Show MINING LAND ON reservations no prot protection action to mineral claimant on forest reserves the mining interests in the west are fact that considerable waking aking UP to the mining territory is being grabbed up under the national forest reserves act and in contests with agricultural claimants steps are under way to address a memorial on the matter to congress says the san frai francisco icicco journal of commerce in the regulations and instructions for the guidance of the officers of the fore forest st reserves such exacting requirements are made in regard to the examination and tests of mining claims by the forest officer as to make it a very exceptionable prospect that will end the scrutiny the officer must measure the width of the vein sample the grade of ore place it under lock and key to prevent salting and in the event of a contest or adverse report by the inspector he must send it to the assayer of the mint at denver carson city and seattle to be assayed upon the basis of his investigation the officer decides whether or not the claim is of commercial value if not of commercial value nor capable of being made so immediately the claimants application is rejected the laws of the united states permit a claimant to apply for and secure patent after the expenditure of worth of work upon a mining claim the courts both federal and state have held that in the absence of an agricultural contest for the land small evidence of actual ore value need be shown in order to uphold a mining location it is a rule practically universal in the courts that if the vein or lode located is such as to justify a person of ordinary intelligence in following up the indications of ore and in expending his time and money in its development it affords a sufficient discovery to justify and uphold the location but the officers of the land department part ment require very much more stringent tests they apply such tests as are applied to a fully developed and marketable mine these tests says the memorial are unauthorized by law entirely unreasonable and unduly exacting and have been formulated by some person or persons who are ignorant of the conditions of ordinary ming such tests have never been applied bere fore in the history of mining in the united states the laws of the united states require only worth of work to be per formed amed or improvements to be made upon a mining dining claim before one may apply for a patent when these improvements have been een made if he has a vein such as the courts have held sufficient to justify the location he is entitled to a patent under the ie laws of the united states whether the claim be situated upon a forest reserve or elsewhere the officers of the national forest reserves have formulated rules practically nullifying the laws of congress and with which it is almost an impossibility to comply notwithstanding the entire good faith of the applicant five hundred dollars does not go 90 far as a rule toward developing a paying mine and after the expenditure of that sum it is a rare mine indeed that will respond to the tests required by the officers of the land department it requires a mining expert of rare judgment and foresight to determine the prospective value of a mining claim and even men of the highest qualifications in this respect sometimes find that their unfavorable judgment of a mining claim has proved erroneous and shortsighted short sighted the land department does not employ men who are entitled if judged by ability and experience peri ence to be called mining experts |