The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1915-03-12
A WARM COME BACK
Editor Oroville Gazette;

| to your valuable paper it was inevitable
| that your leading editorial of the last is
sue should be read and appreciated APP
preciated for the reason that whatever
you write is readable and when l happen
| to have a close personal acquaintance
with the unfortunate mining operator
whom you, taking your text from the Re
| public Journal proceed to castigate.
| knowing this man so well, knowing
his motives, his ambitions, his methods.
| the details of his efforts, l am, as a by
stander, prepared to say something in his
| behalf. knowing fun well that he viii not
| himself do so.
| Let us go back some four or 1--WE years
and inspect Republic camp at the time
| this operator began his nefarious work.
| You will remember that not one miner
| was working in the camp, the grass was
| knee deep between the ties OF the Great
| Northern's spur TO the mines. As is the
| case today the principal mines were own
| ed by Spokane people or people elsewhere
OF ample means but OF no faith and no
| energy. From this time up to the near
present the history of Republics activity,
its annual output of gold siver-given
| by the government reports tsee geological
survey at about - per cent of the
| satae's output, grew as the result of the
directing efforts of this same incompet-
cnt and criminally ambitious operator.
| Putting aside the results from the mines
of interests originally helped and inspired
by this same man, the record shows that
while during the period in question he
| brought some 5000, 10000 dollars into
| the camp from outside sources, he pro-
duced from the mines, from the ground,
.trtl cd
| these dollars back to the public. 1t is
true he kept little or none for himself,
| There was reason He never invited
anyones money into his enterprises that
he did not at the same time stake the en-
| trety of his resources, whatever it may
have been. on the issue with them. At
all times the guiding ambition in connec-
ton with his work at Republic was to
bring about the erection of a large re-
duction plant and the coincident mining
of tonnage on a large scale. Republic
| hardly has an equal in all the west in
| the potential value of its ore bodies. 1t
is man-size camp and can only come
into its own when supplied with the
| equipment for large operations, This
| man, pictured in so sinister a light by
| the valuable Gazette, struggled always
/ to this end. What were the conditions,
J the obstacles surrounding the effort?
| What of management? The Gazette re-
pcats with suspicious precision that par
rot cry about management 1t sounds
| like something this man has heard
| before and | venture to say he
| could point to one of the Gazettes
local citizens as the source of much of
| the inspiration of the Gazette's attitude
| on that point, for the Gazette is ignorant
| of how expert is this same local citizen
| in slipping out from under responsibility
when the clouds loom up and how equally
| expert in working his way to the front
when emoluments are on tap: What is
| the best test of management? is it the
| conduct of routine when things are run
| ming smoothly? Or is it the ability to
| meet the supreme test when everything is
going badly and hell is to pay? Can you
| imagine it an easy task to go into camp
| like Republic when the camp is a joke
| and when your references to il brings
laugh in your face and out OF this initial
| condition, surrounded by business and
| banking interests never in sympathy with
] the mines, by jealousy, greed, malice,
weighted down by past mill and mine
| failures, foreign ownership Of mines, eX-
| acting bonds. and out of all this ruck
and by an outside investment of less
than ten per cent make such a condition
yield back to the public two millions of
dollars? Is that an example of poor man
| aeement?
Now, for a few questions. No fair
minded editor would cruelty a fellow cit
| lien as you have this mine operator with
| out having knowledge OF the facts. There
| fore. I assume you have gone to the
| trouble of looking into the record of the
Western Union Mines. This being so why
did YOU not state that the late embarass-
ment of that company grew out OF the
failure of the eastern interests to carry
out their agreement? Why did you not
state that prior to the pay day preceding
the one defaulted, the eastern interests
took over the management made that
pay day on their own initiative and had
absolute control of the company's affairs
at least a month before the defauted pay
day? They have had that control and
have it now. With your complete know
ledge of the facts why did you not state
that during this mine operators manage
ment Of the company, its affairs were on
Il cash basis. and that only when booze
and buncombe climbed into the saddle.
did its troubles begin? Why did you not
state that on top of a defaulted pay roll
these same eastern interests defaulted a |
five thousand dollar accepted draft at a |
Spokane bank. These are little matters |
perhaps and their recital would have mar
red the continuity of your castgation |
Still you can not lay claim to ignorance |
Of them without convicting yourself of an |
objectionable injustice.
| am in a position to know that man
1t has long been the habit of a diversity
Of interests to fasten their failures and |
shortcomings upon this mine operator.
He is to blame Of course for the temper
airy embarassments to his efforts in the
Orovile district. Undoubtedly it was his
general cussedness that started the
European war and shot the bottom out OF
the metal market. 1t is a convenient
thing for any mining community to have
a goat In your own neighborhood. Mr.
Editor, the past few months, you have
had several mine failures or fiascos Do
you mention them? Do you pllory the
parties responsible? Have you mining
man in your town or in your county who
has in fact made good to the degree that
you imply this mine operator should to
avoid being a failure? You have men |
over there who have taken more money
from the public and returned less. 1 am
glad for this mine operator that YOU are
giving them n chance. They are deserv-
ing men; they are carrying heavy burd