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Show ? k " . NEED i0R A DEPARTMENT OF MINING. President Richards of the American Mining congress, which has just closed its annual convention at El Paso, has struck a popular Western chord in his contention that the United States Government should create a Department of Mining, with a representative in the Cabinet. This plan of President Richards is shared by him with many another thinker among the mining men, and that such a de- ' partment will yet be created appears to be a foregone conclusion. I The mining industry is constantly increasing in importance in the United Stated The value of the output in the precious metah j sud in coal grows larger annually. While most of the gold, silver and lead mines are located in the West, there are large lead deposits in the Middle West, and the coal mines of the East would remove the charge of sectionalism made against the formation of the department. depart-ment. Today the mining:, business is of almost as much importance to the whole Nation as is agriculture. It supports millions of persons, ! directly and indirectly, adds materially to the wealth of the country and opens npxnew territory. The prospector is the advance guard of civilization. He is the forerunner of the railroad and the founder of little cities which spring up in his path. He finds new homes and employment for the surplus population of the larger cities and for thousands of immigrants who come into this country from Europe each year. ' " ' And yet, the Government has done less for the mining industry than for any other. It has "aided the farmer with scientific experiments experi-ments and has a Department of Agriculture that conserves his interests. in-terests. In large measure, the perfection which agricultural methods meth-ods have reached is due to the investigations and research work of Government experts. Now let the miner have hisyturn. There should be a Department of Mining with a Cabinet member at its head who knows the miners' needs and will faithfully represent their interests. Concerted action mthe part of mining men should result in a realization realiza-tion of President Richards' plan. |