Bisbee daily review., 1914-09-27

EXPERT SAYS ABSURD LAWS WOULD HAMPER
 MINING FOR ARIZONA
Secretary WalCott of American Mining Congress Calls Atten-
 ton To Initiated Measure
 Harmful To Our Industry

Harmful To Our Industry
 PHOEN1X., |, Sept 20. Mine taxation and mining ihgestments will the prin cipal subjects under discussion at the annual convention of the American Mining Congress. to be held in Phoe- nix, December to n, according to E. l.. Wolcot the national secretary, who is now here making preliminary arrangements for the gathering
 "The question of how mines shall be taxed is uppermost wherever min ing is a leading industry" Mir. Vol colt said. Tin my own state of Col. orado we have a mine tax law that is far from satisfactory and which in my opinion. is hampering the industry to great degree Here is Arizona you tax mbines on four times their net output plus l2 1-2 per cent of the gross and the physical value of im- provements. Unquesuonably your law is more favorable Co the mine operator and owner than is our Colorado stat ute. but ! cannot secure any accurate idea as to just how it works out. Some of your mining men say that they are satisfied with it and other claim u'at it imposes an unjust bur den upon them.
 Al any rate, you rmine tax law eX pires on the first of the year and a new one must be enacted. We will have al least 1900 delegates in the congress and the ideas they expound should prove of great value when the time comes to frame the measure.
 "I hove been speculating on the ef- 1 feet tle Australian tax bill. initiated Fly he people Of Arizona and Co be submitted to The voters at the No | vember election. win affect the min ing industry if it is made 9 law. To understand just how it can be put in- ,o effect in any state where mining | figures as an important industry is ] beyond me That it will result in end. , less confusion and litigation I am | sure Mine owners. as class, want ;o pay just and proper taxes and do not want to be put to the trouble of fighting any such statute through tho | courts.
 The Australian tax bill is to give | the state the right to buy any proper | ty at the valuation returned for taxa tion purposes by its owner My per. sonal opinion Is that that would be confscation. and under the United 1 States constitution no mans property ! can be confscated
 Almost any mine owner who SO desires can escape taxation u9der the Australian system. The man who owns prospect can return a value of S5 on his property well knowing ] that the state never will begin the purchase of prospect holes. even at ! 80 apiece And the big man. with a , property worth millions, can return his mine at a fraction of its value, well knowing that the state never will have the money to buy it even at the reduced figure, or money .o operate it after it is purchased.
 As said before. it is practically impossible to apply the Australian ! system to mines But the eighty per cent law can be applied and it would kin the industry in my opinion.
 "Thcre are few American under ground miners. Perhaps there are more in Arizona than in other west ern states, but the Americans are far outnumbered by the foreigners. even here If you force mine opera tors to employ eighty per cent Am. erican citizens many of them simply will have to close down because they will be unable to secure men to do the underground work
 "One of the problems of the Ameri. can mining congress is to restore the [ confidence of the public in legitimate mining Investments Working in this direction, we have pretty we'll put the wildcatter out of business. If Arizona wants to attract outside capital she must not hamper her chief industry ] by absurd laws"
 Mir Wolcott is sending invitations to 4,OQ0 western mine operators to attend the congress. He looks forward - to a highly successful session