MINERS 



221 



In the very nature of things a fraudulent claim location in the national 

 forests is very carefully selected by the locator for the special purpose he 

 may have in mind, and the type of person who deliberately stakes a fraudu- 

 lent claim is usually not above employing crooked witnesses and perjuring 

 himself in an effort to gain his point. As a general rule, such claims when 

 patented are put to uses which are injurious to planned use of the forest. 

 In perhaps the majority of cases the improvements are unsightly and 

 wholly out of place in the forest. Usually, these fraudulent claims not only 

 spoil the land they embrace, but their use also interferes with proper use 

 and enjoyment of much of the adjacent public land. 



The Forest Service examines and contests all questionable claims as a 

 matter of course. In the case of out-and-out fraud, where there is no indi- 

 cation of mineral, the Government has a good but by no means certain 

 chance of winning its contests. In those cases where there is just enough 

 mineral showing to raise a technical doubt, the Government has the 

 difficult and often impossible task of proving the claimant's bad faith. 



Present Federal mining statutes permit the locator to do virtually any 

 manner of work necessary to develop his claim. There is no restriction as 

 to the use of the surface or surface resources as long as these uses are in 

 connection with bona fide development of the mineral deposits. Thus, 

 adequate mineral exploration and development work as a general rule 

 definitely conflicts with any public recreational use of the same area and 

 often the conflict extends for long distances from the scene of actual mining 

 operations. 



It is obvious, for example, that the customary digging and tunneling 

 operations with their accompanying structures and waste dumps mar 

 natural scenery. Dredging and hydraulic operations completely wreck land 

 surfaces. The cutting of timber for props, mine sets, and other uses denudes 

 the surface of the claims. Fumes from smelters usually kill all timber 

 touched. Even though compensation might be secured for smelter damage, 

 this cannot restore the recreational values. 



Mining improvements, such as power lines, roads, tramways, flumes, 

 and mill buildings, scar the countryside. Mining roads put through the 

 back country to reach mining claims can wholly alter the primitive charm 



