fcr Wednesday, January n, 1905 THE SUMPTER MINER S IGNORE OREGON'S MINING INDUSTRY "The mining men of Oregou, aud particularly eastern Oregon, have a big kick coming," said F 0. Buck nam, the well known Sumpter tuiniug man, to a Miner man la it nigbt. "Here we are, putting in tbe best licks in our repretoire totheeud that tbe mining industry of this elate may advance to a place com polling rceognition as one of tbe foremost, if not tbe foremost re source of tbe webfoot country. And yet all our work counts for little when tbe paternal state government and the fraternal western Oregon prBB ignores our efforts like a white chip. "It was my proud privilege tbe other day to see a copy of the New Year's edition of tbe Portlaud Ore gonian, an issue dovoted to a pre eentmeut iu a statistical and photo gravure way of the manifold aud varied resources of this state. Much space was devoted to showing that the sock-eye salmon industry of Ore gnn is a world-beater; that the tiuiber business on the west slope has Puget Sound bucked off the dump; that tho growing of bops in tbe Willamette valley is a high card in the industrial deok; that the fortunes made from quarter sections In the Umatilla county wheat belt makei the hoard ed wealth of Midas look like a plug ged dime; that tbe cheese Industry of Yamhill stands uuparalleled and unapproachable as a mouoy-getter; that wool growing Iu tbe sagebrush region is hot stuff, aud that tbe bauk rolls of truck gardners along tho classic banks of tbe gratidly-movlug Willamette are large enough to choke a cow. Every notable industry, in cluding tbe raising of rosy-cheeked apples and roBy-cbeeked girls dowu in Polk county was accorded its due and proper place iu tbe Oregonlau EXOEPf MINING! "Now, what do you think of that! "Not even a pasing mention of tbe North Pole mine, whlob, duriug tbe last seveu years has produced over three milious of dollars in gold bul lion ;or of the Columbia, which is en riobing the world at a like rate! "Not eveu a paragraph devoted to the fact that over 5,000 minors and prepectors in Oregon steadily plug away aud add wealth to tbe needy world without coming into commer cial oompetion with a single other line of business, but instead, create ready markets for and maintain high prices of the products of till other jtate industries! "This is tbe sort of wot blanket tbe lending newspaper of Oregon throws upon miuing in Oregon. Aud it Ib merely a rsflex of tbe mossback spirit wbiob actuates tbe cent-percent merchants and narrow-minded Portland bogs. "So much for tbe Oregouiau aud tbe preB of tbe west slope. Now, how does tbe state government re gard tbe miuing industry? I will show you. "Here is a copy of tbe first bien nial report of tbe Bureau of Labor statistics of tbe state of Oregon, pre pared for submission to bis excell ency, the governor, and of tbe tweuty-tbird legislative assembly, by O. P. Ho IF, commissioner. Tho ro port covors the period from Juno 3, 1903, to September 30, 1004. It contains 16-1 pages, is attractively bound in greou, Indicating tbe nature of is author, aud Is issued at state expense fiom the print shop of J. R. Whitney, state printer. It is a most interesting document, devoted, as it is, to barley, breweries, brick yards, canneries, dairies, evaporators, farms, fishing, flour mills, foundries, hop yard, hotols, lauudries, livestock, newspapers, nursuries (wet and dry), poultry aud pine ueedles. Every thing ueecessary for a complote know ledge of these idustries is prluted in tbe book. For instance, In a table, due aud valuablo spaae, is alloted to presentment of the faots that iu tho state there is one lamp faatory; that fivo wage earners are employed there in; that tbe wages earned per anuura reaches a total, of $2,800; that 12,000 is invested in the enterprise, aud that the value of (he pioduat ag gregates tbe phenomenal figure, 92,100. Oue hundred and six similar Items are tabled as above, from u to z, Alpha to Omaba, hnll to break fast EXCEPT MINING t "Now, what do you think of that! "Thousands of men, scores of towns even whole counties in this state supported solely and directly by the mining ludustry hundreds of thousands of dollars distributed anuualy iu wages among miners and yet tbe honorable commissioner of the atato buroau of labor statistics finds nothing in tbe matter worthy eveu so much as one line in bis green bound book ! "Wouldn't that make you dizzy? "What are tbe faots? I said that 5,000 miners are today developing tbe latent minoral wealth of Oregon. I take it back. There are ten thou sand. In southern Oregon, from Cottage Grove south, to tbe Cali fornia state line through Roseburg, Myrtle Creek, Canyouville, Glendale, Wolforeek, Merlin, Woodvllle, Grants Pass, Jacksonville one fourth of the merchants and one third of tbe men are either directly or iudireotly in terested iu mining. In Coos, Curry aud Columbia coal mining employs huudreds of men. In JoBephino aud Jacksou evory other niau la a ground sluicer, a pocket hunter, a quartz miner, a mine promoter, and the languago of miuea is spokeu by every tongue. "Here in eastern Oiegou, from Snake river to tbe prairies of Harney, it is mines, mines, minos. Twenty towns, with an aggregate population of nearly 10,000, are supported solely and entirely by mines. Cornucopia, Irou Dyke, Sparta, Sumpter, Bourne, Cableville, Grauite, Alamo, Green born City, Tipton, Susauville, Qurtz burg, all these towus are mining towns completely, without tbe mines tbey would not exist. Prairie City, John Day, Canyon City, derive tbe biggest part of their life from tbe mines and Baker City, tbe com mercial metropolis of tbe inland em pire, without tbe mines of Baker county would be a water tank statiou on a transcontinental railway. "And yet tbe green-backed report of tho high-salaried commissioner of the State Bureau of Labor Statistics, in all his J (54 pageB of facts aud figures rulatiug to tho industrial life of this commonwealth, finds no room for mines! "Wouldn't that give you keen paiu? "1 wuuder what a special writer for tho Orogoniau and the busy com miBsiouor of the Oregou labor bureau would have to say after a trip to the string of big gold tniiioa of tho Cracker creek mother ludu, where 500 to 000 meu draw pay rauging from $3 to $10 per day, aud whoro tho nationally fatuous mines the E. & E., North Pole and Columbia cover a territory about tbe length end breadth of Washington stroot iu Portlind, from which more wealth la created lu oue year thau all of the Waebiugtou stroet merchants create injtwo. "Aud what would the Oregonlau space filler and the over worked labor commissioner say if they qould sniff the smoko from tho Sumpter smelter, watch the steady stream of oro com ing iu from these surrounding hillB, aud seo the carload after carload of copper, gold aud silver matto ahipped to roflnorioa. Would thoy still portent iu ignoring a atate indus try which supports teu thousand wage earuora aud yield from throo to five million dollars overy year? "For geuuluo asslniuliy aud abort sightod damphoolishnesH, com mood me to the Portlaud Oregonlau and tho commissioner of tho state bureau of labor statistics." NOTES OF THE MINES. Soven feet of snow at tbe Morris miuo, in tho Greenhorns. Two full carloads of unusually high grado oopper-gold matte turned out from the Sumpter Binelter last week. Manager Bob Evaus, of tho Majes tic, near Minenvillo, says he h drifting In three feet of oro assaying from $2.50 to $91. Begiuning today, hoavy phlpmenta of crude oro aud concentrates will begin from tho United Elkborn miue to tbe Similiter smoltor. Jaok Hazelwood aud Tom Brown are preparing for oarly spring work at their Eagle creek plauirs, where tbe pay dirt Is said to pay $1 per yard. S. C. Richardson and wife have sold to tbe Greenhorn Gold Mining aud Development company two claims near Windy Gap for a nominal con sideration. A ihort carload of oro from the rluh shoot reooutly opened lu the east drift from tho 70-foot level iu iho Snow Creek wab received Friday at tho Sumpter smelter. 11. A. Mitchell, of Baker City, bus sout a forco of miners to the Long staff group, uear Alamo. A 4 -foot pay streak in a 40-foot veiu oarrieB values better thau $8. Shipments from the Imperial duriug tbe remainder of the winter are expected to equal if not surpass tbe record fur December, wbeu 217 ton were brought to the Sumpter smelter. High grade ore has been cut iu a 325-foot tunnel ou tbe Jilalto mine, uear Granite, owned by O. U. Hon son, of Portland, J. W. Tabor, of Granite, aud Grant Thomburg, of Sumpter. A porphyry dyke faulted the veiu, but persistent driving eventually entered a fine body of free milling ore. Johnuy Stowart is preparing to re open his California gulch placers, uear Granite. Work on tho Comstook, near the Red Hoy, has been suspended, and Manager MuGorry has gono to Baker City. A heavy shipment of oto and con centrates from tho E. &, E was re ceived at tho Sumpter smelter Thurs day of last week. Manager James Wyatt personally supervised the sampliug. Al Gulser is iu Sumpter today from tho Gom miuo. "The (Jem looks bettor than It over did before," he says. "Moro oro is iu sight thau at any time in tho mine's history. Development work Is belug kept up with a big force." Captain E. Simpsop, of Susanvlk, is in Sumpter today, en route home from a trip to Walla Walla and Pen detou. He holds a bond on the Gem ml no, near tbe Badger, and Ib form lug a company to take over tho prop erty. Tho captain has mined in Moutaua, Utah, Colorado aud Nevada for 40 years. He thinks the Susan ville camp tho boBt over. A number of fofolture notices are boing published in tho Granite Gem. W. E. Hurd la "advertising out" W. I. Lopmau ou the Kentucky and TounesHoo claims, on tho head of Heaver creek, claiming to havo ex ponded 9000 In throo years. Mr. Hurd also desires tho world to know that during tho lint threo yoars he has spout $300 ou the Heaver quartz claims, on Heavor creek, and that J. W. Curren has failed lu cough up his ahare. A. F. Wright la also not! fled by Mr. Hurd that $200 of the latter' money baa boeu aunk in the Big Elk claim aud that if Mr. Wright desires to retain au Interest hi bad better aute. J. C. Mnorolaud, W. A. King and A. A. King aro alleged by Mr. Hurd to havo failed to pay for their ahare of assessment work for four yoars lu tho Sunday Night claim. K., W., S. Gompany s Laboratory. Tho Killon, Warner, Stowart "om pany la fitting up a complexly ap pointed laboratory and assay oftlco in Sumpter Townaite company's brick block ou South Mill street, the whole of whlob building the company occu pies. E. Nordyke is now at work putting iu the wooden fixtures, and tho apparatiia will bo installed In a few days. A. F. Kirchen will have ohargo of the Jabaratory, under Professor Niuholaou'a supervision. This has become au economic neces sity with tho company, its assay aud test work having growu to such dimensions. Greenhorn City Election. At tho municipal election in Greenhorn Tuesday, the following ofllcera were elected : Geo. A. Carter, mayor; W. S. Jacksou, recorder; M. M. Itlardln, treasurer, and Ira Lemmons, J. Bosenthal, A. E, flut ter, H. Philamber aud W. F. Diaper, counoilmen. ESTRAY NOTICE. Taken up, at the ranch of Henry Panning, near Whitney, last spring, two 2-year-old colts, oue grey, brandod "C" on left shoulder, aud on bay branded s . Owuer may regain property by paying expense of their keeping since the date of their taking up. HENRY PANNUNG, Whitney, Ore. December 30, 1004. i j i I H