The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-01-23
THE COST OF SILVER.

Denver Times: Edward Atkinson
the statistical genius who is able tc
mathematically demonstrate hat an
American citizen may live comfortably
upon an income of S cents per day, and
who is given to other and equally
startling freaks of computation, con-
tributes TO a recent issue of Sound Cur
rency an article in which he alleges
that the average cost of producing sill
Yer from the mines n placing 1t upon
the Lordon market is % cents per
unc With his usual statistical agll-
ity, Mr.. Atkinson proceeds to a dem
OnstratiOn of his remarkable PROPOSE
ton. To secure an average" he takes
the report of one company, operating
a single group of mines in New South
Wales. It evidently matters not that
this is one of the richest bonanza mines
in all the world-it makes a very good
average for sound currency" pur-
/ poses. This in five years,
from May. 1891, to May. 1886, produced
80 ,O71, S54 ounces of fine silver, the mar
ket value of which is placed at $40,
ga, 1873. The mine also produced in gold,
copper ard lead, the sum of 81, 1871, Sl4.
This latter amount Nh. Atkinson, very
conveniently to his demonstration, de-
ducts from the current cost of produc-
ton" of the mine, which he places al
{ E-bfOI1FU-Os AE&N AAAo q -eAAI VI $3.50
712 rs representing the net cost of the
silver.
This is certainly a brilliantly original
idea, but Mr.. Atkinson unfortunately
fails to avail himself of its full benefits.
Had he taken some of u Colorado
mines, where the b~y-products are worth
fully as much as the silver itself, as
the basis of his computations, he could
have demonstrated by his method that
! silver can be produced at no cost at all.
IN fact. there are mines in Colorado
which, under Mr.. Atkinson's system of
"figgers," would show an actual bonus
of as high as a dollar for every ounce
OF silver taken out.
But Mr.. Atkinson has other peculiar
tiles of method. Not content with cred
iting TO the cost Of silver production the
total value OF ali other metals obtained
from the New South Wales mines, he
wholly omits from his computations
sUch trifiing items of expense as origi-
nal Investment, interest on capital
stock. cost of prospecting, development.
machinery, buildings, salaries of Of
ficers and office expenses. Here again
Mr.. Atkinson overlooks an opportunity.
Had he omitted current operating ex-
penses'' as well. he might have discov-
cred that his $40,2 15, 1873 worth of silver
was all net profit.
Mr.. Atkinson's article is truly a Won
drous production, but the most remark
able thing in connection with it is the
fact that such manifeStly false and
ridiculously absurd statements should
be seriously presented for consideration
by an intelligent public. Every person
at all acquainted with practical mining
well knows that the average cost of
prospecting and development far eX-
ceeds the average cost Of operating af-
ter mineral has been reached. ANY
school boy has practical business sense
enough TO realize that such expendi-
lures must be considered as a part of
the average cost of tina to the produc-
ton OF which they are absolutely neces-
sary. But wen were these things not
true, common sense would prove to
any intelligent person that the claim
that silver can be produced at an aver
age cost of % cents per ounce is false
and absurd. Silver is worth 56% cents
per ounce at the present time. If it
could be produced for % cents there
would be a clear profit of 31% cents
for the producer. There are thousands
of already developed but idle silver
mines in Colorado today. Was there a
profit of 26 cents per ounce-Or, in fact,
any profit at all-in silver production.
all these mines would be producing and
from them would be taken at least $780,
600, 600 worth of the metal annually. No
new silver mines have been opened
since 1899. and none can be al any
thing like the present price of the
metal. Only mines already developed
and having machinery and equipment
in place. with ore of unusually high
grade, can now produce silver at a
profit. If they could they would be do
ing it. and they are not.
It is hardly probable that these facts
are not known TO Mr.. Atkinson and the
Sound Currency Reform club, which is
giving publicity to his false and mis-
leading statements. Their publication is,
therefore, a deliberate attempt to de-
ceive the public in the interests of the
enemies of bimetallism and the friends
of the single gold standard.