New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-05-12
INVENTIONS AND SILVER PRICES.

INVENTIONS AND SILVER PRICES.
WHAT IMPROVED METHODS OF SEPARATION HAVE
DONE TO CHEAPER THE COST OF THE METAL.
Washington. May II (SpeciaD.-Just now. when the
Administration Is putting forward It's agents 10
preach the Cleveland doctrine OF Sound money ana
safe currency"-whatever 1t may be-aii over the
country; when the Hon. Hoke Smith nstructs MS
Georgia Cracker audiences upon these important
points; when Controller Eckels holds forth In De-
troit, and Secretary Carlisle is preparing to take
the stump in Kentucky In company with the Cuckoo
OF Cuckoos. Governor McCreary-t may not be
amiss perhaps to quote an eminent geoosist In
Government employ whose modesty forpids the
mention OF his name to the reasons which prompt
him to be gold monometast. His reasons 1t
will be seen, are based entirely upon scientific
grounds. He said to-day:
The question Of the prSSsss snS the TO possible s6
esp extent so One an Of
which enter neither POLITICAL opinions nor theories o,
When tie two metals are produced present marked
difference. Much the greater part Of sOS ores
quartz. or else Of sands and srayels resulting
from the OF such TITS
gold are very simple. and almost purely mecnanc sH
fore the OF
and the improvements made upon them In modern
to more convenien, disposition OF plant,
Native silver. on the other hand. IL so rare as
point of view. Not one ounce OF silver in many
thousands mined Is native or originally metallic
than does iron rust to iron and. in fact the very
best Of silver Is Identical with the black tar
nsh which sye, takes on In S9naet Wn se
Almost none Of the silver Is now produced by any
process which was in use before the discovery OF
In countries whose industry Is crude, such as
Europe IN the Middle ACES and Asia before na 'n NE
gold worth only about ten pounds OF silver,
because the methods OF extracting silver were SO
costly that smaller gca price ror s iio nr woes
discovered in Mexico In the sixteenth century opened
tractable by older methods Most of the silver
which has been produced In the Western Cordll.
leras OF North and South America IN the last
amalgamation. and the effect Of this process was
to carry down the ratio of silver to gold from
In this century also great advances have been
made. Silver is no% separated most c completely
Gus, at an almost insignificant cost, while before
the middle OF the century only such lead as was
very rich silver would bear the cost of separa;
so poor in silver that the extraction OF ms py-
product is not profitable. Then too whole series
capable Of dealing with rebelllous ores formerly
the despair Of metallurgists. excepting under un"
lively low price OF silver nothing TO do with the
relatively low cost IT which II can be produced!
M%ys the to sS With the fact that IS
worth about tenth OF what 1t was before they
invented? D.. 49, .....,o, NJ,
silver been improved. but they are subject TO stu
greater Improvement: while It is difficult to con,
can be handled by any process at a consideraDiys
lower cost than they are now treated. hence y
there is any relation between price ana cost. De-
tween profit and production, the price or silver is
subject to further important fluctuations wh,cn
cannot be controlled by prayers cnnrv which is
on a silver basis are at the mercy Oh cieNei anu
merciless inventors