Valdez daily prospector., 1914-02-05
THURSDAY, FEBRU ,, 1914
A DIFFERENCE IN SYSTEMS


 While there are some things about the Canadian mining laws which do not appeal to Alaskans, it must be admitted that the system of record ing which is in general use on the other side of the line is far superior to our own. The Canadians have been on the constant lookout for oppor- tunities to improve their laws, and during the years which have elapsed since the discovery of the Klondike, a system of recording has been evolv- ed which leaves little to be desired. The government is ready at all times to supply recorders for new districts and they usually are among the first on the ground with full supply of stationery and an intimate knowledge of their duties.
 When stalker applies for a claim in Yukon territory, he receives imme- diately a receipt for cash paid to the recorder, and, if the claim is open to record, he receives within a few days a certificate of lease, common ly known as a grant. The grant is made in duplicate, one copy going to the stalker, one to tbe Dawson office, and the third to the federal seat of government. Under that system, it is impossible to lose the records, and the territorial or federal government is at all times in a position to check up the work of any recorder.
 Another attractive feature of the Canadian recording system is the ease with which the history of claims may be traced. Every man who stakes and applies for claim, and is given a grant to the same, has assigned in the office of the recorder full page for the consecutive entry of sub particular claim. And once a stalker has been given his grant, it requires rlore than an ordinary case of jump ing to get the claim away from him. The prospector and bona fide discov erer knows, when he gets his grant, that the Canadian government is be- hind him and that he will be pro,ec ted so long as he complies with the requirements of the law
 One of the chief objections to the system in Alaska is the incompe- tence'of the recorders. Men ire qudntly receive. appointments who do not know. the first thing about keep ing the records required of them, while others abuse their authority by practicing petty grafts- upon those who have claims to record Like the commissioners, they are expected to depend upon the receipts of their office for their salaries. and in some ei the recording districts the leg1tf- mate income allowed by the govern ment leaves mulch to*{be .desired in the way of compensation. It is a temptation to burden the prospector with extra expense-a condition which would be rare if recorders were provided with regular salaries and selected with a due regard for abil- ity and integrity, rather than for convenience of residence and will ingness to serve. A recorder should be sure of at least enough to make it worth his while to remain con- stantly at his post, for an absent re corder is worse than none at all. It frequently has happened in the past in some, if not all, of the districts Of Alaska that prospectors have travelled hundreds of miles to record their claims, only to find, upon arrival at the office of the recorder, that he was not at home. Salaried record CTS should be required to remain on duty. for then there would be no need for them to search elsewhere for funds to fill their larders.--Fair- banks Times.
 An eminent French scientist rec