THE SUMPTER MINER
Wednesday, January it, 19?
The Sumpter Miner
I'UHUSMfil) BVBRY WBDNB5UAY BY
J. W. CONNELI.A
pnpor Ih merely actuated by what, for
lack of h more accurate term to ex
pruBB the idea, may bo called uImhh or
Hoational prejudice, which Ih hh old
and well known and contemptible as
any other form of human selfishness.
I iilcfrd at the postofflce In Sumpter, Oregon, lor
'Mtismlsslon Ih rough the malls as second clm
1.. Alter
SUMSCRII'TION KATES
One Year Si.uo
Six Month , 1,35
ALWAYS IN ADVANCB.
The Minor will go mh fur hh any
legitimate, loyal newspaper in giving
a blauk oye to a region that Ih draw
ing too hoavliy for comfort ou the
population of its home territory; but
it drawn the line on publishing the
ridiculously rfalso statements now
going the rounds, rotative to the
aaultary conditio i at Goldflold.
The Pnudleton lOaat Orogouian Iihh
broken Iooho agHln In a tlrado
itgaiiiHt Maker county mining "ion,
booHUHo they ant organizing their
forciiH for the purpose of making an
effort to have the Eddy law re
pealed, a inoaHiire that ha worked
inlliilte injury to the mini rik In
dtiHtry, hence to the stale. TIiIh
Ih that Poudlotou papoi'a hobby and
periodically it published a rabid
editorial uti the subject. Die Miner,
lor a wniie, xnougm mo writer wiih
merely ignorant of the riiibjeot he
attemptH frequently to dlHCUHH, and ho
endeavored to enlighten him ou IiIh
favorito toplo.
The one idea that appears to lie
firmly fixed in the place where li Ih
mind ought to be Ih that only wild
cat compHtiioH oppoHM tliia law, that
(Ultimate companieH are aatiallod
with Hh proviHloiiH when in reality,
the reverie Ih true. The wildcat
company Ih organized for the purpone
of making Hh prnllls from the Hale of
ita Htock, with no idea of making a
produiiiiiK mine of Its property. It
can thereforo Hiford to pay very much
larger onmmlsHioiiH and other ox
peuseH on Htock huIoh than can the
legitimate company, that relies ou
the products of Hh mine for Hh
prolltH. The hoHtllity of the Htate
government to the mining IndiiHtry,
hh manifested by this Kddy law,
lunderH It more ilHlluult to null Htook
in companieH operating in Oregon,
to whether they are incorporated
under the Imwh of thin Htate or not,
for all are Included, than in any other
Htate in the Union, It Ih a direct,
punitive, heavy handicap to the In
dtiHtry. There are no Iiihh than a
dozen legitimate companieH organized
here in Sumpter that have been
If the reader win no better inform
ed on the subject than the writer, up
to tli i h moment, he will bo surprised
to learn that California has no mining
law. It wiih repealed in bulk at the
extra hohhIoi) hold In February, 1000;
let leant ho Haya the Los Angeles Min
ing Rcviow. And that suggests the
not half bad Idea, that Oregon could
WE HAVE A GOLDFIELD
RIGHT HERE AT HOME
profit by following California's ex
ample, and being governed eutirely
by the national law.
That Ih, of courHO, If the farmers
and Portland jays, who control the
lelgalature and who know absolutely
nothing about the requirements of
mining lelgalation, Insist ou forcing
their Ignorance and prejudice into
the atatuto governing tbia subject.
Possibly Itoproseutativo Smith can
induce the Hoxors to repeal tho whole
Hhooting match, and if he can do this
much, he will havo performed a dis
tinctive service for the mining In
diiHtry. The hope that he may ac
complinh more than this, of enacting
a wiho, commoiiHouHo meaauro, aeeniH
to be too remote for serious con
Hideratlou, If the future is to be
judged by the past.
Guy Pierson Has Returned From the Boom
Gamp in Nevada and Says Bear
Gulch Has it Faded.
"forced to the wall" ou account of
Hh blighting influence
No Htate legislature, actuated by a
desire to promote tlie development of
(tie natural roHourceH of the stale,
wouiii ever nave enacted hiicii a
measure. It was made a law by a
lot of uarrowmiuded, Hellish, prejudic
d mou engaged in other callings,
whose purpoiitt was to saddle the bur
den of taxation onto otherH. liven
though the law produces a to venue
for (he Htate of 100,000 annually,
bow is the state heuetlttcd, when it
prevents the mvestmuiit here of a
million and more auually, ih it cer
tainly does; which million would be
the means of eventually produciuu
other unnumbered millions?
ThoHo poiutH have already been
elucidated for the benefit or tho Kast
Oregouiaii several times; which it
I ersisteutly ignores and continues to
reiterate Hh Hilly refrain about wild
cat companieH dodging taxation.
Nothing more is needed to demon
strate the fact that the Peudletou
O P. I loir, stnto commissioner of
labor, has Issued the first biennlnal
report of the bureau over which ho
presides. Tho report is a voluminous
document of 10ft printed pages mid
is evidently the result of much labor
in collecting and compiling the facts
and statistics contained therein. One
would not be justified in oattitig a
doubt upon the accuracy or the
work, judged by a mere cutsory
glance through Ha pages; but even
such superficial examination con
viuooH one that it is far from com
plele. Otie notable Instance of
omission is that neither tho statistical
tables on wage earnings nor. in tho
compilation of alleged facts pertain
lug to labor organizations, are miners
mentioned, tin far as labor unions
are concerned, the miners probably
stand first in numbers. Those en
gaged in the lumber buHluoaa and
farming probably outnumber the
miners, but they are nut organized
into unions. In point of individual
wages, certainly no other class of
laborer i In this Htate aro so highly re
munerated.
Hut Mr. 1 loir makes up for tbia
overnight by a little philosophising
ou social and industrial topics.
O I. I . I i a i
npuiiKiug oi inner irouuiotf, lie says:
"The rule Is that where mistaken
are made, injustice perpetrated and
wrong done, the cause is lack of
knowledge ou one side or the other
of the line conditions. Contrary to
many ooucolvcd Ideas, the natural
deslie of man is to bo just." Now,
theie is the expression of a beauti
fully optimistic idea, a radiently
Iridescent dream, that makes cue
who is intimately acquainted with
selfish human nature, who has per
sonally bumped up against tho un
adulterated cuHseduess of averago
mankind, infinitely weary.
(Juy E. Pierson 1b in town today,
showing the pauuiuga from a baudful
of dirt taken from the Treasuro I3ox,
a claim in the Hear Gulch district, in
which he owua a ooutrolliug interest.
Thoro are forty or fifty ooarae colors.
Tho sample was taken from a depth
of only eight feet.
Tho ledge la twelvo feet wide,
which pans all the way across; but
four feet of it ruuB very high. All
of it, however, would pay to null.
Tho four feet can bo shipped to the
smelter at a handsome profit. A
aide track grade, formeily used for a
logging road, corned within a few
hundred yards of the property, i
though tho irou ha been taken up.
The smelter is only about two and a
half miles away.
Mr. Pierson returned from Gold
field about a month ago, and says
that, taking everything into con
sideration, he prefers eastern Oregon
as a mining region. He thinks that
the Hear Gulch district la going to
prove the richest iu the Inland
Empire, and that it is going to be the
makiue of Sumpter bb a iniuing camp.
He has mined all over the west, a
number of yours in Colorado, and
says the surface showing there is the
best be has ever seen iu all of bis
experience. A little development
work, that will certainly be done
this season, will tell tho story.
SMELTER WILL RUN AT
ITS FULLEST CAPACITY
General Manager Prod D. Fullor,
of tho Oregon Smelting aud lielluing
company, arrived home today from
New York, where ho wont to attend
the annual meeting of tho (-took-holdos
of that coporatiou. Mr. Fuller
says the meeting was eutirely satis
factory to himself and his report
seemod to be satisfactory to the
stockholders; that the meetlug was
eminoutly harmonious, without au
echo of a discord. The Miner has
already published the result of that
meetlug, the election of directors aud
officers.
Regarding the plan of operating
tho plant to Ha full capacity, by
ruuuiug twenty-four hours a day, as
was discussed at that time, Mr.
Fuller says will be Inaugurated soon,
probably the latter part of this
mouth, though the exact date has not
yet boeu fixed. He does uot doubt
but what au ample, continuous ore
supply will be available..
Accompanying Manager Fuller on
his return la S. J. Merrltt, late of
Peru, South America. For some
time to come he will be attached to
the smelter management in con
fidential capaoity.
They came from New York by way
of California, Mrs. Fuller stopping
off at Los Angeles, where she will
remain for some weeks.
ANOTHER TEST Of
STANDARD'S ORES
The New York Commercial sayu
that so far as corporations are con
cerned, 1004 was a year of reorgani
zations; few new cues of atiy im
portance having been founded. The
same program ought to bo continued
through 11)00.
Tom Taylor returned this forouoon
from a hurry trip to Maker City.
Another ahipmont of cobalt-cop-por-gold
ore from the multi-metalled
Standard ml no at Quartzburg will
shnitly be mado to a Denver teatiug
works. Ore deliveriea are now beiug
made at Tipton, atid the entire ship
ment of 1C toua will be ready for
consignment about January 14.
The shipment is for further tests
of Standard ore aloug the Hues of
those made last fall in Denver by
Prof. H. 11. Nlcbolsou, consulting
eugiueer for the Killeu, Warner,
Stewart oompauy, fiscal agents for
aud operators of the Staudard Con
solidated Miulug compauy's prop
erties. Only 1,000 pouuds were used iu
the origiual test. The treatmeut
process evolved from au aualysiR of
aud experiment with this sample,
resulted iu a solution of the problem
of Staudaid ore tieatment. From a
test of a larger quautity of the ore,
Porf. Nicholson will deduce details
as to mill practice aud construction.
A treatmeut plant, of the design to
bo decided upon as a result of the
second Denver test, will be erected
at the property in the snrim nr
summer of 1900.
Professor Nicholson, who is an
emiueut miueralogist aud metal
lurgist as well as a practioal mine
operator, intends to profit by the sad
experience of so many western mining
meu, aud uot erect a costly milling
plaut only to later discover its use
lessuess as au efficient saver of values.
Prof. Nioholuon will accompany
the shipment to Denver and will
personally oouduct tho dual tests.
None of the ore in the 10-ton ship
ment will grade lower than the
Staudard average 1100 per ton.
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