The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1928-05-25
On This
Occasion
Just few thoughts by the Editor on things
Material and Immaterial.

Material and 1mmaterial. 80
Dad" Lammon, over at Coleraine,
an authority on everything piscatorial,
went fishing the other day and the
result of his catch was column IN the
Iron News telling how the pike show :
ed a lack of appreciation OF Dads
efforts in their behalf and refused tc
be caught The pike of the lakes
around here probably belonged to the
same union as the Coleraine pike and
had gone on strikelesS strike. No
heavy catches were reported for the
week end. This is accounted for Ill
the lateness of the season as this noble
fish was busy with his spawning and
accommodating a family up to the last
Sunday. After reading Dads" edi-
torial mention of the pike it will
be somewhat of slam on us writer's
if Mr.. Pike and his lady fail to fall
for the nice fat minnow or the pork
rind on the occasion of his next trip.
In his editorial, Lammon shows his
insight into things when his authorl-
tive pen became mixed up with the
evolution theory in the following
Back few hundred trillion years ago
man was supposed to have been moth
ing better than a SpineleSS tadpole
whose home was the great seas that
then largely covered the earth. Feed
ing on these tadpoles were great snakes
and Lizards and bloodSuckers and
sharks. The tads had to do SOME
thing and do it right smart and so they
hiked for shore closely pursued. Here
they divided into two great groups:
One was bull frogs which developed
great hind legs and the other group
became monkeys. The crocodlleS
pressed the frogs so hard, biting OH
their tails, that by and by frogs lost
that adornment. The monkey group
of course was driven to the trees where
they used to hang by their tails and
laugh at the serpents. Back in the sea
were certain choice vitamineS which
was missed by the more intelligent
monkeys and the drawer of these would
make a foray down on the sea, glom-
ing on a fresh mackerel or sea trout.
They got rather clever at this, and
using their noodle developed them from
monkeys into men. Those who refused
to fish still remain monkeys. This Is
the history of evolution. Man still
bankers for the product of the sea.
When he gets fish hungry he must
fish"
Announcement has been made that
the final hearing in the Backus dam
project will probably be held next taIl
as the engineers report which was eX-
pected July l, has been delayed by the
illness of Mr. Scovil, Canadian en-
gineer Along with this announcement
also comes the news that nearly 500
property oyners on the American
shores of Lake of the Woods have hled
claims against the government for APP
proximately $4,000 for damages be-
cause of the flooding of the lands
caused by the building of the Kenora
dam by the Backus interests. Pur-
chase of easements for future flood
ing of lands because of this dam will
bring the total damages up to $780,
600. The dam was built in 1893 and
the first appeal of property owners
for damages was made in 1895. Since
that time the payment has hung fire
If this matter is taken under con-
sideration. when will the damages be
paid for the inundation of lands and
the destroying of farms, timber and
settlers cabins on the proposed big dam
project now under consideration
whereby the whole border country is
to be made an ocean by Mr.. Backus
and the power interests? If it takes
the government 80 years to pay
$4,000 how long will it take to pay
several millions in damages to some
hundred thousand acres of land to be
flooded? After the construction OF
the dams for the benefit of the Backus
power interests at the expense OF the
government, and for no particular use
of the power at present, Mr.. Backu;
has kindly stipulated that as fast as
the power is used, he will pay SO pei
cent of the cost of construction based
on the amount off power used. This
may sound alluring to some but tt
us it sounds like so much buncombS
The Rainy River settlers who were
flooded out by the building of the
Kettle Falls dam some fifteen year:
ago can tell you how much they re-
ceived as damages. The last accoun
we had of, the matter was that no
a red had been collected or paid.
1t was indeed a sad sight to Sc
three young men in the prime of thei
youth laying side by side at the Fensk
undertaking rooms Tuesday morning
All outstanding young men, glowin
with vitality, unceremoniously calle'
hence by downing either Sunda
night or Monday morning while on
fishing trip. Many visitor to tn
scene dropped tears with heavy hear
over the unfortunate affair and sym
pathy for the surviving loved one
is general. Ely was hard hit Satur
day and Sunday when four lives wer
snuffed out by accidents.
The Supreme Court has announce
the execution of Hickman, the self
confessed murderer of the Parker gil
in California is indefinitely postpone
and that it will get around to the ap
peal as soon as possible. The mora