock of mans
possessions of the wealth of the world.
1t has been said that that man is a
public benefactor who causes two
blades of grass to grow where but n
grew before; but what shall we say of
the hardy miner, who, from the rocky
Businesses of Gods eternal storehouse,
brings forth untold riches, without the
loss of one dollars worth of previous
accumulation? 1t is an absolute addi-
ton to the available material for mans
use or ornament; it Is new matter
placed at his disposal; practically it is
a creation, for it is extracted from the
bowels of the earth, where it has re-
manned from the foundation Of the
world, and where, but for the energy
and enterprise and skill of the miner it
would lie dormant forever. Much of 1t
is by nature in forms that bear no re-
semblance to the brilliancy of the mott
en- metal, sometimes concealed in a
hundred-yes, a thousand-times it's
volume of worthless rock; but the in
genuity of man extracts it in perfect
purity, ready for the varied uses Of hui
man life.
The gold and the silver of King Solo,
mons temple are still in existence
! somewhere in the world, after doing
their work of utility or beauty for thou
sands of years. They may have changed
their form scores of times, but once
brought into the hands of man as his
possession, they continue in their round
Of usefulness, passing from nation to
nation, from generation to generation,
through all mutations of place and con-
tradictions of purpose for countless
ages. Battered or melted, hidden in Sc
cret vaults or buried in the earth, los
ing all semblance of earlier use or form,
through every vicissitude of time and
place, the substance still remains, to be
the creature Of mans changing tastes
and fashions to the end of time.
In no department Of industry can
government aid and supervision be of
such direct and immediate benefit. BY
systematic exploration of the mountain
Gus portions of the public domain, vast
bodies of minerals may be brought to
light which otherwise would long re-
main unknown. Geological investiga-
ton will direct the path of the untiring
prospector; save a vast amount Of la
Dor and expenditure now devoted to
useless ends and leading only to disap-
pointment; and increase the extent of
valuable discovery and development to
a marked degree. Every invention
which utilizes ore hitherto unavailable
is a benefit to the whole country. An
improved process which cheapens the
treatment of mineral even a single dol
per ton very largely increases the |
of metal and the extent Of
the mining industry, as the amount of
ore increases in a surprising ratio with
each reduction of grade. 1t would be |
the business of the department, by an
exhaustive series of experiments, to dis
cover or invent processes of treatment. |
mechanical or chemical, which will re-
duce to a minimum the expense Of
treatment, and thus render available
vast bodies Of ore now useless for any
practical purpose. BY the dissemina-
ton Of its reports, 1t would draw atten-
ton to the value of minerals that are
now daily passed over %unnoticed be- ,
cause their character is unknown or
their worth u%nrecognized.
In fact, the methods in which sys-
investigation and experiment
increase the mineral product are
more numerous than we can imagine in
in our national laws which !
'etard prosperity and production,
which individuals seem powerless to
amend, but which would be remedied
without delay on recommendation of a
department. Fol instance, in
with the large areas of mineral
ands within the boundaries of land
made by the governments Of
spain and Mexico, the United States
expressly reserves all gold, silver and
quicksilver, presumably for the benefit
4 the dlscoverer or worker; thus pro-
'iding a dual ownership heretofore UNI
to our laws. But though ten
have passed and congress has
Ield session after session, not the
lightest provision has been made for
he use Of any Of those minerals; and