The Washington herald., 1907-01-13
SETS 4 SWIFT PACE
GOldfeld the Wide-OpeneSt
Of American Towns.
NEWEST NEVADA MINING CAIIP
Fifteen Thousand People There and
No Government at AII-They'II Give
Messengers Earn 800 Month,
s:cnographers $50 n Week.

GoiQuel0, New. Jan l--IlereS man
over 1T the Gold Dust saloon who is max
ing a book based on the proposition that
this mining camp win be wiped out by
FIRE before spring. He regards il as an
odds-on chance He's net finding many
persons who differ with him. either.
II GoIdfeld escapes the fate that has
sooner or later Overtsken every other
big mining camp, II won't be because any
adequate precautions have been taken
against il. The character OF its architect
ure is admirably indicated in d sentence
employed by the Goldfeld Tribune in de-
scribilg what happened when Honolulu
Henry's shack burned the other day.
1t looked bad for the town for time;
but, says the Tribune. willing hands
bore adjoining houses away from peril.
Tie menace CT fire is ever present in
the minds of the turbulent population.
The other day an alarm rang out In
twenty seconds every store and restaurant
and saloon was empty. and Broadway
yes that's what they call twas packed
with an excited mob gallOping TO the
upper end of the town
II didn't amount 70 anything. but it re
minded one that there are Just two things
that VIII draw all GoldAeld away from its
treasure hunting. one is Ere, the other
is shooting.
GoIdHeId Beyond the Law.
There's never a Law Of God OF man runs
FAR south enough in Nevada TO bother
Goldfeld much. There isn't any gov
eminent here. and people behave-when
they do behave-bccause they think it's
n
town government, no local organization.
no police. no mayor. TO jaiI-nothing but
. deputy sheriff Of the County CT Is
meralda.
There are, however. enough saloons to
employ 1ss bartenders, and enough gam
bling joints to enlist the services Of ~
faro dealers, roulette operators. craps ex-
iper.s. and such like Tex Richards
place. called tie Northern, is one Of the
biggest Of the lot. Larry Sullivan. who
used 10 shanghai sailors at Portland
Greg. is the owner Of the Palace. while
others that are jammed 10 the doors
every night are the Monte Carlo the Del
Monte. the Hermitage, the Bank, aid tie
Gold Dust.
This is the wide-oDenest town IN all the
world II the gambling fever overtakes
you, no matter where you are, you
went have 10 take more than ten STEPS
in order to get rid % your money. Every
ho-cl has two or three games running ID
the Office or in the next room or bacs
/ the bar
The gambler who can't ind 4 game
! suit him here must be hard 10 please.
may take his choice Of faro, QUE
{ craps. slough. klondike. stud strai
poker. tweaty-one, the wheel OF foTtl
fartau, or stop. And. il these az
enough every time sou turn ar
there's a new kind OF nickel il the
machine all ready TO amuse you and
your chicken feed. Also there are twc
three saloons completely equipped wiki
poOlrocm layOUts 50 that the man VINO
has followed the ponies elsewhere won't
feel lonesome in GoiGfeld.
They Play 'I1Ta High There.
Nor viii the big gambler have any rec
son TO feel cramped by tEe presence of
/ any s,iagy limit. \ man from Reno went
, into the Hermitage night before last He
had so much coin that II annoyed him.
! They are very ohllging AZ tne Hermit
age. however. and when the Reno man
5 emerged he left behind him S-7,Co0 in cash.
p There are several places where, if a man
2 has the cash, there VIII be no objection
to his placing $50 en- a single number. II
. it wins. this means that the house pays
: him s., ESQ.
. Two years and a half ago the desert
= wind r.cted among a group OF half
S dozen miserable shacHs on the site where
e now stands Goldheld To-day there are
q probably 15o0g persons here. and heaven
only knows how many more miserable
slsacks
Nire-tenths of them cost less than s5Jl
almost ali have paper-thin partitions.
some Of them have canvas ROOFS. and r
cellar is the mark OF arist0crdcy- let
G0ldEGd is to-day, though not yet Three
y years old the largest town in the State
I Of Nevada which. while you could lose 4
q s5od par; Of New England in it. had lass
g than 5000 inhabitants when the last cen
!, SIS was taken.
= TUESDAY the temperature stood ut 10
q degrees above zero a blizzard was howl
g ing in from the desert. and there wasn't
+ pound OF coal to be bought IN all Gold
n leId. SO il has been for a week
e The last coal sold here was disposed of
= in small lots at 81 for leo pounds or AZ
j tie rate Of $50 q tor; Slgo a ton wouldn't
buy il later \ business firm in Goidfel
one day offered 10 pay the Welis-Farsp
company $.CG9 in express charges if the
company would send q carload OF coal
- here from San Francisco. The offer was
tdeclined. Scarcity OF freight cars IS
blamed for the fuel famine.
Unless something is done before io0~
= people will be pulling down their hOUs
= Tor fuel
POSt-oflcc i Busy PIuee.
T. The tremendous boom In the Coldr1II
: mines is reflected in the local post-oBce.
G0ldheId does a postal business nearly
= four times as large as IS required fcr
t first-class oeIice. Yet it can't set one, be
cause it has no charter.
1. {, The difficulty viii be obviated as soon
!, as charter can be rushed through the
n next legislature. Also the county Sent Is
= thorne 60 Goldheld
a Civil service rules provide that ros.-
n office clerks shall start IN on a $50 sllaIs.
i GUt they can't be nad for that in Gold
2 field, when telegraph messenger boys seq
y 500 a month and typewriters get 50 o.
more week. The Postmaster General
has therefore made a special dispensasioa
in favor Of the mining camp. as a res.lt
OF which the poo-esJ-paid postal clerk
receives H.350 salary
The business done by the office is c1or-
nous. It's lobby is packed all day iOl-.
lines of twenty or thirty waiting at every
window.
One day a single firm bought $500
worth of stamped envelopes. while three
mining brokers here do so much postal
business shat they handle their own dIiIf
mail between their Offices and the post
Office by means Of wagons. Another finn
has an advertising bill Of anywhere from