Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1911-12-30

-aoovery of the precious metals,
ns ND silver, from the earth. In
gla a aoountries and in other sections
slsa ,, own il has a far different mean
Oui sor II applies to the digging out
ny " ~ earth iron, coal, copper and all
~, vsst array of minerals and metals
lls s,ndly old Dame Nature has so
lAas.btfully lAa and generously stored
r.S for us in the earth. For the
s~ .Soses of this article mining will
ppseS In the sense usually given It
~ that is, gold mining. 1t would
fsr beyond the scope Of a news
~ article to even touch upon min
~ E IN general, for 1t necessarily leads
". w and compels the taking up of
u,y au,sctcally every pursuit and occupa-
l.n Known to man; since there is no
,,sds ~ no occupation, no pursuit, that
us .0aId he followed, or that could exist
vitbout the miner.
To put 1t on an even broader basis
!, can easily be shown that all hu-
AN w nrogress is due to the miner, and
rrllzation itself owes everything to
him. IA
"a The first tiller of the soil, used
.srhaps a pointed stick to loosen the
ssrth Some progressive antedilu-
Ian with Yankee ideas probably used
small sapling with a projecting root
nr a hoe. and thought he had made
rreat progress. Some still more in
VsntIye genius hitched goat or two,
or A bullock to a bigger stick with a
ronyenient prong, and made the first
NOW That was the limit till the
miner dug out iron. The tools of the
hrmer, the needle of the tailor, the
en of the writer, the instruments of
NE engineer, the planes and saws of
me- carpenter, the instruments of ev-
sry trade, owe their origin TO the
miner. More than this, the transpor-
htiOn of all products, either by land
Or sea, is made possible only by the
miner, and the mingling of the races,
The movinp from place to place Of
humanity is owing to his labor and
his products. The circling of the
earth with messages, the study of dis
tant worlds through the telescope, the
delving into the invisible world of
atoms through the microscope, are
possible only through him. The levi
sthans that have made the oceans but
mill ponds and brought the continents
tOgether; the mighty machinery which
down at Panama is uniting the great
oceans. and even the moving picture
shows that permit us to see the great
ships as they move, and the stupen-
dOus work at the isthmus, are all pos
slble only because of the miner Nay,
even the thoughts of men, the knowl-
edge handed down to us from past
ages, the records of human achieve
ment, the news of the world, all, all,
impossible without the miner.
But what's the use?
In sense, gold mining is the most
important of all the many branches
Of mining, for it produces the metal
on which the measure 'of reward for
all labor is based. The metal itself,
outside Of its value as a basic money
Is concerned, is unimportant, its scare
ity alone giving it it's value, and max
ing 1t, on that account only the basis
Of the worlds money.
It has undoubtedly cost as much, in
labor values to produce the worlds
gold supply as it is worth. Perhaps
the account could be balanced, 1t
would show that the miners wage has
not been much more than his product.
Sull 1t is one of the necessary occupa-
IONS for the ever-iDcreasing popula-
uon OF the world demands q greater
supply Of basic money, and fortunately
\ has as an occupation more fascina-
uon than any other. 1t is the one
pursuit in which the miner, like Alad-
ON, may rub his lamp or his ring and
i the genii respond, the whole store
house of the goddess Fortune is op-
ened unto him.
PREVIOUS to 1S49, when California,
ne gold vault Of the world, first lured
Ine cream of the earth to the coast,
Win the siren calls of the Goddess
vnance, the United States had pro-
suced but little gold, trifle having
ueen found in the Carolinas. But with
.le uncovering of the rich placers Of
oslllornia, there was a flood Of the
yslloW metal poured into the channels
" trade, that marked a new era in
me worlds history.
naturally, the miners or prospectors
sept reaching into new territory, and
usy soon crossed the Siskiyous and
Sale down onto the head of the
oOsue' Here the first gold mines in
o.eson were located, and while not
..suallng those of California in extent,
aey certainly made close chase for
s Ie record as to riches. Since that
ume Southern Oregon has sent its
ssafly yield of gold into the channels
u trade, and 1t has been of no mean
rOilowing soon after, the gold fields
y BAKER and Grant, the Blue Noun
I ,n district, were discovered, and
uo usy TOO have for nearly sixty years
sOured into the Golfers of the world,
metal
o.. aae effect of the gold discoveries in
S.son Sreson were far reaching. Baker and
S.tl Sanl counties and incidentally the
,,as ,U,asnce Of Eastern Oregon were set
N.Y., Ssu and partially civilized long years
So. So.Ore they otherwise would have
Nh M The Dalles, Walla Walla and
sss .uer towns took on sudden growth
rIa.s .u sacuyity, under the powerful stim-
IIDa San1 Of . mining excitement. The
,nos.s n1ss OF steamers on the Columbia, the
c.,u ccSage railroads at the Cascades, and
e,oa oc,,,o were due not to the agricultural
iDSSuucts, iDSu, but to the mining travel and
ANA SusIry \, The mines were the lamp
o,t % me ring-which rubbed. brought
ANA any, .ne Genii of Civilization to serve
lDN uas,