The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1921-08-25
Thursday, August %, 1921.
HOW THE PRosPEcToR STANDS
ON THE APEX LAW.

Now that the proposed revision Of
the mining laws is up to congress- the
subject is being discussed with in
creasng interest. particularly that
provision Of the bill which would
double the size OF mining claims, ma
king them square, and which would
nit the claim owner having the apex
of vein to follow it on its dip be-
has already progressed to a point
that leaves no doubt that these pro-
visions are soiiis 10 receive strong
opposition, and it is believed that this
opposition will attract the support of
many who have not heretofore given
much attention to the subject, and
TINS class probably represents the
majority OF those Interested in min
ing They have generally given little
attention to the subject because the
change has been agitated for so many
years without creating any general
interest that it was assumed that it
would probably never be forced to an
issue. Now that committee of dis
tinguished engineers have prepared
revision bill which included the re-
peal of the apex law and are endeav-
oring to force it through congress, the
tagging interest in the subject is be-
ginning to become more assertive and |
the opponents of repeal are just now |
having their inning 1t now seems |
probable that the authors of the |
measure. in their efforts to determine /
sentiment regarding the apex law.
gave too little attention to the atti-
tude of the prospectOr. the man who
finds the mines. locates the claims
and who win hardly agree that the
surface lines of his claim should mark
the limit of his right to the vein he
has discovered perhaps after many
years hardship. privation and unre-
warded EFFORT His attitude is well
stated by John f. Davis of San Fran
cisco. in letter published in the Mi
ming and Scientific Press of August
20. an extract from which follows:
After all. no matter how hon
estly the advocates of the two
systems contend. the conclusions
reached depend largely upon the
point of view. The large mine
operator, who buys and opens, il
but who does not discover or 10 h
cate, mines. upon whose shoulders
falls the burden of the costs of
litigation-he, with his lawyers
and his surveyors and his experts. il
usually leans toward the square e.
location The prOspector and the II
discoverer feels in his every fibre g.
no matter what fictitious sacred
ness judicial construction of the az
statute may have thrown about 81
the idea of the surface. that the al
lode itself is the only real prop
erty. as it is the only thing he
has been hunting, and when he
finds the lode his desire TO stay
with it till it reaches helr is
passion that can not be under
stood by one who has never own
ed lode mine and worked in it, la,
or who has never lived in a min
ing community. The discoverer an
is not Of the class that has usual or
~ had to bear the costs of mighty 40
lawsuits. and therefore he loses
no sleep over the possible litiga- 0'
ton. And. even if he does take me
the chance of losing the mine. he ex
is willing to do so with the same we
with which he spent an
the greater part of his life on the
chance of finding it. AS long as ace
the law recognizes his right he is the
willing to take his chances Of be- ane
ng able to hold on to the lode 3,
He has long learned to look upon
mining with the same game phil 'oH
,sophy with which John Oakhurst enc
ooked upon life: as at best an thin
Uncertain game, and TO recognize hor
he usual percentage in favor Of ~,
he dealer" ''e
and