Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1906-01-20
THE MINERS POSITION.

The following is brief abstrict from
the address of e. H. Benjamin, presi-
dent of the California Miners associa-
ton, delivered before that body,
"From the early history of California
the miner has had to fight his battle
alone. The government, both state
and federal has always showed de-
cided tendency to aid the agriculturalist
but the miners have actually had to
fight for their rights and overcome
their difficulties as best they might.
Whenever there has been any contest
between the farmer and the miner in
the Land Office, the United States
court or the federal departments, the
miner has been given the short end.
Do you know that for the. first Is years
miners worked in California they had
no laws excepting what they made
themselves7 They were holding ard
working their claims on public lands
while such claims were actually re-
served from sale under the federal
laws, and the local customs and regula-
tions that were established by our
pioneer miners are now and have been
the basis of the mining laws of the
United States.
'The mountainous and desert region
Of the United States are brought to a
productive stage by the unaided efforts
of the prospector and miner, yet at
present they are more ignored than en-
Outraged in the pursuit of their chosen
occupation. The government desires to
have its lands settled and made produc-
tive, and is now spending millions in
building dams and reservoirs for irriga-
ton bitches in said regions, to make
the lands worth cultivating and worth
purchasing by the farmers, but the
miners have long been using such areas
as well as the mountains, with no effort
on the part of the government for fed
eral or state aid. They have been
obliged to toll alone for decades, and
after they have made conditions easy and
comfortable, along comes the other
fellow and shoves them out.
1T seems to me that it is pretty near
time that some consideration should be
shown US when we ask for new laws or
for governmental recognition. Do you
know that for 48 consecutive years our
state was the leader of every other
state in the Union in the production of
gold and that it has practically pro-
duced one-seventh of all the gold the
world has produced since the discovery
of America? We want Government
Department of Mines and Mining where
we can get square deal. We want
our public land policy so regulated that
the miner will have an equal show with
the farmer. AS it is now the miner is
forced to pay ~. so and acre for his land
and the farmer gets his for SIPS The
miner is allowed to locate a 20-acre
tract and the farmer gets 16O acres.
I'VE want the government to segre-
gate the mineral lands from the agri-
cultural in the vast domain it gave to
the subsidized railroads so that the
miner will have an opportunity of OBJ
tanning a valid ,ninslal title to his claim
when he finds mineral on that land or
else we want tbs government to say to
those railroads when minrr finds any
mineral, except coal and iron, on the
lands we donate to you, and shows in
good faith that he means to develop it,
you must give him a deed to the claim
and you shall receive an equal area of
non-mineral land in its place.
Eoo;oeo~c al C,ofo,<,4-