Arizona silver belt., 1894-12-15
A NEW GOLD ERA.
It Has Been Opened by Modern
 Mining Methods.
Renewed Activity in the Gold Fields of Callfornia--It Lacks the Excitement of Early Times, Hut Has
 Moro Solid Basis.


 isJnst becoming apparent. When this government ceased it., purchases of silver, aud the hints of India were closed to the white metal, the financial outlook was dark indeed But out of evil good often comes, and, whatever other effect these measures may have had, they have resulted benehcially in causing greatly increased activity in gold mining. Never before in the his- tory of this state, says the San Fran ciaco Argonaut, nave the prospects, been so hattering. The spectacular effect that accompanied earlier mining ex- citeRlents is wanting, but there is in it's place an element of greater stability and permanencc. The romantic era, when the population, red-ehirted and roughly clad, wandered among the gulchcs and foothills of the Sierras, with pick and pau, searching for the precious particles among the gravel of the river beds. has passed into history. Tha more intensely dramatic era, when the fever of speculation courscd through the veins, when every iluctua- ti8n in the prices of stock was watched with eager interest by millionaire and paupef, by the clerk in the counting house and the serving maid in the kitchen or nursery, when fortunes Wetc made and lost in day, and when everybody was rich whether his wealth was evidenced by comfortable bank ac- count or by e scrap cf worthless paper this second and more uuwholesomc era has also passed to return no more.
 The miqing of to-day, while it lacks the element of wild exciteme nt, is or q nore solid oasis and has q lar moro substantial prosperity Mining meth. ods are more scientific .han they were wastcful and extravagant processes have been laid aside new and i'm proved machinery has been brought into use, and private Companies, oper- atiug quietly and sDGerly are reaping harvest undreamed of cvcn in the days when the delirium of speculation was amobg Is, The placer mines have been diligently worked over There are still golden grains and nugc cts in tic liver beds, but not in Sufficient quantities generally to pay corporas tions for working Lem, althoiiyh ip- diviaual miners cf4I still make grub. ?
 But the plPser mines at best held only the ovcrAow of the rjedcr original deposits The wealth iii the hillsides poured over and the surplus was car ried wlth the rain into the rivers. From north to south, throughout the whole stretch 6i the Sierra range. are lodges laden With their golden treas ure as yet Untouched Quartz mining is still in its infancy despite the vast stores 5f wealth that have already been wrested from the earth: drift mining will yet add untold millions to the wealth of this state. The output of gold this year will far exceed any thing of recent years,
 Not in this state alone. but through out the world this same renewed ac. tiyity is seen. Colorado, prostrated last ear by the repeal of tbe sherman law, stands to-day a. one of the wealth producing states Of the world This year California will be closely pushed for first position among the gold-bcar- iug states of the union. Two years ago the gold product of Colorado was less than s5,00o. .000-s4 7l3. 083-while California produced more than twice that amount The next year Colorado increased its output siSty-fivc per cent. while the increase iu California was culy eight per cent. This year the difference between the two will be | still further decreased Tn Montana twice as many properties are being worked this year as last; in Australia there is unusual activity, and the out. put of south Africa, which fuw years ago contributed practically nothing to On worlds supply, is estimated for this year at si5 090,o0o.
 When California Australia and Rus. sia first began, in the early fifties, their immense output of gold, prices yefs seriously affected Prior to 1850 the annual product had never exceeded S.O99,Q00, or slightly more than will be produced in the two states of Cali fornia and Colorado this year During the next five years the annual average was Si31 0Oo000 the highest point reached being in 1853. when the output was 5l55. .Gl0.oJ0, After Chat date there was a decline in production. In 1875 1 twenty years later, the output was 596.. 20a,00J; in lSs3 it was S0I. .O00.C00. Last year, however, the effect of the in creased demand for gold was felt, and the output reached and passed the fig ures of 1853. The most careful esti mates place this years production al 5l70,000,030. Tor the four years since 1890 the annual average exceeds thai of ls50-'55 by 812, ,000,000.
 What is to be the effect of these i'm l mcnse additions to the worlds supply of gold? The increased production ot ls5o-1SG0 resulted in n decline in the purchasing power of gold, or, expressed differently, prices generally rose. Tn: same result should be seen this time were it not for certain other factor, that are at work. The increased sup ply is in response to an increased de mand, and that demand will absort the surplus as it is produced Again the worlds stock of gold is far greater now than it was forty years ago, and ao'iotOIla tli"O NOu1d lh"tNi idAA} alSN' the mass then would not be felt now It is therefore probable that, unless continued for a number of years, the increased production will not affect the business of the world. The effect in California will, however, be different The annual addition of fifteen tc twenty millions to the wealth of this state is bound to affect all business beneficially. One years output would be sufficient to build the proposed rail. road through the San Joaquin valley The cost of new transcontinental line would scarcely be felt if taken out ot several years output.
 Went It IlIndrolded.