The silver state news. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1907-1909, 1908-11-10
October "a, 1908.

Editor Denver Post, Denver, Colo.
Dear Shiny attention has been
called to editorials in the Post of Oct
IL to Is discussing the alleged attitude
of the forest service toward mining
industry OF Colorado. These editorials
contain such grave misstatements OF
the laws which govern prospecting and
exploring for minelarls on public lands
(%including the national torests,) OF the
regulations of the forest service, ana
of the attitude of that service toward
mining development, that l deem ii
wise to lay a description of the actual
situation before you.
Your editorial of October II begins
"here is plain speech tor plain people.
And it is made IN honesty to the meli
and women OF Colorado; to the shop
keeper, the trader, the business man,
and wage Garner. 1t has to do with the
dread and butter que"tions; with the
personal weli-belng OF the common cltl-
zen; with the future of the state. 1t
is not politics. 1t is not philosophy. 1t
sets forth no opinions. 1t states only
stark facts, and leaves conclusions 20
the common sense of the reader.
Before a prospeetor can explore it,
Gland in the national f~orests) she must
get the consent OF some one Of Mr.Pid-
8 assistant toresters. And as none
of Mr.. Pincnot s men are practical min
ers, consent to explore and prospect rs
more often refused than granted. -
. "The Post gives THESE facts
to its readers with a good conscience.
they are not exaggerated. They are
not imaginary. 1hey are not cam
paign arguments 1they are true"
Again in your editorial of October Ii
you say: ''Prospectors were deniel per-
mission to stake claims.o
There is no exaggeration in this
statement. Every word of it is en-
phatically true"
N Iott Il eAoA ~ itSoAotAOa VI ~
forest service has ever denied the right
OF any prospector to stake a CLAIM
where and when he chose, in any ma
tional forest IN the state OF Colorado
or elsewhere. No prospector has any
need to aske permission of anyone 10
stake claims in the national forests.
The law OF June 4, 1897, quoted on
page 2l6 of the last edition of "The
sc Book says: "Nor shall anything
herein prohibit any person from enter
ing upon such forest reservations for
all proper and lawful purposes includ
ing that of prospecting, locating AMI
developing the mineral resources there
of: Provided, That such persons com
ply with the rules and regulations GOV
ering such forest reservations" No
rules and regulations OF the forest ser
vice have ever interfered with the right
to prospect, locate and develop mir
done its best to make the law and the
known by printing them in
the manual which tells how to use the
national forests.
Even if the forest service desired to
prevent prospecting in the national
forests, and it emphatically does not, ie
could not do so under the. law. If any
forest officer has ever undertaken to
prevent prospecting in Colorado or else
he was himself breaking the
law and disobeying the regulation CT
the forest service, and no such case
has ever been brought to my attention.
The fact that the forests of Colorado
are freely open to prospecting may be-
verified in a moment by reference to
the statutes of the United States. The
hastiest consultation of accessible au-
thorities would have prevented any
mistake. So far from the national
forests of Colorado being closed to
prospecting numerous mineral loca-
tions have been and will continue to be
made in them, as the mining men Of
Colorado we'll know.
Your editorial of October 10 says
"Nail these facts down hard. Test
their truth for yourself. You will find
that they are true. They are vital
facts, too.o = "The regulations
of the forest service-not the laws OF
the United States, acknowledgements
that a mining prospector cannot make
a claim valid unless he can prove
to the forest service that both the
character Of the mineral and the man
ner of it's occurrence are such as to
warrant expenditure for development:
and reasonable expectation of a valu-
able discovery
The fact is that the regulations of
the forest service have nothing what
ever to do with the validity of a min
ing claim. The validity of a moinino