The daily gazette., 1877-12-26
OUR SILVER PRODUCT.

Undoubtedly one influence which has
largely contributed to the emphatic opin-
ion in Congress, which lately found ex-
preston in the passage through the House
OF the bill remonetizing silver, by the de-
cisive vote OF sl63 to 81. has been the able
reportof the Monetary Commission which
was appointed in August of last year. and
which has since so thoroughly investiga-
ted the whole subject. That report was
made In March, but has only lately been
put into the hands of the public in a.print-
ed form. We shall probably take occasion
often to quote from its pages, but at pre-
sent only give q few OF its statements
(which are just now psrtinent) in regard to
our production OF silver. The few italics
In the subjoined extracts are ours. The re-
port says:
"In respect to the preparation of the
minute on the production OF silver in the
Unt'e ed States, 1t may be stated that in
Covered n1m IN one Of Il the OF tSe Com.
stock lode In Nevada. Similar bodies OF
nearly equal extent had been previously
discovered and exhausted In tho Spas Sish-
American silver lode, and In the Com
stock lode, without attracting universal at
tention or arouslng universal fear that the
commerce OF the world was about to be
QeluReQ Dy u uOOu Oh Silver, DuJ IN JQ0 Pre-
sent instance, through persistent and in
| fictitious exaggerations In respect to the ex-
tent and richness OF the new Ore-body, the
| most visionary expectations and unWar-
ranted fears became universally epidemic
The estimates OF the value OF the ore in
sight ranged from 1900 900 600 10 five times
| that amount, all of which was generally
believed to be in silver. The probable OUT
| turn of this new bonanza is leading topic
| In the report OF the British situeT commission
| (1876), which contains among other evil
dence 90 tine subject, q qIotation from q
German newsgpaPer, yg me & dse'cnsdnse,ger: OF OF
the three principal causes for the deprecia
tion OF silver:
"'Ist. The discovery of the great and
| celebrated silver mines in Nevada, VIII ich
IN reality produce fabulous quantities OF
silver, the production for the current year
being valued at five hundred million
francs'
"Deeming 1t of the FIRST Importance that
these estimates and statements should be
subjected to a practical andcareful scrutiny
this commission employed Mr.. Alexand-
| er Del Mar, q gentleman technically quail.
fled for such an investigation, TO visit the
mines IN person, and ascertain from origi-
nal sources their past and prospective pro-
ducuon. and also generally 10 inquire into
the silver ~ production Of the United states
"The yield Of every mine in Nevada gan.
nually, for sixteen years, has been ascer-
tained with precision, and OF the larger
have as yet been col lated only for the cal
lender years 1871 to 1876, inclusive ; the
lprevious years, being Of less importance In
the present S'o9nnection. have been left fol
"Briehy, the nvestigation shows that the
product of the Big Bonanza thus far has
not exceeded 500, 800 900 during the four
years that 1t has been worked, making an
annual average OF about 1S,O00, ,O01, o.
a0hIch 45 per cent. IOdS gold leaving for the
average annual product Of silver from this
ore body fraction over 81 ,000, 900
"Taking all the mines OF the Comstock
| lode together, during sixteen years of un-
| precedented activity In mining assisted by
| the most perfect and powerful mechanical
| appliances, there have been found some
| twelve or thirteen ore-bOdies, which have
Ifyielded. altogether, about S240, 900 900, OF
| an annual average of $15 900 900, Of tVhfch
about Jorty-Seven and one-hdy per sent, or
| 81 ,126 900, was gold, leaving 81 $4,000 as
the average annual production OF silver.
"Tne silver product of the State OF Ne
| vada has been collated only for tue six
This period the average annual product
was SO 900 900, and for the year 1875 by IT
self only $2s, ,O00, 600, instead OF 800 900 ,00C
soiconfldently stated by the Reiehs01eet0er
"The silver product OF the Udited States
idurng the same period was Slo5. 900 900
making an annual average OF S28 900 900
the product for 1915 by itself was S'8 200, ).
600. When these returns are contrasted
with the computations which have hitherto
obtained currency, IL will be seen that the
latter have uniformly and greatly exag-
gerated the production Of silver In this
country.