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Show SENATOR KEARN'S NEW MINING LAW4 ts Advantages in Disposing of the-"Apex" Difficulty.-.. A Measure that Has Long Been Needed. . The bill introduced ' by Senator Kearns with reference to the future location lo-cation of mining claims, and the rights of the locator acquired thereunder, is bound to meet with some opposition. The bill is one. if passed, would not. properly speaking, be an amendment to the present mining' law, but it would be in force and in effect an actual ac-tual repeal of it. That congress has been very slow to act where the modifying mod-ifying or changing of existing mining laws is concerned, the history, of that ody plainly shows. Several times prior tbo this attempts have been made to have substantially the same law passed as introduced by . Senator Kearns. but each effort rroved fruitless. fruit-less. Thic branch of national legislation is marked by the enactment of four distinct dis-tinct chfMiges in the national policy. These may be defined as follows: First From the foundation of the government to the present time. Second From the discovery of gold in California until the passage of the lode laws of 186t. Third From the passage of that law to the enactment of the general law of May 10, 1872. Fourth From that event to the present pres-ent time. The first congressional act on the subject of mineral lands wjas found in a law: passed on May 20, 17S5, entitled, "An ordinance for ascertaining the mode of disposing of lands in the western territory." In making the surveys sur-veys of this land the surveyors were required to note all mines, salt. licks, and mill seats that should come to their knowledge, a,nd the .government reserved the right to sell ort otherwise dispose of one-third of all gold, silver, lead and copper mines found within this portion of the public domain, which was defined and set out in the treaty betweeji Great Britain and the United States at Paris on September 3. 17S3. Prior to this gold had been found in moderate quantities among the Indians of the present southern states and the Spaniards under De Soto were supposed to have discovered gold in North, and South Carolina, but the existence of this metal in any considerable quantity was purely legendary. Copper, however, how-ever, was known to exist in the Lake Superior, region. ' The Jesuit priests had made extensive explorations on the upper peninsula, and had given glowing glow-ing accounts of the abundance of copper cop-per there found. This was practically the extent of public information upon the-subject at the time congress passed its first ordinance on the subject of mineral lands. It was provided in this law that this portion of the public domain do-main was to be disposed of at public auction by commissioners appointed for that purpose, and wno were authorized au-thorized to give deeds therefor. These deeds were to contain a clause reserving reserv-ing one-third part of all gold, silver, lead and copper mines within the same. The impression undoubtedly existed that the newly acquired territory was rich in precious metals and some day might prove a source of national revenue. rev-enue. Indeed, after the territory acquired from France under what is commonly called "the Louisiana purchase," . lead mining was carried on in what is now the state of Missouri as early aa 1720. A mine called the Mine La lotte was one of the earliest discoveries, in 1702 and has been in operation at intervals ever since. The total production of lead in Missouri from 1720 to 1803 is estimated at 16,095 tons. On March 3, 1S07, congress passed a law reserving for future disposal in the Indian terrir tory all land containing lead or other precious metals, and authorizing the president of the United States to lease any such mine for a term not exceeding five years. A great many leases were issued under un-der this law, but the system proved a failure. Prsident Polk, in his message of Dec. 2, 1S45, called attention to the act of March 3, 1807, pointed out the difficulties; difficul-ties; ii this system, and showed, that from 1841-to 1844 the government received re-ceived in rents a little over $6,10, while the expenses, including salaries of clerks, etc., for looking after this branch of the government, was $26,000. This condition existed substantially until un-til 1866. Owing to the improved addition to this branch of the nation's products by reason of the great gold discoveries in California, congress passed its first general mining law in July, 1866. This law was prepared by Senators Stewart and Conness. This law provided substantially sub-stantially that all mineral lands of the public domain should be free and open to exploration and occupation; that, rights which had been acquired in these lands with the sanction of the government gov-ernment should be recognized and confirmed; con-firmed; and that titles to certain classes of mineral deposits might be ultimately ultimate-ly obtained from the government. This law provided that patents could be obtained for only lode mining claims, and made no mention of placer rights whatever. Under this law the locator of a lode mining claim was entitled to only 200 feet by right of discovery upon the lode or ledge, and 200 feet by right of location, making 040 feet in all; that the original locator was entitled to only one lode or, ledge. The law provided for no, end lines, nor did it provide for any surface ground, but merely gave the right to follow for that distance the lode or ledeg located. Therefore it provided for no extra-lateral extra-lateral rights, and gave to the locator the right to only one vein or lode, even though two or more might be found to exist upon the ground patented by him. This law remained in force until May 10, 1872, when the law which is now in force was passed. x ' ' Under this act, the miner locates a surface which must be so defined as to include the top. or apex, of his lode. If he mistakes the course of his . vein, it Is his loss. He may acquire ac-quire by location a mining claim 1,500 feet in length by 600 feet ' in width, provided the local regulations in the mining district do not restrict these measurements. His end lines must be parallel and cross the vein. This law also provided that the locator should have certain extralateral rights to all veins or lodes which had their apex within the surface boundaries .of his claim. This extralateral right was given when the vein, for instance, would pass through both end lines of the claim on its course, and if on its dip through the earth should pass, out beyond either side line of the mining claim. The end lines would be ex tended in their own course, and the locator would have a right to all the ore within the vein beyond the side line and within the area created by tlie extension of the end lines. It wad this portion of V? law which worked great hardship on" the discoverers of mining claims, caused endless litigations, litiga-tions, sacrificed many lives and cost millions of dollars. It was always a question to be proved by expert testimony, and the history of all litigations shows that nien supposed to be learned in the science of mines and mining would receive re-ceive fabulous fees, range up even r Umbers on a side and flatly contradict contra-dict each other. This class of testimony testi-mony has caused some courts of high standing to declare that expert testimony testi-mony of this class was of but little weight. It certainly has rendered mining min-ing dangerous and uncertain. It certainly cer-tainly prevented the poor man from protecting his right against the rich and mighty. ' The bill proposed b.V Senator Kearns would do away with this obnoxious feature. A locator of a mining claim, for instance, would stake out his claim fifteen hundred feet by ix hundred hun-dred feet-and would own to the renter ren-ter of the eartV and all the atmosphere atmos-phere above, the-same as the owner ot a "city lot. If he happened to be a poor nian he wouldat least have some additional ad-ditional security and could more readily read-ily protect his right. : -We believe, of cojirse. that befora Ihe passage of1 this bill some salutary amendments and -oranges may be and can be proposed. Some of these we will point out in the future. The bill, however, is a long step in the right direction. It is to the decided advantage advant-age of the poor man. The strongest and most vigorous opposition may come from one class of the legal fraternity fra-ternity who have reaped a golden harvest har-vest out of the complex situation, the aDex and extra laterial question hag resolved itself into. Jt is our opinion that the leading members of the legal profession in the west who have the development and upbuilding of the ctountry at heart, will bail the elimination of this feature as a, sure means of settling the right and title to valuable mining property in wEIch they or their clients are interested. interest-ed. The prospector and discoverer of valuable mining rights should certainly rejoice should even this be accomplished accom-plished by the bill introduced by Senator Sen-ator Kearns. . |
