The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1917-01-25

AANs
Can't Endure for All Time.
Second-Aside from the uncertain
ty of the business. the mining bust
ness stands on plane peculiarly APP
plicable to it alone, because Of the ne
cessity for a complete amortization OF
capital before any return can be re-
garded as profit. II is said that enor-
nous dividends are earned by the
Butte mines, that the business is tire
mendously profitable, and such con-
clusion is readily reached from a
cursory examination of the figures.
But do you realize that, after all,
mine is like a piece of cheese. from,
which slice is taken in each days
operation; that, be the total amount
large or small there is only so much
, commercial ore existing in any de-
post or in any locality; that it is i'm
possible to either replenlsh or replace
the ore once taken from the ground?
That which has resulted from the
mysterious forces of nature working
through the countless ages of world
making, when the universe was young
and long ere mans intellect had slim
ulated activity on the globe, can not
) now be reproduced Do you realize
I that before you can, as business. pro-
position, count as profits a single dol
lar you must return to your investor
the amount which he has expended in
, L. n hof two,
! this state we believe, viii endure for
Q all time. They will serve as mediums
of transportation for people and the
: commerce of the region as long as
8 time endures. The successful manu-
facturer establishes his business and it
: runs on without diminution; persever-
Y ance increases the return and energy
! adds to and amplifies the extent of
) business done. But the greater the
+ perseverance, the greater the energy,
the more skillful the operation OF a
mine, the sooner it is completely ex-
/, hausted and all that remains is a
! cavern in hillside.
The Only Principle.
Third-But the most vital and con-
elusive argument that can be adduced
in support of the present system of
mine taxation, and that which should
absolutely in fairness defeat any 9TH
er form of tax, lies in the elemental
proposition that mining can not be
conducted upon any other principle of
taxation and succeed ! care not
what hasty and ill-eonsidered laws
have been enacted in some other
states, it is fundamentally impossible
to tax mines upon an estimated cash
valuation and not destroy the very es-
sence of the property right incidental
to their ownership. In support of this
statement it would be interesting to
go extensively into a philosophical
discussion of the principles of taxa
ton Time, however, will not permit,
i, nor do the eXigencies of this occasion,
: in my judgment, require such discus
:, sion. 1t is fundamental, however, that
taxes are and must be levied on
: wealth. II makes no difference what
> form a levy takes, it must ultimately
: rest either upon the direct or possible
:, income return that the object Of the
= levy Is capable of producing. In the
: case of farm land, for instance, the
. assessed valuation is of necessity bas-
ed upon what may be earned off of
= the land; whether it is actually earned
or not is not material so long as the
10 n1 io IL 90
thing in the way of value or is cap
able of being devoted to an improve
ment that will yield return, as real
- estate upon which buildings for BUSH
+ ness or residence purposes may be
y erected. In the case of a farm or a
= business block, no matter how often
e the same may be taxed, the body, the
a substance, the elements of value still
e remain. If the farm, by reason of i'm
\ proper cultivation deteriorates in
+ value, the assessment is likewise re-
r duced. So, too, building. But what
S ever its remaining value may be, such
/ value forms the basis of its assessed
. valuation for taxation. The property
f is never wholly consumed by taxes I'M
, less it is permitted to lie completely
} idle and devoted to no useful purpose,
1 in which case the vice is in the own
{ er, not in the system.
How Made Valuable.
| In the case of a mine, however the
5 ore in the ground is absolutely value
less, it is incapable of producing any
thing of value, nor can any susie
nance be given by it to anything,
, either vegetable or animal origin as it
exists in nature. To impart value to
ii necesstates its destruction.
, The ton of ore is only different from
J the mass of the mountain by reason
of the fact that there exists within 1t
a larger or smaller amount of metal
that is valuable in trade and useful in
the arts and industries That the rock
must be broken down from its natural
surroundings, excavated transported,
milled reduced and the product re-
fined. and finally distributed to the
markets of the world, is an apparent
proposition. Until each particular ton
of ore is reached by expensive work