The Goldfield news. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1904-1911, 1905-12-01
NEEDED AMENDMENTS
The First Person to Be Protected Is
the Prospector


r. s. Morrison, the author Of "Mor-
rison's Mining Rights" read a paper
at the last session of the American
Mining congress on amendments all
visable to the federal mining law,
which was at once interesting and in
structive, says the Deseret News. As
the subject is one with which all min
ing men should be conversant in all ITS
phases, the following will doubtless
r-ove interesting. MI. Morrison says:
Gas to the matter of annual labor
and the more debatable item of apex
rights: Both have become so thor
oaghly understood, and have been
crystalized into shape by so many de-
~cisions, that little or no change seems
advisable-at least the subject would
breed at once contention, and extreme
positions would be taken.
A revision of the whole series of acts
might be advisable, but would involve
SO many items of detail, the subject Of
work in the committee room Of con-
gress, that mention of them in this all
dress will not be made.
But the practical and immediate
need which, in my judgment, would
produce the desired object of uniform
ity of mining titles in the regions of
the Rocky mountains is the repeal of
the first clause Of Section 5 of the act
of 1872, Revised Statutes, Section 1924,
which allows each state and territory
to regulate the details of location, or
to the mining district the same right,
where the state or territory fails To
pass any act on the subject. There
are only three of the details or con1i-
tions of location enumerated in the
act of congress itself, which are:
l.. There must be an actual discov-
cry of mineral on which to base the
location.
2. The location must be distinctly
marked on the ground SO that its
boundaries can be readily traced, and
3. The record Of the location must
contain the names of the locators, the
date of location and such a descrip-
ton, by reference to natural objects or
permanent monuments, aas will iden-
tify the claim.
These enumerations are preceded -
the clause giving to the state, territory
or district the right to regulate all
other details, and, as a matter of course
the result is that in every state an |
territory the statutes on this subje u
disagree, and a title which would be
good in one state would be void n
another, for the want of compliance
with some technical and perhaps use
less detail of location provided for in
the local statute.
A single amendment to Section 1924,
detailing the necessary incidents of a
location, and not making them nee l.
lessly rigid, and repeating the grant #
sub-legislation to the districts and the
local legislatures, would remedy this
most glaring defect in the present min
ing law.
A further section should limit the
right of tunnels to $50 feet on ca ii
side of the bore of the tunnel, or II
least compel them to elect definitely a;
the starting Of the tunnel how many
feet they will claim on each side Il
the bore.
Section 1888, which gives to the
local legislatures the right to regulate
eastments, which includes drainage
and rights of way, should, in my judg'
ment, be repealed, and in it's stead
should be a section defining in terms
the extent of such eastments.
The "Known Lode Clause a placer
section, 1888, should also be amended
A placer location of $50 acres, a half .
mile square, can be staked on a hill
side known to be scanned with rich
veins, and under a recent decision II
the national supreme court, in the Eli
Clipper case, all prospecting is prohib
tied within that area. This defeats
the practical benefit of the reservation
of the lodes existing within placer
bounds. On the other hand, the patent
to the placer, containing the loose ex
ception of call lodes known to exist ,
~diminishes the value of the patent; fol-
there is nothing of record or in the
abstract to tell whether or not a known
lode exists, or is claimed to exist.
The entire placer area should be
open to the lode ~prospector until actual
entry in the land office. Up to that
time the discovery of a lode within a
placer should be legalized, but if such