The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1914-05-28


velopment of enterprises in which
gold and silver were technically by
products really increased the produC-
ton of those metals. 1t is both in
structive and amusing TO read the ut
terances of the prophets of the last
quarter of the 10Th century, concern
ing the future of gold and silver. our
wise predictions We're nullied. not so
much by the discoveries of new pro-
ducing districts, as by the new eXper
mental Illustration of the old old
general truths, that the existence OF
a bonanza of very rich ore may. and
generally does, indicate the presence
of much larger amount of low grade
stuff, which, being temporarily too
poor to pay, is either not mined at all
or rejected after mining; ,na> the
barren ground and the Vase dumpS
of one period may be the mines of the
next. and that he who. by utilizing
neglected constituents, or reducing the
costs of mining, etc, enlarges the
class of workable ores in an old dis
trict may have performed a service
equivalent to the discovery Of many
new ones.
(d). This wonderful advance In the
exploitation of low grade ores newt
ably diminished to some extent the
Importance of the old fashioned pros
pector whose business was to find out
crops, make small surface develop
ments and sell out to promoters, on
the basis of sample assays. Invest
ors no longer cared so much for rich
assays they wanted large masses of
low grade, and a secure title, neither
Of which the ordinary prospector
sequently more and more a mere
scout whose first discovery was only
a call for further investigation by
biologists, lawyers, practical engin
GERS, etc. before even the promoter. to
say nothing of the actual investor
would take up in earnest the proposed
adventure. Moreover, the great min
ing concerns employed their own
scouts and the old fashioned prospec-
tor operating on his own account, was
almost left out of the new system. He
has now well nigh passed away, as
have passed many other free lances
Of the vanguard Of progress. We may
sympathize with him, but he had to
go
been profoundly affected by industrial
progress. The ore deposits Of great
est Importance were very different
from the comparatively narrow and
we'll defined gold veins of California
and silver veins Of Nevada, which the
law makers had had chiefly In view;
and the provisions Of the law were
applied with difficulty to the great ore
bodies in the blanket lodes, chambers
and mineral bearing zones of Utah,
Colorado and Arizona. Vast sums
We're squandered in litigation before
even the meaning of the terms in the
statute defining the extralateral right
could be fixed by the U. S. supreme
court.
Meanwhile the owners Of large min
ing properties have learned to protect
themselves by executing mutual quit
claim deeds or side line agreements
with neighbors, or by purchasing out
right such adjoining territory as
threatens future conflict Of title. In
fine, the volume and cost Of mining
litigation has been greatly reduced
though the expense and difficulty of
perfecting title by patent is still too
great and the nature of such title too
indefinite. This improvement in tho
situation, being largely due to the
practical abolition Of the extralateral
right by agreements between neigh
bors, Is an argument rather for the
repeal than for the continuance Of
that feature of the land laws.
Indeed, all the changes in the stua =
ton above enumerated seem to me to
call for such a repeal, even at this late
day. But there is new factor which
may greatly hinder that simple and
obvious reform. | refer to the move
ment for an entirely different treat
ment Of what are called national re-
sources. 1t seems likely that any at
tempt to amend the law of the apex
will be seized as an occasion for pro-
posing to abolish altogether the sys-
tenn under which, for half century,
the public mineral as well as agricul-
tural lands have been sold to cittzens
President Taft, it Is true, in public
address advocating the operation Of
coal mines and water powers under
federal leases, disclaimed the inten-
ton Of altering in this respect the
laws concerning other mining titles
which he said were working well
enough already! But President Tafts
limited outlook and moderate sugges-
tons will not satisfy the partisans OF
the new nationalsm. In my recent
paper, cited above. / have discussed
this question and must reserve further
statements concerning it, including re-
plies to criticisms Of that paper, for