The Goldfield news. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1904-1911, 1908-12-19

Year after year, either by reason OF
sheer neglect or from financial stress,
a large amount of assessment work is
left to the closing months of the year.
Apart from the risks run as to time, it
means that in many cases the money
is all but wasted, so far as any explora-
tory benefits accrue; the weather is in
element and the time short, so hat
all that is done is to dig a
in the easiest place. Ii is
needless to comment on the folly of this
manner of complying with the law.
In a recent issue of the Mining and
Scientific Press Editor Richard pub
fishes a very timely article, in which
the writer gives good advice in a very
clear manner. Read it over and If you
have not already done your assessment
work for this year, hasten to do so, and
do it honestly and intelligently; that
is. develop your ground as well as full
fill the law.
The performance of assessment work
or annual labor on unpatented mining
locations is n matter that assumes i'm
~portanee at this time of year. 1t IS the
purpose of this article to indicate briefly
the nature of the annual labor required
by our mining laws, and to discuss some
of the questions that may arise in con-
~nection with such work.
-.ncisnt law
From rime immemorial the perform
ance of assessment or representation
work on a mining claim has been "A con
dition controlling the retention of title.
The Roman mining law, as shown by a
recently discovered inscription. insisted
upon continuous work. A cessation for
ten DAYS, or, in special cases, for SIX
months, resulted in forfeiture of the
mine. The old Germanic mining law
was even more rigorous; continuous
work, day and night, was a condition
of the holding. The was later relaxed,
until finally cessation from labor for a
wear and a day was allowed without
confscation of the mine. The amount
of work required by stannary law in the
tin mines of Cornwall n Devon
varied. At ono time a man retained his
title for the first year by marking the
ground; the second year by the i'm
provements he placed on 1T; and the
third year by the output of tin. Still
earlier, the annual work required was
the equivalent of one mans labor for
three months.
Federal Statutes
We see in the mining code 10Y in
force in the United States, points of
strong resemblance to these ancient
mining laws. Section 1924 of the Re
vised statutes enacted in 1872 pro-
yided that con each claim located
issued therefor, not less than one hun
dred dollars worth of labor shall be
performed or improvements made dur
ing each year ;. =. n upon "a fali-
urc to comply with these conditions the
claim or mine upon which such failure
occurred shall be open to relocation in
the same manner as If no location OF
the same had ever been made, provided
that the original ~locators, their heirs,
assigns, or legal representatives have
not resumed work upon the claim after
failure and before such loeation;' and
Section 2 of the Act of 1880 (2l Stat.
L. 61) amended the former section by
providing, "That the period within
which the work required to be done an
nually on all unpatented mineral claims
shall ommtnc on the first day of Jan
nary succeeding the date of location of
such claim /. -
Time Of Performance
1t is evident that a locator has until
December 81 of the year following the
year in which he makes his location, to
perform his annual labor. Whether he
can perform the work during the year
that he initiates his location and have
it count for the year following is ex-
tremelv doubtful. To be safe. the work
should be done after January ] of the
year following the making of the loea-
ton. While the statute is explicit on
the point that the work must be donc
"during each year. yet the courts are
loath to declare a forfeiture, and if a
claimant commences his work before
the end of the year, and p~rosccutes it
vigorously, on working days during
working hours, until it is completed,
even though the greater part of it is
done in the new year, his claim is not
open to relocation. Under such elm
cumstances. where January l falls or
Sunday, and the claimant is in posses
sion without working, but continues
work Monday, an attempted relocation
by a third party on Sunday is inef-
fectual. The same is true of an at
tempted relocation made before the
usual hours of starting work. The
postponement of work so as to run over
into the new year is an unwise course
to pursue, however, and the work
should be completed by December 81.
Character Of Labor Required