The San Francisco call., 1909-07-25
PROTfCJINGFORESTS
AGAINST GRABBERS
Review of Facts in the Case OF
the North California MINI
ing Company
Checkmating of the Scheme to
Obtain Timber Land by
Mineral Entry

WASHINGTON, July 24.-First As
sistant Secretary of the Interior Frank
Pierce recently made a decision de-
claring invalid certain mining locations
California mining company for land in
the Plumas national forest in Califor-
MIA. This decision is the elimination
of a controversy between the govern
ment and the mining claimants, which
was actively begun March 16, 1907. Be
fore that date it was found that Yard
and the North California mining COM
pany were claiming approximately
260 900 acres of heavily timbered land,
worth approximately $5,000,000, and
located in the Plumas national forest
in Butte and Plumas counties, Cali
fornia.
Through cooperation between the.
department of the interior and the
forest service a geological examination
was made of part of the land. In con-
sequence of this examination the North
California mining company relinquished
locations covering about $4,000 acres of
land, and charges were made by the
commissioner of the general land Of
flee against locations for II, 600 acres.
FOUND SO WORTH OF GOLD
Yard and the company contended
that the department or the interior
had no jurisdiction to determine the
validity of the locations The testi-
mony at the hearing before the land
office at Susanville, Cal. shows that
the 1900 acres were covered with
about $50, 900 board feet of tim
ber. valued at about S320,000, and that
although the claims had been held by
Yard and the mining company for from
two to five years, there had been re-
covered only about So worth of gold,
six months of prospecting after the
hearing had been ordered.
The local office at Susanville de-
cided February 27, 1908. that the
charges made by the government had
been sustained and that the land did
not contain such valuable mineral de-
posits as would subject them to entry
under the mining laws.
The claimants appealed from the de-
cision of the local officers to the COM
missioner of the general land office,
but the commissioners sustained the
local officers August 81. The de-
cision of First Assistant Secretary
Pierce now finally sustains the COM
missioner.
1t is the policy Of the government
to foster and encourage mining. The
lew permits prospecting for minerals
and allows the perfection of mining
claims upon national forests to the
same extent as upon the vacant public
land. The policy Of both the depart
ment of the interior and the forest
service is to foster and encourage legi-
innate mining operations, and not to
attack mining locations which are be-
lieved to be in any way valid, as well
as assist in the development of valid
mining claims.
RETARDED TIMBER DEVELOPMENT
The law authorizes, and the forest
service does grant, the free, use of tim
Der TO miners in the preliminary de-
velopment of their claims, unless there
is sufficient stand of timber for that
purpose upon the claims. The locations
made by Yard and the mining, company
have retarded the timber development
of the rich section of the country lying
along the newly constructed Western
Pacific railroad.
Since the claims are located in a more
or less mineralized country, in which
successful mining has been done in the
past, the locations for 265,000 acres
have necessarily embraced some min
eral lands, and, as the claimants have
carried on no mining operations, these
mineral lands have really been with
held from legitimate miners and the
I1lDeTdl QeVeIOpH1enl Oh IHdJ SecllOH udS
been interfered with and retarded by
the fraudulent claims. No effort has
been made by the claimants to dis
cover or develop minerals upon any of
the lands
The decision of the first assistant
secretary of the interior has estab-
lished policy which will enable the
forest service to protect national for
est timber lands from fraudulent ap-
preparation under guise of the mining
laws. Both the department of the in
terror and the department of agricul-
ture announce that there will be no
difficulty to distinguish between the
proper and the fraudulent use of the
mining laws. The benefit of every
doubt is given to miners. The great
est care is used before any report ad-
verse to miners is accepted by the gem
eral land office as a basis for charges
against mining claims.
Only claimants who are perverting
and misusing the mining laws for
fraudulent purposes have anything to
fear.