Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1905-10-18
Former I, S Senator William NJ
Stewart Tells How Mineral
Ground is MOnOpOIzed.
TOO MUCH RELOCATING DONE.
And Honest Prospectors Are Deprived
or Opportunity TO Develop New
Districts,

Recently, Judge Murphy OF the Sec
ond judicial district Of Nevada, made
on order denying q motion for a new
trial IN the case OF Samuel Fox ct al VS.
A. d. Myers q. AL The dispute, which
led to the alng Of the suit arose over
the question Of what constituted a le-
gal location of mining claims, The
Judge used the following language
which ought 10 be OF interest TO every
claim owner In Nevada;
THE United States law and the law
Of the state OF Nevada deem {. essen
tlsl that before % valid location OF a
mining claim can be made, he locator
must have discovered vein or lode
within the limits OF the claim located.
Since the discovery of IQnOpah and
other well known Nevada camps there
has been a whole lot Of promiscuous lo-
eating done with no pretense Of strict
" complying with The laws OF the state.
Ex-Unlted States Senator william NJ
Stewart, who was instrumental TN iorm-
Ing the United States mining laws as
they stand today, In commenting on
the loose methods that prevail In Me-
yada, is quoted as saying,
THE limit Of a mining claim may he
taken, unless the miners make reguI1-
lions diminishing the size OF claims.
The maximum, which Is always taken
is 1890 feet IN length by 600 fee, In
width, and includes 20 acres OF ground.
The locators, grabbers, or whatever
you may call them, take as usual
thing from 100 90 1000 acres, by stalk
ing out claim after claim. They do
not even look for a vein upon which
40 predicate a location, Their con-
tempt for the United states government
and the United states law n only
cqualled by their reputation Of the
law Of this state.
LAW or NEVADA.
THE law OF Nevada is in harmony
with the United states and recognizes
no rights IN other persons than discoy-
crers, but makes further provisions as
10 stalking and work to perfect a Local
tion. II declares that before the eN-
piratlon OF 90 days from the posting OF
such notice upon the claim. the locator
must sink n discovery shaft upon the
claim located 10 the depth of az least
10 feet from the lowest part Of the rim
Of such shaft at the surface, or deeper
" necessary 10 show by such work q
lode deposit OF mineral 10 place. a
cut or crosscut, or tunnel, which cuts
the lode at a depth of 10 feet, or an
open cut along the ledge or lodde equiv
alent IN size TO a shaft four feet by six
feet by 10 feet deep, Is equivalence In
size 10 a discovery shaft
The stakers not only disregard the
laws OF the state and the United States.
which require the discovery of a lode
Within the limits OF the claims located.
but avoid either sinking a shaft or run
ming a cut or any other work on the
ledge, as required by the statute. But
they sometimes appear 20 think 10 nee
essary TO do some work on the claim
not always-because they generally
rely on relocation after the 20 days exc
pire. Where an attempt to do any
work Is made, they generally do 10 in
some soft place where there Is no pos
sbility of finding q ledge And thus
thousands of acres OF mineral land are
monopollzed year after year.
DEPRIVED OF RIGHTS.
THE result is most disastrous.
American citizens are deprived Of the
right to occupy and prospect the MIN
cral lands of the United states But
that Is not ALL When "a new camp a.
discovered people rush there with tho
desire 90 prospect, IL the ground is
s'1ked, they cannot prospect ana they
leave. That camp then becomes an odd
camp and Is never prospected
when / first went t0 Goldhelj more
than year ago, ] told my friends
there that that district would never be
prospected. They inquired Why? +
replied Here are four thousand men
40