Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1897-08-28
Qlut Of Gold.

( Glut Of Gold.
The Los Angeles Herald has the fol.
lowing suppositious special from Dawson
City, Alaska, which is probably un.
equalled as burlesque upon the highly
colored reports sent out, concerning the
fabulous richness of the Klondike gold
fields:
What your correspondent has been
predicting for the last six months has
come to pass at last. So great has been
the production of gold and so large has
become the supply that il has become a
drug in the market. Last night the city
council, which, as you know. was given
lawmaking jurisdiction over the Klon.
dixie diggings, passed an ordinance for
bidding the washing out of any more
gold for the space Of at least one year.
II is hoped in this way to stop the over
production that has been going on for
half year past, and thus to create
something Of normal demand for the
yellow metal. Something had to be
done. The situation here would be
ludicrous if it were not 80 painful and
pathetic. This morning two we'll known
FOUNDERS were before the police margis-
trate on complaint of the landlord of the
Palace hotel, who said that the men had
thrown several large gold nuggets
through the plate glass windows of the
hotel because he refused to take the
nuggets as the price of a nights lodging
When IL it understood that il cost some.
thing like $4,000, measured in gold, to
bring the two windows from Seattle to
Dawson City, it will readily be seen that
the offense was serious one. The
magistrate fined the offenders 100000,
which they paid, and deemed them.
selves to have gotten off very ea.ily.
Gold has deprecated so much since the
windows were purchased that they can
not be replaced for the amount of the
sne.
THE large fine residence that has
been in process Of construction for Cap
tain Ladue, the founder of Dawson City,
during the past three months is rapidly
nearing completion. 1t is one of the
best residences in the city, but the fact
that it is built of gold blocks rather
cheapens its external appearance. Pub
lie sentiment here is that Captain La
due, as one ofth richest men of Dawson
City, should have built q home that
would have been more of credit to the
community. 1t is due to the captain,
however, to explain that his fortune
has been seriously affected by the de-
probation in the price of gold.
"The Snow floods in the Yukon are
no longer source of danger to Dawson
City. The great gold embankment or
levee was completed last week, and it
will prove an effective protection against
any possible food. The people are
consratulatiDg themselves upon the fact
that the town Is located in British terri
tory. for it is well known that Mr..
Huntington wanted the levee built at
Forty Mile, and that Secretary Alger
would have been glad to give him his
Official assistance had the city been
located on American soil. 1t is esti-
mated that 1000. 900 tons of gold we're
used in building the levee. The new
gold sidewalks in the lower part of the
town are not giving very good satisfac-
ton, as they wear very easily and are
SO slippery that they cannot be used in
snowy or rainy weather with comfort
They may be replaced with a more
expensive but safer material.
The reported discoveries of silver
mines some 200 or 800 miles TO the west,
Of which gaze you the outline in my
dispatches yesterday, has created great
excitement, and il the news is confirmed
there will be . great ex odus. People
are very conservative here, however, as
the stories Of the frightful suffering at
the time OF the Klondike discoveries
first became known in the states are
fresh in their minds. If silver is dis.
covered in any quantities it will go far
to settle the psrplexing currency troubles
that have been visited upon the people
Of Dawson during the past three months.
1t has been impossible to get silver
money enough even for use as subsidi-
ary coin, and repeated demands upon
the states have thus far resulted in the
requirement Of no adequate volume Of
silver currency. Silver closed today at
456 per cent premium, with the prospect
of a further rise when the market opens
tomorrow.
"The city officials are warmly con-
graduating themselves upon the fact
that the issue Of municipal bonds (short
time seriss) were made payable In gold
at the instance Of the Wall street firm
~. Pierpont Morgan & Co.. which took
the bonds. The city has gold to burn
This 10 said 10 DO the fret instance on
record where the money power Of Wal
i q