Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1905-12-30
% this day is "gold is where you find

to this day is "gold is where you find
it,
In contrast with the antiquity of the
art of mining, geology is one of the
newest of the sciences, the product of
the last century. The sciences of
mathematics, astronomy, botany, ZOO
logy, physics and chemistry were well
advanced before the science of geology
came into being.
1t is in the nature of things an in
exact science. Its data are often vague
its hypothesis shifting. 1t deals
with the genesis and evolution of the
earth's crust, of which metalliferous
deposits form an exceedingly small
part.
1t is as to the relationship between
this hoary art, extending back into the
mists of antiquity with its ages of ac-
cumulated experience and this up-start
science Of the century, juvenile to a
degree, tottering along like child in
the maze of world mystery, grasping
at stray facts for support, that am
requested to address you this morning.
Whatever may be that relationship,
t would be very natural to suppose
hat geology was found on mining.
Che revelation of the rocks, their
tructures, relationships and history, as
afforded by mining operations, might
veil be supposed to have stimulated
hat healthy curiosity into the causes
ii things which is the basis ct all
science, and thus bring about Y be-
sinnings of the science of G logy.
This assumption, however, would not
be true. Geology historically is not an
outcome of mining. The rocfs WHICH
irst awakened inquiry were studied
underground. It's first principles were
not discovered by candle isht. but in
the open daylight along the seashores,
in the stream gorg, anion the noun
tain peak.
1t was entirely unconcerned with
economic questions. The earliest con-
troversis were about rocks. You will
all recall the famous controversy of the
the Neptunian hypothesis versus the
Plutonic, carried on by Werner and
| by Hutton, the representatives of two
different schools of geology, which
arose at the beginning of the science.
William Smith of England was concern
ed with the principals of stratigraphy,
With the study of the strata, the dis
covery of fossils created widespread in
terest, and the archaeological side Of
geology has remained to this day one
of its most interesting phases. The
study of stratigraphy has also led t.
the recognition in England of the oc
currence of coal in the form of strata
Gradually, and incidental to it's mair
purpose, geology took cognizance o.
metalliferous deposits, their character
form, size, mineralogy, origin, etc.
along with other earth phenomena. II
later years, particularly in Germany
Scandinavia and the United States, tn,
bod yof facts and theories arising from
these observations became so large tina
a special branch of geology, known to
day as economic geology, has grown VI
to care for them. This is particular,
seen in government service. All tn,
nationalties of the earth, and in the
case of Germany, for example, tn
various subdivisions of the nation, hav
established state survey for the pur
pose of mapping the geological forma
lions of the countries and so delimitin!
those formations which are liable t
carry valuable ores and other sub
stances from those which are in a
probability barren. H.
In our own country we have ma
tional geological survey maintained b
the United States government at a
annual cost Of approximately 81, 900,
900, but besides this the great majorit
of the states maintain their own in
dividual geological surveys. Californi
! alone of the larger states, having ric
r mineral resources, maintains no gee
logical survey and is making no syste
matte effort to map its geological fol
] nations in the way that other state
e are doing. -,
But this activity on the part of ecor
lomic geology is not confined to stat
: established institutions. There is
f growing body of men who are devotin
/, their lives to what may be fairly Gale
e the profession of economic geolog,
n They have their own literature ar
o their regular periodicals.. dealing sole