The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1916-06-01

land collections are prompt There are
three banks, one strictly local and two
branches of larger institutions in Phoe'
Ink and Kingman. Oatman has cleo
Itric lights, Postal and Western Union
telegraph, local and long distance tele-
,phone service, three hotels, numerous
Irooming houses, two weekly newspap-
lers, two first class moving picture
Ishows, several restaurants, one With
Ian orchestra, dance floor and near cab
Iaret, roof garden and men $ social
club.
The residents have been too busy 10
get together and incorporate a city
but the business and social welfare Is
overseen by the Oatman District Cham
Der of Commerce, which has $50 mem
bers and a very much on-the-job sec
rotary. Through its efforts the town
has been equipped by means of private
Subscription with water system with
| fire plugs and volunteer fire depart
ment with hose cart and chemical en-
CINE. The locality is naturally healthy
and to keep 1t so the Chamber of Com
merce has distributed garbage cans and
disinfectants to the residents, calling
their attention to a state law enJoining
the use of such representatives. of dis
ease.
AS soon as Oatman realized that 1t
was shooting out of Its knickerbockers
it took steps to make city of itself.
trail in a gully with buildings every
which way Now it is a four-rod, sur
faced street with the buildings bearing
at least semblanee of alignment
There are several three story houses,
and some of the office buildings have
a neat stucco finish. The town Is sup
piled with good water from springs,
which is pumped to large tanks at an
elevation sufficient to give ample pres
sure for fire protection The supply Is
sufficient for a town of 5000, and other
sources are available from which the
total supply obtained would answer to
twice that number.
A BoozeIess Boom.
Oatman is dry and is glad of 1t, not
Withstanding a recent Supreme Court
decision, holding that one could bring
liquor into the state, providing he did
not sell it. Arizona has started out to
prove that prohibition can be made to
prohibit. Needles, Cal, is only 20 miles
distant, with liquor galore, but in four
days in a real mining camp | saw only
two cases of intoXication, both slight,
end | know that one of them came from
Needles.
There are two police officers in the
camp, deputy sheriff and a night
Waterman. The deputy has about as
easy job as any one in the district
his most strenuous duties being to keep
he traffic moving, and the night watch
man was engaged only April / as a
precaution against fires.
| learned of only one ease of claim
jumping, which was settled amieably
There have been only two public fights
II the last four months and not shoot
ing scrape since the newcomers came
In. One of the most peaceabe men in
the place has been known as a notori-
Gus gunman through many of the boom
camps of recent years. Not feeling at
all properly dressed without his Colts
and learning that he could not pack
the sheriff only to be told that there
was nothing doing. SO like all the rest
lie goes about his business without his
irons and finds that he has no use
or them in this model community.
Attempt has been made to inject
touch of high life in the district at 40
Camp" about half mile from Oat-
man. Here there is dance hall with
the usual appurtenances, but pretty
tame affair and the strongest you can
buy your lady is "Tally-Guaranteed no
alcohol. If there is game of stud,
faro layout or a roulette wheel in the
camp, only the initiated know the trail
and they are not telling it, The streets
are alive in the early evening, but
about the time the movie show let's out
the lights are dimmed and there is a
general movement towards bed, to be
ready for another day.
All these restrictions have a very i'm
portant bearing on the great Industrial
problem. This was sized up very terse-
ly by one of the older residents of the
camp. The conversation had turned
toward the possibility of labor trouble,
when he said: We'll. you know that a
miner is a natural born spender He
has to spend his money for something.
Up here he can't put it into booze or
over the table, so he Is investing in
stocks in these mines, and these fellows
aren't going to be in a hurry to start
that will hit their own pock-
etbooks unless they have a real griev-
ance"
/ learned by inquiry that this state
ment was true and that an unusually
large number of men, especially the old |