Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1905-10-07

land work the mines for the benefit OF
the national treasury. Cfhat was the
time for congress to establish bureau
of mines and mining, with cabinet
officer, as advocated then, and ever
since, by the Mining and Sclentiilc
Press.) Mr. Wood, who was invinclbie
in peace and invisible in war, found
few supporters in his plan of battle,
murder and sudden death, but Congress
man Washburn of Illinois reminded him
that the miners were fighting Indians
and digging gold, and were altogether
an earnest lot of hardy chaps, and that
if Mr.. Woods motion prevailed the
government would probably have big
ger civil war on it's hands than the one
in the south.
1t happened that at that time the then
territory of Colorado had Jerome b.
Chaffee as congressional delegate; he
argued that miners were not trespass-
ers on the public domain, but that their
work was essential to the national life
and the development of this west half
of America, and that so far from being
exterminated by the bloodthirsty mem
Der from New York, they, as class,
should be allowed some few rights In
accordance with their innate privilege
to life, liberty and the pursuit to hap
piness.'' He was a miner himself, able
to give his fellow Solons few pointers.
Senator Stewart of Nevada and Senator
CONFESS of California were also able to
show cause for more peaceable meas
ures,
| About that time there was an agita-
ton regarding some eastern canal rights
and as a great concession, when the
1866 law thereon was being enacted,
Stewart, CONFESS and Chaffee succeeded
in having tackled onto it clause giving
the western miner right to hold and
possess a mining location by virtue of
annual assessment work. For long
time these regulations were known as
the "Chaffee laws" The government
did not further contemplate either sale
or operation of the mines. Whether II
would have been wiser policy at the
time to create mining code and have
the government share in the production
of the property would now be futile tc
discuss. By 1869 it was manifest that
"the lode law of 1866" was insufficient,
and in 1870 congress passed the placer
law" which, as regarding placer min
ing property, amended and supplement
ed the law of 1866.
In 1872 law of the utmost impor
lance to the mining industry was pass
ed. 1t set the stamp of government
approval on mining by declaring tina
all mineral deposits on land belonging
to the United States were open to ex
ploration and purchase. The law O.
1872 also brought out and confirmed thu
extralateral right, and which, as inter
preted by the federal courts. gives thu
owner of a lode claim the right to follow
vein wherever it goes. Around thi
point, which includes the "apex" of tn
lode, have been waged furious wars
wreaking ruin on many and enrichini
mining lawyeas. For over generation
this has gone on. The time has arrives
: for federal mining code, which, a
, distinguished from lot Of loose idea
on little understood subject, shall b
: clear, terse, dignifed creation an
r compilation of national governments
: mining requirements commensurate
, with the Importance of the subject re
= garding which it enacts. Mining an
2 Scientific Press.