December 22, 2008

"We, the miners of Waldo and Althouse in Oregon Territory, being in convention assembled..."

"... for the purpose of making rules to regulate our rights as miners, do hereby on the first day of April, 1852, ordain and adopt the following rules and regulations to govern this camp":
That 50 cubic yards shall constitute a claim on the bed of the creek extending to high water on each side.

That 40 feet shall constitute a bank or bar claim on the face extending back to the hill or mountain.

That all claims not worked when workable, after five days, be forfeited or jumpable.

That all disputes arising from mining claims shall be settled by arbitration, and the decision shall be final.

14 comments:

hdhouse said...

ahhh when life was simplier, when you worked and had a chance at a reward, where the lazy lost everything, and when there was a dispute you gathered around and worked it out.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Well I for one am glad we live in more complex times where my reward for work is to have it confiscated by the government so the lazy don't have to lose anything and all disputes can be solved with the proper application of class action litigation further enriching a chosen few at the expense of everyone else.

Bissage said...

That’s a pretty well-drafted code.

Still, I’m surprised to see they left out the restrictive covenants banning clotheslines, front-yard fences and commercial vehicles.

George M. Spencer said...

Today's Wall Street Journal:

Gold's Power Is Keeping Up Despite It All

I was in a coin shop a few weeks ago. Said to the owner, "You must be doing a great business now."

"Business is terrible," he replied. "No one has any money."

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

We've wounded this mountain. It's our duty to close her wounds. It's the least we can do to show our gratitude for all the wealth she's given us. If you guys don't want to help me, I'll do it alone.

Nobody puts one over on Althouse ;)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040897/quotes

ricpic said...

From the same flick:

Ah, as long as there's no find, the noble brotherhood will last but when the piles of gold begin to grow...that's when the trouble begins.

Wince said...

So, what explains the absence of an amusing cartoon series called Where's Althouse?

Henry said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
john said...

We know what happened to Althouse, but?

john said...

Crap, EDH.

Henry said...

Sadly, Waldo's claim is no longer being worked when workable.

Henry said...

Lem, good call. Poking around I found the labor theory of value:

Howard: Say, answer me this one, will you? Why is gold worth some twenty bucks an ounce?
Flophouse Bum: I don't know. Because it's scarce.
Howard: A thousand men, say, go searchin' for gold. After six months, one of them's lucky: one out of a thousand. His find represents not only his own labor, but that of nine hundred and ninety-nine others to boot. That's six thousand months, five hundred years, scramblin' over a mountain, goin' hungry and thirsty. An ounce of gold, mister, is worth what it is because of the human labor that went into the findin' and the gettin' of it.
Flophouse Bum: I never thought of it just like that.


Some college professor needs to put this to good use.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

A thousand men, say, go searchin' for gold. After six months, one of them's lucky: one out of a thousand. His find represents not only his own labor, but that of nine hundred and ninety-nine others to boot.

Of all the Caffe joints, in all the wide world web, we click over to Althouse.

Anthony said...

Well, someone with my surname was a Playboy Playmate of the month. Feb 1980 to be exact.

No, I do not know her. Yes, I wish to God I did.