other products of our mother-earth just what those who control the chief
deposits choose to ask? Because a pioneer stumbles upon a valuable mine,
shall the sole right to use the product of that mine be secured "to him,
his heirs and assigns" forever?

Suppose, now, that each of the several States were to acquire the title
to all the productive mines, quarries, and mineral wealth within its
borders, and enact laws providing that future discoverers of minerals on
land where they are not now known to exist should be liberally rewarded,
if the discovery proved valuable, but the minerals should belong to the
State and not to the owner of the land. The same principle which we
found to apply in the case of the railways would serve here in
readjusting values, viz.: the difference in the rates of interest on
safe investments and on risky ones. When acquired, the mines should be
leased to private parties for operation. In the case of coal-mines and
perhaps of iron, it would be well to copy largely from the scheme
proposed for railway operation, viz.: place all the business in the
hands of a single company, which should thus be enabled to carry on its
business on the largest possible scale; do away with wasteful
competition, and aim to regulate prices to provide a certain reasonable
steady income on its capital to the mining company.

For mines of copper, zinc, lead, and similar metals, it would be best to
pursue a different plan, and simply provide by statute that such mines
should be leased for short terms of years to the bidder who would offer
to sell his product at the lowest price per ton at the mines, all
lettings and relettings to be publicly advertised, and the successful
bidder to give bonds for the faithful performance of his contract. It is
difficult to see how, under these conditions, a combination to defeat
competition could be formed. Relettings of expired leases would be
frequent; and bidding by the _selling price_, a single competitor would
be sufficient to break any combination. Of course the lease should
specify a minimum product which the mine should furnish.

It would be advisable, too, that a manifest duty of the government,
which should be undertaken even under present conditions, should be
observed. It should be required to work the mine with due attention to
saving the greatest possible amount of ore or mineral contained in the
seam or vein.

The third class of monopolies, whose legal subjection to publi