THE CARDRONA MINING CAMP

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21773, 12 October 1932, Page 8

THE CARDRONA MINING CAMP

TO THE EDITOR.

Sir, —I would suggest to Mr Scurr that, before he designates any effort of mine as “feeble,” a little more virility should be injected into anything to which his own name is signed. Moreover, I think I am quite justified in expecting to find a regard for veracity in one who accuses others 6f “ distortion of facts.” Mr Scurr in his letter of September 16 made certain statements to which I took exception, and now he quibbles, about the amount of gold that was mentioned at the conference. Will Mr Scurr, as a _ man With “ some ” practical mining experience, say that the total amount of gold won justifies the expenditure at, Cardrona. Will he write now and say just exactly what he told the men at the camp when he was appointed supervisor, for he must admit his statement then was very much at variance with the penultimate paragraph of his letter of the 2nd inst.. , The conference was very guarded in reference to Cardrona, and Mr James M'Mullan, jun., and other speakers, stressed the point that we should not say there was "no gold ”at Cardrona. Despite my lack of “ practical knowledge of mining,” I could, if given the 100 men orginally at Cardrona, and the money spent in the salaries of both administrative officers and supervisors, produce more gold in two weeks than has been won’ to date by all the unemployment camps at Cardrona —but not at Cardrona. Mr Scurr. I note, is very careful in refraining from quoting any returns at all. Here in the Cromwell district one and ahalf ounces per week are not an uncommon return for two men. My contention is that the lack of the production of gold, even under Mr Scurr’s supervision, as resulted in the personnel of the camps ’being reduced to 50 men, that the experience gained there is not likely to be helpful to the men in other fields, and, above all, that the spirit of cheerfulness or optimism is being crushed out ot the men. If it is the department’s design merely to get thJ men away from the cities,’ irrespective of whether they win gold ojr not, then carry on at Cardrona. There are, however, many contributors to the Unemployment Fund who feel that when men can be put to work in fields where they have a reasonable chance ot becoming self-supporting and augmenting gold production generally, they should be put to work in areas calculated by experienced mining men to be at least a little more lucrative than Cardrona. —I am, etc., J. L. Stewart Wright. Cromwell, October 8.