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Show Letters to the Editor... Dear Editor: How would you feel if you had to burn your furniture to ; keep your family warm, or if you had no electricity" to ' operate lights, refrigerators, stoves, air conditioners, etc., or if the government moved another family into your house so they could hav shelter? It is possible. This country is facing an energy crisis in the immediate immedi-ate future. It is facing a metals me-tals and materials shortage in the not distant future. We are facing an alarming population pop-ulation explosion. Congress is considering a new mining law (Bill S2727) that could cripple the energies ener-gies and metals market of this country. Mining is the backbone of the country and the new mining law would uproot up-root the prospecting and development de-velopment phases of mining and place them under federal control. The new law would require people to buy prospecting pros-pecting permits (when and if they are authorized) thus eliminating el-iminating a large number of prospectors. Mining land would be leased from the gov eminent by the acre thereby eliminating all but the large bank accounts from competition. compe-tition. It would mean the death of the small mining industry and eliminate the possibility of a poor man becoming rich in his field. It would eliminate a freedom that played a vital vi-tal role in the development of our country. It would set back our struggle to clean up the environment by forcing forc-ing programs to meet the oncoming on-coming crises. The apathy of our mining firms and of the general public is a puzzle to me. Determined resistance to the proposed law is necessary neces-sary because the consequence of its enactment are too awe. some to ignore. Sincerely Joe Stocks |
