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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (March 8, 1910)
THE atEDFORD 3VIAIL TRIBUNE, MEDlruflD, OREGON, TUESDAY, MA.ROH 8, 1910. & GIVE THEIR SIDE Noted Fight Between Miners and timber Men Is Reviewed by Min ing Hen Denounce Eddy's Decis ion as Unfair. To the Editor; Wc have hhd so many inquiries from nrosncetors and miners of Jnckson, Joscphino and Siskiyou counties about .or cases, Buck & Sul . livan vs. Smith and Buck & Sullivan vs. -McKonnn, involving timber and mineral claims, and the cases having aused such widespread attention throuRhout Southern Oregon and Northern California, that we would leg Space in your valuable paper to present the facts of our enscs to the interested public. Theso cases are the outcome- of the location of timber entries on the south half of section 6, township 41 south, range 3 west, upon which wo bad sir mining clnims located at the time. At our hearing before Com missioner Briggs at Ashlaud we in troduced sufficient evidence to con--vince any fair-minded man that wo had valid mining claims, according to the United States minln" laws, on the locution of quartz mining claims, In nrViioh iho onlv remrirement'oxnet- . i i 1 j... I en oi a locator is mm ue uiusi u.c mineral bearing ledge in place. In our testimony we showed that we had complied with all the laws, lo cal and government, in regard to lo--cating, staking "and required assess ment work. According to the law governing limber locations, an applicant must swear to a non-tnincrni affidavit and that there are no adverse claira- ants upon tho tract Now, upon ono af these quarter sections in question i ire showed two well-defined Gosson- capped ledges in place from 30 to 50 feet in width, and with a strong out-1 crop across nlmost the entire tract upon which wo had located four claims, one of which, the John L., lind been located four years, on which were- threo tunnels, totaling about 1$ feet of work, and three hnd "been located about three months at the time of the timber entry. Upon -each was a freshly posted notice and a 4x12x6 discovery cut, required by Oregon state law, and six square stakes, four feet high, making a to tal of 24 stakes and seven open cnts and tunnes with center lines blazed through entire length of claims. Now, the law requires the timber applicants to thoroughly examine the i UCK SULLIVAN land before making application. With all this evidence upon the surface, would it seem possible that a party of men could thoroughly examine this land and not know that it was mineral land, and that there were ad--verse claimants upon it T We herewith give a copy of the decision rendered by Mr. Eddy of the local land office, involving the -claims above mentioned: "The testimony shows that there lias been some prospecting for min eral upon the land, and some small excavations have been made, but there is nothing in evidence to show the discovery of valuable minerals. A considerable portion of the testi mony relative to the mineral discov ered on other premises and on behalf o protestants, the theory is ndynnc ed .that the surface indications are the same on this land, and therefore , -they, expect tb find mineral by fnr "ther explodation. Even exhibit of ore introduced in the case comes from other lands and not from the 'land in controversy. It is claimed thnt the land in controversy bears the same mineral belt on which are situated valuablo deposits of mineral at other points. It is admitted, how over, that there is not a paying mine on tho alleged mineral belt. The tes timony shows that tho land is valu able for its timber and is unques tionably of the character which is intended to be entered under the tim ber and stone act. Wo are therefore of the opinion that the protest ought to uo dismissed." This decision as it stands is an in suit to our lawmakers and the prac ticnl miners and prospectors of the country, and retards tho development of the mineral resources of the whole United States, innsmuch as it annuls our congressional mining laws nnd practically invalidates every pros pect in tne country that is not on a paying basis, while ns yet we had shown no ore on tho ledges in nues tion, we produced evidence showing that theso great bodies of gosson were nt ono time bodies of sulphide eopper ore, which has been leached to unknown dopths. By tho intro duction as evidonco, samples of sul phide copper ores nnd the gosson oppjng thereof from adjoining ledges in this belt, as mentioned in the deoision, Bhowing tho surface to fee identically the same, and thus practically proved by this and other testimonv wherever the goson and leached surface copping had been penetrated, as in tho Blue Lodge and mnny othor places in this belt, that our labors had been rewarded by finding sulphide ores of good copper values. Now, with all of this and much other evidence of n practical nature, which space will not permit us to submit, it is a mystery to the miners of this section just what in fluence caused Mr. Eddy to como to tho conclusion that we were working upon a "theory" that the claims in quostioh had the same surface indi cations as other claims in this bait. and thnt tho Bluo Ledge ooiror heit is au "alleged" mineral bolt." Within the past year, and since tho date of Mr. Eddy's infamous decision, wo have discovered upon the Great Eas teni, and are at the present time de veloping an ore body more than 30 feet in width, showing good copper and gold values, samples of winch may bo seen in tho Exhibit building nt aiedford. This claim is located on the samo ledge and in the same section, one-quarter mile north of the John L. claim of tho contested gronpl We have held this claim since 1002, and the discovery is tho result of seven years of practical experi ence and intelligent prospecting. This ore was found under identically the same surface indications ns the claims Appropriated by tho timber locators, and nails Mr. Eddy to the cross' wherein he accuses us of work ing upon "theories" and "alleged mineral indications." In tho decision of tho general land office. Washington, D. C, in affirm ing Mr. Eddy's decision, it sny3: "At the hearinir several witnesses testified for the protestnnts to the effect that two ontcroppings of gos san were found in the land in ques tion, both of which were covered hv locations owned by protestants; thnt the said outcrops were traced across this land for a distance of half a mile or more to the north in each case', and that good showings of cop per and gold were found on two cor- tain groups of claims at the points indicated to the north. Further, that the land in question is in a mineral belt extendimr all the way from sec- tion 4 of this township and range across sections 5 and 6. It was ad mitted by these claimants that no paying mines were in operation in any of this mineral belt, although pay ore had been found in some places, and it was contended thnt the reason that tho paying mines had not been developed was because of lack of transportation facilities." Tho prospectors and miners are not, as a general rule, millionaires Eden Valley Orchard John D. EXHIBIT BUILDING consequently he cannot build a smel ter to treat his ore. Then must he lose his years of hard work and his mines by a ruling of the interior de partment f There is nothing in tho congressional mining laws that will sustain tho decisions handed down by tho interior department. Tho Bluo Lcdgo miuo, in this samo mineral belt, has boon under devel opment about ton years. They have millions of dollars' worth of ore in sight, but it is not a paying mine, And will not bo until thoy build a smelter to treat tho ore. If tho Blue Ledge was not on the forest reserve it could bo located nud hold by tho titubor applicants on the ground that it is not a paying mine. "He further says," wituossos tes tified for tho protestnnts, "that on tho easterly portion of tho southwest quarter of section 6 there was an outcrop of gosson extending across the quarter section, nnd that it could be traced u distance of about n mile leading in n southwest direction to a point whoro a good showing of gold and copper has been developed, nud s being worked on tho sarao indica tions as thoso found on this tract." "Tho witnesses for tho timbor claimants, while admitting that there is au outcropping of iron stained rock, state that this is not an indi cation of mineral thnt would warrant development; that it s but tho com mon county rook of tho region, nnd that it is not usual to dovclop tho ore bodies from such surface indica tions in thnt locality." We havo in this Bluo Ledso copper belt developed good coppor ore in nt least a dozen different places on our claims underneath this samo "com mon country iron-stained rock." The surface indications of tho Bluo Ledge, tho Copper King, Bloomfiold, Cook & Green, Euolid, Sullivan group, First National, Ilctchel mine, Now Albins, Spotted Horse, Iron ITand, Gold Bar, Great Eastern, Blue Ledge extension, New London, Sugar Pino and scores of othor mines wo could mention in this belt, where copper ore has been developed under this worthless "iron-stnincd common country rock." What does: tho timber shark know about tho in- dicntions that lead to ore in this1 belt? But it seems thnt the interior i department takes their word in pref erence to men who make a business of prospecting nnd mining nnd who' have developed ore under tho idonti-l cal surface indications that is men tioned in tho above decision. Is this confiscation of tho miner's rights nnd property T This is the question staring ns in tho face as wc read tho. is sub-divided in tracts from 30 to 100 acres. This is some of the . finest land in the Rogue River Valley, within two miles of the city of Medf ord. The trees are of the best varities of apples"and pears, all in bearing at the present time.iTheage of the trees run from six to twenty years. We are able to supply people with whatever they may desire in the best bearing orchards in ifte valley, near the city of Medf ord -1 : fpor fuu particulars call on decisions of the interior department officials in every part of tho coun try, which are almost unnnlmously in favor of tho timbor men and ngniiwt the minor. But when wo oon.iitlor Hint tho department officials nro quali fied to interpret all tho points of our laws nnd to intelligently weigh tho testimony, and such evidence as above given is case aside by thorn as having no weight, and our good Inws under which wo locnto and work our claims, ovory not of which wo havo complied with, nro brushed aside by a decision thnt is an insult to ait intelligent pcopde. When wo calmly consider nil of tho nbovo points and seo titubor locators nnd aruisorH go upon tho stand and commit them selves to rank perjury without fear hnd when orui"ora toll our neighbors that wu nro throwing away our la bors; that we will lose all our claims and that it is useless for us to tnnko a fight; when wo consider tho above points and mnny more which nro forced upon us, wo can como to no othor conclusion than thnt tho tim bor barons are in collusion with the interior department officials in an effort to got control of nil tho avail able government land, regardless of its character, and that tho interior department is rotton from bend to foot, and wo boliovo that wo voioo tho sentiment of tho whole people when we contend that tho only way to purify it is not by n doublo coat of whitewash, but by nn honest in vestigation and by kicking out tho polluted officials. When we carried our appeal up to Washington wo wroto Senator Bourne, Senator Chamborlnin, also Representative Hawloy, and begged them ns an act of justice to uso thoir iufluenco to sco that our mining laws were uphold, nnd Mr. Hawloy was tho only ono who responded, ne assured us that ho was doing nil ho could for us. To sit holplossly by and sco onr favorite pronpects stolen and our work confiscated nnd our cherished hopes wrecked by n thiov ing gang of timber sharks makes us sick nt heart with discouragemont. But wo must prepare ourselves for DRIVERS: that know the country SllS-that cover the country QUICKLV AND WITH COMk MIT FOO.NI A PARLOW & DOWM.VG, mOMUETOnS. . WEST SIDE STABLES PnO.VE 2431 8. QltAPIS STItHKT Olwell tho inevitable tho proppoutor nut it Wo would liko to havo all nowspu pers interested' In tho mineral to souroos of tho country to plouso copy. Wo would liko for all pron pectors and minors who hnvo hnd trouble with timbor locators to write us tho facts of their cases. BUCK & SULLIVAN, Watklns, Or. S. P. Hotel at Pelican Bay. (Ivkatuutu Exnrow.) Tito Southern I'nclfln will erect a Biuniuor resort hotol thin sontton contlnj; between' $20,000 nnd $30,000 on Ilnrrlmnn'H Pelican bay property. Tho hotel will ho located on tho hill sldo Just cast ot Pelican lodge, tho country homo ot tho Into 10. II, Ilnrrt mnn. It la expected to hnvo tho hotol finished) by October I next nud to hnvo It rendy tor thu Hcnnon of 1011. Thla move Indicates thnt tho Southorn J'nclflc contpnny rocoiinUos' tho ICInntnth country as tho equal of Snntn Crtize nnd Montoroy an a tour-1 lata' roaort and It will undnulitly In ttmo hnvo a tint) hotel there ih It hns at Del Monto. Dtiko Does Not Belong Hero. Who Is tho "Duko" tho Sacramen to 13co Bays thnt hnlls trout Mod ford nnd nMojea that ho Is a ball plnyort Tho only "Diiko 'that we over hnd' hero wns "I)nro Dovll Duko"i and he wns too strong to work hnrd ) enough to try out an n ball player. That ball playor hnu evidently boon using tho nn mo ot Modford In vain.) Medtord, Oregon Thin cortlflon that wo havo sold Hall's Texas Won der for tho euro of all kldnoy, blad der nnd rheumatic troubles far ton ream, nnd hnvo noror hnd a cotn-j plaint. It Rives quick nnd porman'onti rollof. Sixty days' treatment In ouch bottlo. Medtord Phnrmacy. Writo it an though it wuro a telo-j gram and it will mnko n good want 1 nd. . i TO YOU AltE AI.W U'8 TO UK 6 I TIIK fa MEDFORD i PLUMBING STEAM AND HOT WATER IILA1ING All Work Gimrnntuud Prioon HoiiHonublo COFFEE.N . PRICE 11 North 1) St., Modford, A SNAP IN ORCHARD LAND Ono hundred and sixty aores of free rod soil, 10 to 30 foot depth; two wells, about 25 itcruR cleared; a very gradual south kill slopo; ono'hnlf tnila from poatoffico, less than one-fourth tuilo from hcIiooI nnd soven nud one-half mllos xnuthwont of Jacksonville. Only if 'JO per acre, Call on or address JOE THOMAS 222 SOUTH HOLLY STREET. BARGAINS j& j2? Grocery ntoro, paying big; cheap rout. Two lots on West Tenth street, $200 ouch; clono In. 100x200 foot on Wost Main stroot, fine department building sito. 380-nero much, 2 milnn from Modford; 120 acres net to orchard; prico $170 per acre. 103 ncres two miles from I'lioonix, .10 acres young bearing orchnrd; $10,000. MICHIGAN LAND COMPANY HUNTLEY-RREMER Co. REAL ESTATE INSURANCE 214 Fruit Growers Bank Building Best Groceries At Prices Strictly in Keeping with the Quality of Our Stock which is Unexcelled A Trial will Convince You i Allen The Square LOTS 7 East Front Lots, 55 x 123 at $550 2 South Front Lots 62 1-2 x 100 at $7.50 each, These lots are only six blocks from depot on the West side, THE ROGUE RIVER LAND COMPANY Fire Insurance No. Oro. IMiontf 8011 MEDFORD, OREGON AVo can fit most any kind of a iioso with Shur-On Mounts. Dr. GOBLE Optical Parlor 18 Wost Main Stroot. Wo havo no othor bufrincBH. Reagan Deal Grocers i f North Central Ave.'