The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-11-19

cision in the chief tribunal Of the COM
monwealth. an appeal was taken in
the case Of the county of Suffer
against William Nichols of the Polar
star mine.
In the suit that came before the
Superior Court in Suffer County
several issues inhering in a great con-
troversy were raised. On appeal before
the Supreme Court of California by
stipulation only the issue of constitu-
tionalitv will be considered. The law
vers say that it is improbable that any
decision Of the Supreme Court of Cali
fornia viii be final Ultimately the
natter win be threshed out in the Su-
IRENE Court Of the United States
GREAT SECTIONS INTERESTED.
The miners of the State are greatly
Interested. The farmers who live along
streams where debris has accumulated
o. could be accumulated are no less
concerned. The hydraulic mining and
the quarrel that followed between diff
fering interests may be classed as the
longest enduring and about the. bitter
est that has ever disturbed classes of
California citizens. Professor Christy
Of the mining faculty of the Uniyer-
sifv Of California, addressing the CALI
fornia Miners Association in this city
in 1904, made some statements that
point out the great stake that hydrau-
lie miners have in an issue successfui
to them in the case now in court
From 1s4S TO 1883" said christy, a
period Of thfrty-five years, the gold
product Of California averaged S3l,-
600. 600 a year, or. leaving out Sundays,
the gold egg for each working day was
worth 500 900. In 1903 hydraulic min
ing had practically ceased. Drift min
ing quartz mining and dredging had
what thew
had been. and yet the gold product of
the state was only ST., 100000. about
one-half Of what it formerly averaged
OF course. the 100000 a day was not
all produced by hydraulic mining but
the greater part of 1t was.
PLANTS COST $1OO,OOO,oo.
Mr.. Bowie in his book estimates
that in 1885 there was 500, 100000 in
vested in hydraulic mining in Califor-
MIA All Of this is now practically de-
stroved The energy with which this
Industry was pursued by the men OF
those days is the admiration and the
model Of the world. The reservoirs
built above the snow line; the ditch
lines hundreds of miles long, which
were carried over mountain tops ana
along the faces of precipices, and main
tanned through summers heat and WIN
ter's SHOWS; the pipe lines going down
a thousand feet into valleys, and up
again to ditch grades; the hydraulic
monitor. the whole paraphernalia OF
hydraulic mining, show an inventive
ness, a fertility of resource and an en-
ergy in the execution that have no par
allel in the world. But all this has
been swept aside All this has been
made useless by the decisions or the
courts"
This picturesque and concise sum-
mary Of the facts relating TO the ny :
draulic mining industry is included as
an appendix to a brief which has been
fled by Solfnsky & Wehe. attorneys
for the California Miners Association,
nominaliy appearing for William Mich
OILS, the defendant and appellant IN
cluded in the brief OF these attorneys
is also included much seasonable MS
torical Information that viii interest,"
all sorts and classes of citizens The
Camfnetti act was adopted March /,
1893. This was little less than nine
years after the famous decision OF
Judge sawyer in the United States Cir
cult Court 81 this city, which put
stop to hydraulic mining. Tne GATE OF
the Sawyer decision was January .
1884
HOW THE LAW ORIGINATED =
As early as 1904. at a State conEen-
lion az California miners in San Fran
cisco. IL was resolved that the general
Government should be petitioneo 70
come TO the relief of the situation py
LEGISLATION that would protect the nayia
ability of the Sacramento ana San
JOAQUIN rivers and the adjacent land
and at the same time rehabiiitate the