El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-07-26
THE GOLD OF THE WORLD.
An Interesting Talk on the Yellow
NJ tai out Put.

ing ton:
The God Mining convention recen;
ly held at Denver gave the public SON
idea the enormous amount OF th'
yellow metal which is now being dra .
ged from the mountains of the west
The increase is going on steadily
There was never anything like it be
fore, and the prospects are thai 1t vii
be even greater in the future. We ar.
having a flood of gold, not only frOu
the United States, but from all Other
gold regions. | get this information
from the director of the mint, and it i:
based upon b is reports, which come in
regularly from all parts of the world
The director of the ant, has contiden
tiai relations with the big smelling es
Establishments and reduction works o.
the United States, by which they senC
him statements as to the amounts OF
gold and silver VIII oh they receive.
They report whence the metals come
and where they go He gets also re-
ports from the officers OF the mint in
different parts of the United States,
and his mail brings him reports month
| ly from the gold regions of Africa,
| Australia, Russia, South America and
Ie elsewhere. TIE reports given by the
| smelling ablishments are of gold
actually melted up and sent into cir
culation. They are not the rosy esti-
mates of prospectOrs or mine owners,
but are made up of figures as reliable
as any you will find in the treasury de-
partment. 1t is through such reports
that the director of the mint knows
from month to month just how the
stream of the worlds gold is rising or
falling. Sitting at his office at the
treasury department he can watch the
golden river and its branches as it
flows throughout the world and can es-
innate its size and the directions to-
ward which it is going.
y CHAT WITH THE DIRECTOR OF THE
MINT.
1t was by appointment with Direc-
tor Preston that | called at the
treasury department. this afternoon. |
found him IN his private offi ;e in the
mint bureau with several large sheets
of figures lying before him. After a
word or so of greeting he said:
81 think that the eOld product for
1897 will amount 10 more than $3.50, OOO,-
900. There is a big increase going on
in nearly every gold region of the
world, and the amounts IN sight are
now gre ater than ever. In 1892 the
gold product of the world amounted to
Slo0, 100000 In 1895 it had reached
the $780, O0O, 900 point, and this year it
will rise at least $50, 600, 900 more"
MORE GOLD FROM EVERYWHERE.
'In what part of the world is the
biggest increase, Mr.. Preston" l
asked.
I'VE find that more gold is being
mined everyw here,' replied the direct
or of the mint. South Africa will
turn out more than ever this year
My reports from Australia indicate
there and the Unlted States will have
Of n
tory"
What part of the United States do
you refer to:'
ITO almost every gold region of the
country said director Preston. Wv
shall produce at least SGT, 900, 900 worth |
of gold during the coming year, and it
is a question with me as to whether |
this i'll not be the biggest gold yield |
of our history. 1t was esl mated that
we produced So 200 600 in 1888. That |
was when the early gold regions of |
California were at their best. but the |
meaus of estimating the amounts taken |
out were not so good then rs they are |
now, and l think that siXty-fve mil |
lions was probably an Over-es innate. |
Our increase in 1896 has been about |
SGT, 900 900 over that of 1895, and we |
will have considerable more of al in
crease during the coming year"
CALF OftN1A IN 1891.
"Does California still yield a large |
amount OF gold:" L asked.
Yes, ;" replied the director of the |
other state in the union. 1t Is !
steadily increasing its product,
and will turn out something
like $4,000, 900 worth OF gold this
year. The people there have reduced
mining TO science. They can, | am
told, get the precious metals out
cheaper than the miners OF any other
part of the world. They do even bet
ter than the operators of the famous
their god costs them less than 80
cents a ton. Large sums are invested |
in mining opei atlons, and the work is
done on such big scale that the cost is
cut down to a minimum"
From what part of California do we
now get the most gold?'
the most of 1t comes from the |
Mother Lode" replied the director of |
the mint. This has always been the |
chief mining region of California. 1t |
runs from north to south through the |
state in tue mountains back from the |
sea coast. There are d number of diff |
ferent regions along this lode that are |
being worked at a great profit and in |
all sorts of ways. Hydraulic mining is |
DelDS resumed. FOR time Inc laws |
we're against this because the debris |
made by washing down the mountains |
was carried by the rivers over the |
wheat fields, destroying them. Then |
a commission was organized by which |
the waste was so taken care of that the |
wheat fields were saved. There are |
several hundred hydraulic mines now |
being worked
THE NEW MINING PROCESS.
How about the new processes of |
mining? Do the Callfornlans use them |
to any extent"
Yes" replied Mr.. Preston. ''There
are cyanide mills and COLONIZATION
works all over California. Many of the |
old dumps are being worked over, and
old mines are being reOpened. A num-
/ er Of the best of the gold mines were
aba adoned years ago on account OF
losing the veiu at certain de pth. 1t was
then thought that gold did not extend
very deep into the earth, and when the
miners had gone down 500 or 800 feet
and lost the vein, it was believed that
the end of the god had come and tn at