The Red Cloud chief., 1902-07-11
ALUEOFOURMETAL
Incorrectness of the Popular Idea
Concerning Gold and Silver.
Omeial Estimates show the Relative.
IL Snail Part Played by Two
Precious Metals In
Ing Natioaal Wealth.

Because gold and silver are used for
measuring as money the values Of
other national products. people are
prone TO consider their production as
perhaps the most important OF the
mineral outputs Of our country. In q
certain sense this is true. But a COM
parison of some of our mineral indus
tries as set forth by the United states
geological survey in the Mineral Re-
sources Of the United States. 1907
shows how small n part. relatively. the
two precious metals play in adding to
our national wealth, says the st.
Louis Globe-Democrat.
Round numbers alone being used FOR
convenience sake. il is found that the
gold product was worth $4,000 900.
and that the commercial value of the
silver product was about $36.OOO,OOO
though the coming value was S7i,OOO.-
600. As metals. then. the gold and sill
yer were worth Sllj,OOO,UOo; as money
they were worth Sli3.U 600 eco. Now the
| copper produced in 1900 was valued at
sos. 100000. though the price decreased
a cent and n half n pound. as compared
! with 1890. the LEAD was valued Mt over
1923, 900. 900. though the condition of the
industry was not good: zinc was pro-
duced 20 the value of over Sl0,0OO,NOO
though il declined % per cent. III value
as compared with 1890. The copper.
lead and zinc products were worth
more as metals. by $l6,00O.0oO, than
our gold and silver. as metals, in 1900,
than the combined values of the
production of abrasive materials,
such as grindstoncs, garncts. and so
on: of chemical materials. such as
gypsum, phosphate rock, and others;
Of pigments, such as metallic paint,
white lead. and SO on: and of the mis-.
%cellancous metallic products, the
whole aggregate amounted to about
$50. 900, 900, shows that they were
worth less. as metals or metallic
products. than the gold by about $27,-
OOO 1000. and more than the silver, as a
metal, by $l6.OOO,OOO.
Further. the comparison Of gold and
silver with the structural materials
prOduced-thnt is. with S4s, 900 900 of
building stone, SOC. COO. 600 worth of
clay products. and $l3.OOO.OOO of ce-
ments; $l57, 200. 900 in all-showS that
the structural materials exceeded the
gold and silver in value by $42, 900, 900,
IL the commercial value OF silver is
taken At it's coming value OF $4,000.
OOO.
Applied now TO the great metallic
basis of our civilization. iron and its
products the comparison becomes
still nor striking. Iron ore was
produced to within less than &c. o O,00C
Of the value az the gold; and pig iror
Was proiured to II value of nearly
$lO7 OOO,OO0 in excess ~ the coming
value of both gold and silver combined
But the comparison ~ THE gold and sill.
yer output Wit the output Of the min
cral fuels. coal. petrulen'n and natural
a i the moe. striking Of all; for the
combined gold and silver value Is ex
ceeded by tn" high sum 81 S253.0OO, 900
or $$O6, 0HO,0OO rs again $l53,OO0, 900
Thesn comparisons NJ" SfT nor IN
terestinX in view of the statement ~
the director Of the mint. that 'two
thirds IL the output ~ silver in tn,
United States IL obtained as n by
prsiuct from ulknes which would h
operated no matter what the price o.
silver might be-" and that in the Grip
Pile Greek district the reserves Co
gold In sight nre enormous"
Another popular preuossession tha
receives scant courtesy at the handl
Of the reports is in regard to tin. Re
sides the terse statement under tn,
tabular summary, Tin Quantity
None" tin ia only mentioned twice il
the volume; nee under the iron an,
steel statistics, when the production
of tin plates and terne plates 10 tn,
amount of 32,6Gi long tons is noted
and again "A brief description is givel
of the "Occurrence of Stream Tin i,
the York Region, Alaska" the YorI
region lying west of Cape Nome. w
produced no tin in this country il
1900.