Iditarod pioneer., 1914-08-29
THE MINING LAW ON
 ASSOCIATION CLAIMS
Nome Nugget

There has been considerable quiet discus sion going on among the miners of this district of the law passed by the late legis- lature compelling $500 worth of assessment work on association claims and it is ev- dently their intention that those who go to Juneau as their representatives next March will go pledged for or against the re- peal of that law. The following Is portion of a letter sent to the Nugget which may be fair sample of many others which have been received from the pioneer miners of the district, who have spent years of sacri- ice and hardships in acquiring and holding ground to find themselves now, by an act Of their own representatives, practically robbed of their holdings. The letter referred to IS in part as follows:
 By the way, Is there no movement on foot in Nome for the repeal of that obnox- lous law passed by the late unlamented legis- lature compelling $500 worth of assessment work on an association claim of 160 acres, as applied to old stakings? Applied to new staklngs no objections can be made to the law, but 1t Is contiscaton of poor mans ground, who can only earn a few hundred dollars during the summer to enable him to sink a few holes in the winter"
 Judge Lindley, commenting on the act of the Alaska legislature, said: "The validity of this provision of the requiring $100 worth of work for each twenty acres of placer loca- tlon, especially in the case of those located prior to this enactment, will doubtless be seriously questioned. The federal statutes tsection 2324 Rev St. provides not less than S10O worth of labor shall be per formed annually. Congress could without much doubt, increase the requirement, and ln the absence of such action by congress, why may not the legislature of the state or territory increase this amount?" Judge Llndley thus indicates that in his opinion the law will hold and IS in conformity to the provisions of the federal statute
 But the provision of the United States statutes permitted the stalking of the 1G0- acre tracts and provided for the amount of assessment work, fixing the amount at $l00 Many claims have been staked under this law, and many claims purchased by the mining men who expected that the law un- der which they stalted and purchased was a guarantee of their title. There are many eases where men have spent years of time and their money prospecting and develop ing these properties to finally find that their labor and capital invested and years of struggle have ended in nothing because their legislators i'll their wisdom took upon themselves, unsolicited and prompted only by sense of their own superiority over the men who elected them without cen SultatiOn with their constituents or the best interests of the country, cOnfsCated their holdings. Miners throughout Seward benin &ua are asking why our members of the late legislature unsolicited saw fit to confs- cate the holdings of miners which repre- Senred years of sacrifice, expense and labor and for what purpose?
 The law may have been bad in thfe frs; instance 1t may even have led to many | abuses i'll the past and may have needed many amendments. but these considerations are not grounds for our legislators passing 3 law which destroys long acquired property rights regardless of the injury to the hcld CTS who, in many instances at least have spent the best years of their lives in ac quIrlng It would be curious to know how many of CUT members of the last legislature held interests in 160-acre tracts of possible dredging ground, or how many of them have been struggling for years to comply with the law by doing annual assessment work or ever have, as many miners have done, work all summer and sink prospect hcles on their property during the winter at an expense of their summer earnings? We venture the assertion that not one mem Der who voted for the bill which practically ccnhscates the poor mans ground has ever acquired ground by location or purchase or held his ground by assessment work unless he be some fortunate member who has ac- quired a competency and can escape the rigors of lis own law by patenting his hold | lngS.
 Judge LindIey asks why may not Iagis lature pass such an act, but the miners are asking why, if the government could but would not pass such an act and did permit the miners to hold placer mining properties for ten and more years, why, they ask, did those members of our legislature see fit to pass the law which practically conhScates tbn rorOnartiaS Of their constituents