A Prospector's Plea for Support
A former Yukon miner writes to the editor asking for help to fund a prospecting expedition.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
To the Editor: In answer to your article in this morning's issue 'Mistaken Ideas of Employment for the Unemployed,' I should like to ask you where these willing to provide grub stakes and tools are to be found? I have worked placer diggings on the Yukon river and some years ago did considerable prospecting. Two men willing to accompany me have volunteered. If there really are merchants willing to help us to the extent of providing an outfit, we will only be too thankful, as though we have never begged, we have nothing to eat. I shall call at your office tomorrow for any letters addressed to 'Prospector.'
“If there really are merchants willing to help us to the extent of providing an outfit, we will only be too thankful.”
This letter from a desperate miner highlights the gap between the era's 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps' editorializing and the brutal reality of the 1890s depression. It mirrors the modern frustration when economic advice from those in power ignores the practical barriers to survival.
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