The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-09-12
HELENA, MONT. SEPT. 10. 1893.
INTELLIGENT FRIENDS or SILVER.

INTELLIGENT FRIENDS OF SILVER.
It is unfortunate for the silver Il
that moro scientific Investigators and
trained observers cannot be sent tc
study the problem in the mining states
One OF tho most intelligent men of this
sort is Prof. Edward w. Bemis, of the
University of Chicago, who has been
spending several months in the west
DR.. Bemis was educated in economics
under Professor Ely, at the Johns Hop
kins university, and subsequently for
some years taught political economy in
tho Vanderbilt university. He has
spent a considerable part of the present
summer in the silver mining country,
and writes in strong sympathy with the
western Wow Of the monetary question.
AS Il result of his Investigations Prof.
Bemis reaches the conclusion that out
side of the Mollie Gibson mine at As
pen and the Amethyst at Creede, there
are not two silver mines in Colorado
that can mine at a profit or present
prices. Even these mines are now
closed, because the accessible ore is linn
tied, and there is hope of an ultimate
rise in silver. Then, too, a smelter can
only afford to smelt the ore from any
mine at a low price when it can mix
with it other ores. Tho lead, iron and
other tluXing materials from one class
of ores will aid in smelling others. Now
that most mines cannot run, the charg 9
for smelling ore from the very few which
might afford to keep open has been so
largely raised as to handicap them.
Most OF the gold mines, for the same
reason, have been forced to close.
1t seems further certain that while a
large amount of silver has been recently
extracted from Colorado, with the price
from 80 to 80 cents, this has been prof.
liable to but very few IN proportion to
all the mines that have run. 1t ap-
pears from all accounts that there have
been times in the early history Of four
or five mines in Colorado, like the Mollie
Gibson at Aspen, the Enterprise at
Rico, some of the Creole properties and
possibly three or four like the Castor,
Virginius and Yankee Girl of the Silver
ton Ouray district when silver could be
secured for 20 to 40 cents, but such pc
RODS were short with most of these. AS
the mines were dug deeper, the cost in
creased, rich pockets of mineral wore of
rare occurrence, and between them
veins of poor ore had to be dug, SO that
even among the six best properties in
Colorado to-day, 1t may be safely said
that after allowing interest and de-
probation on the actual capital required
to develop the mine, not three can pro-
at under 70 cents, unless they con
tain a large percentage of copper or
gold, while few of the hundreds Of other
mines can find any profit with tho price
silver under 80 cents or 81.
Another thing that Impressed Prot.
Bemis was tho thorough knowledge Of
the silver question in all its bearings
that was displayed by the citizens of
the silver producing states. In the
Chicago silver convention he found del
egates familiar with the merits of the
demand for more money "as held by
such men as Nicholson, Balfour and
Andrews, and far moro knowledge
of monetary statistics, such as are con-
tanned in tho Soetbeer-Iaussig tables
and United States treasury reports,
than the daily press allowed to appear.
To hold that in the purchasing power
of commodities silver has not fallen but
gold risen, and that n moro stable and.
therefore, honest money would be sill
YER, is Il position not to be dismissed by
mere sarcasm. There are sufficient
good arguments in favor of doing
nothing to destroy tho parity of gold
aud silver money"
If the country had moro such mon to
urn the light on this question it would
DO Il great help to the silver cause.
Nothing like the misrepresentation that
this great interest has undergone at the
hands of tho single standard press was
ever before seen. Malice and Ignorance
have dono their worst to destroy our
silver mining properties, OF all the
great newspapers Of tho country not
one has made a thorough and exhaust
iva investigation Of the conditions that
exist in the states that produce silver.
Sensational journals like the New York
World have hashed up spurious stats
tical matter procured at secondhand
but SO far as Montana, at least, ia 0 II
cerned, and that is tho greatest silver
producer of them ali, there hes been no
attempt at original research by repre-
sentatives of the press qualified for tho
task.
BEST AND CHRAPEsT