The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-08-04
THE MINING MEMS MEETING


annual product, the meeting held IL
this city on Friday evening by Utah
mining men surpassed in Importance
any meeting held here for long time
7 The capital represented in the value OF
mines, in railroads, and in other ways
connected with and related to mining is
very great. The annual product OF the
mining industry IN Utah will probably
reach this year close upon S40,000,000
and the mining men who were present
at the meeting Friday night spoke as
representatives of this vast interest
and spoke plainly as practical men who
knew their business and who were deal
| ing with actual facts plainly, solidly
stated, without exaggeration.
The resolution adopted to appeal from
the decision OF the General Land Of
flee in the East Tintic Consolidated
Mining Company case, governing the
| issue Of patents, to the Secretary OIL
the Interior, is one that is to be COM
mended on every account. That deeis-
ion overturned all precedents, and with
out any change in the law there has
resulted from it such an absolute re-
versal of procedure, such hardships
upon mining men, such injury to the
prospecting industry, that serious
handicap has been imposed upon the
whole mining industry.
If the Secretary of the Interior re-
fuses to reverse the ruling of the Gen
eral Land Office as to mining patents,
it will be obligatory upon the Senators
and Representatives in Congress from
all the mining States to insist upon
having the law amended so that it will
state plainly the procedure to be pur-
sued in getting mining patents, and
putting the same back upon the old
basis of actual discovery of lode in
place, the putting up of the discovery
notice, stalking Of the claim, the filing
and perfecting of the record, and the
doing of the required amount Of work
provided by law. AS to the possibil-
ity of what may be in the ground be-
yond the actual discovery, it is no part
Of the duty Of any clerk in Washing
ton 10 say what prospector or miner
shall do with respect thereto. And if
the department persists in its unfair
and practically impossible requirements,
the necessity of amending the law so
as to restore the former practice will
be imperative.
The meeting also declared in favor Of
a commission to revise the mining laws
of the United States and make such
changes in them as the practical oper-
ations in modern mining would seem
desirable
Further. the meeting declared in
favor Of asking the Secretary Of the
Interior TO establish Salt Lake City
AS the headquarters of the Government
inspectors and the mineral land depart
ment operating in the Nevada camps
All these resolutions were passed
unanimously; but there is difference
of opinion on the point whether the
mining men Of Utah should organize a
local mining association or cooperate
with the American Mining Congress.
There is a legitimate ground for op-
posing views on this point. So far as
The Tribune is concerned, we stated
at the time the headquarters OF the
Mining Congress were established In
Denver, that probably there would be
little practical benefit obtained from
that Congress TO the mining interests,
since Denver is on the extreme eastern
border Of the metal mining regions, and
probably would not be found specially
devoted to the general interests of
metal mining, We urged that the head
quarters of the Mining Congress should
be established IN Salt Lake City, which
is really the center OF the precious
metal mining industry Of the United
States II has seemed to MS every year
since. that this advice was sound. and
that the failure to follow it has resulted
disastrously TO the interests Of the
metal mining industry of the United
States We have no quarrel with the
Mining Congress as such; but TO take
an association Of this kind away from
the scene Of its operations is TO maxi
IL mere academic society in place
of practical body Utah has done It's
bes, to support that Congress and to
make il success; but tho lethargy
of the eastern wing has paraIyzed prog
ress. and the Congress is really Of
no substantial benefit TO the metal min
ing industry anywhere. Consequently.
our idea would be that it is the best
thing that Utah mining men could do
10 organize a mining association Of
their own. in order that urgent gues-
tions Of a practical nature can be dealt
with instantly and from a thorough
knowledge of the local situation and it's
needs. as cannot be done by the Mining
Congress at Denver.
We hope that the Utah mining men
viii make such showing TO the Secre-
tary of the Interior on the appeal in
the mining patent case that be will be
obliged 10 reverse the General Land
Office But in case they should fail
10 this. then it would he their duty to
get busy with all OF the members of