Los Angeles herald., 1909-09-30
MINERS INSPECT
TONOPAH FIELDS
CONGRESS ADJOURNED FOR
JUNKET TRIP
Two Sessions Are Held at Which Ex'
perts Read Papers on Subjects
of Special Interest to Min
eraI Seekers

TONOPAH, New, Sept. 29.-The
American Mining congress, which
opened at Goldfield Monday adjourned
from Goldfeld to Tonopah today and
after day spent in visiting the mills
and mines in the Oldest camp in the
southern Nevada field as guests of-the
city, held session here late in the
afternoon, followed by another in the
evening.
A cordial welcome was extended to
the visiting delegates by committee
of citizens, who placed several special
trains at their disposal at Goldfield
this morning. When the congress
convened this afternoon papers on va
rious subjects relating to mining were
read.
The principal speakers were Edmund
B. Kirby, a mining engineer of st.
Louis, and DIR. j. A. Holmes, chief
of the technologic branch of the
United States geological survey.
Mr.. Kirby spoke on the paralysis Of
mining districts in various sections of
the country, and his suggestions as to
how this might be avoided met with
the strong disapproval of a number
Of delegates, several of whom voiced
their objections on the floor of the
convention.
Mr.. Kirby said in part:
kirby's Speech
'Is it not clear as day that by the
pressure of increasing taxation every
claim may be forced into use or re-
lease? When from Mexico to Alaska
every claim is either working or open
to prospectors does it take a prophet
to see the result? Does not every
prospector know of areas he would
like to explore? Does not every miner,
y,f,
he would like to dig? After the real
mining industry begins cannot every
one forsee in its general, steady and
permanent prosperity better living
and more chances for a fortune than
are possible under the present paral-
ysis?
Men of the mining world, the new
era awaits your call. You have but to
say the magic words: Dig, or get off
the claim!
"Analyze all the varied plans and
motives of these idle claim owners and
we find that most of them are waiting
either in the hope of profiting in some
way by the work of other men or with
the expectation that in the distant
future investors will pay prices which
they now decline. The deadlock thus
produced is the deadly paralysis which
curses the mining industry today
to force action. There are no expenses.
The assessment work of $100 annually
for unpatented claims is usually faxed,
and the taxes are nothing, or so
trifiing as to be merely nominal.
Can Wait Forever
"Owners can wait forever, and they
do so, generation after generation, hop
ing that some time, in some way, the
worn title deeds or faded stock cer-
tificates will enable them to extract a
fortune from other men. And so, a
great industry languishes, while par
alysis, partial or complete, blights
every district from the Mexican line
to the frontiers of Alaska. And pros
pectors have nowhere to go, and miners
lack work. while investors and the rep
resentatiVes of mining capital are
searching this and other countries for
opportunities to mine.
For centuries mining laws have been
saying that no man has the right to
hold mineral land idlei that he must
dig or allow others to dig. The ap-
plication of this principle was effective
in small frontier camps where the
miners who made the law stood on the
ground to enforce it, but as 1T passed
into general law covering vast areas
and became dependent upon the cum
bersome machinery of government for
enforcement it was found impossible to
sired. Some codes were more effective
than others, but even the old Mexican
law, the finest product of accumulated