Gilpin observer., 1906-03-08
NEWS FROM THE MINES and MILLS
smeIter improvements.

Smelter improvements.
improvements will be made in the
plants of the American Smelling &
Refining Company in Denver, Pueblo
and Leadville within the next two or
three months, which will increase the
production OF Colorado ore by many
thousands of tons. This will be
brought about by the adoption Of the
recommendations of former Gov. J.
b. Grant and Franklin Guiterman, that
machinery be installed to handle low
grade ores In. the smelters of the state.
rms announcement was made Mon
day by Daniel GugsInheim, president
OF the American Smelling &C. Refining
| Company, who with S. r. Guggenheim,
member of the executive board, and S.
: w. Eckels, vice president in charge of
trafhc, reached Denver few days ago
from New York. Mr. Guggenheim
said that he would hazard no estimate
as to the probable increase in the pro-
duction Of Colorado ores, through the
adoption of the machinery to handle
low grade ore, but he was sure that
1t would mean that thousands of tons
a year would be added to the credit of
| the state
| we are on our annual trip" said
Mr.. Guggenheim, land we shall be in
| Denver for week attending to affairs
OF the company. We believe that the
low grade proposition should be acted
on, and / am confident it will mean
that the production of the state will
| be vastly increased because of our
plan. am not prepared to say at this
| time what the costs of these improve
ments will be, as | do not consider it
expedient to give that out. We shall
| make personal examination of the
plants of the company in this city,
Pueblo and Leadville.
"On March 18th we go to Salt Lake
City. where we will meet John Hays
Hammond the mining engineer. He
is to examine a number of silver and
copper properties which he will look
over for us. 1t would not be wise for
me to say anything definite about the
location of these propositions at this
time"
Mr.. Guggenheim Is of the opinion
that Secretary of the Treasury Shaw
has not been acting for the best inter
ests of the silver industry, and stated
that he had gone out of his way to
evade buying silver when the govern
ment actually needed it.
Il believe" said Mr.. Guggenheim,
that il Secretary Shaw had followed
the law and bought silver for the use
of the government, silver would now
be worth IS cents an ounce. 1t is
worth Go cents. A law was passed by
Congress stating that all of the silver
bullion in the hands of the government
should be coined into silver dollars.
When the time came that the gov
ernment needed silver for subsidiary
coins, Mr.. Shaw, contrary to the law.
used the silver bullion in the treasury
for this purpose. IL he had bought sill
yer as he should have done under the
law, the government would have had
to purchase silver.
There is n need for silver by the
government right now, but the secre
tary refuses to purchase 1t. What is
the result of all this? 1t is simply
this: The foreign governments see the
country which produces silver go out
of it's way to keep from buying 1t, with
the result that the foreign countries
come to the conclusion that it is not a
good thing to buy.
IF Mr.. Shaw had purchased silver as
he should have done when the govern
ment actually needed ii, the moral re-
suit would have been very gerat, and
the demand for silver would have been
SO great that the price must have
risen. Mexico, you remember. sold
$40 900 900 worth of silver not so very
long ago, and | am confident that If
the United States had bought silver
when it needed 1t the Mexican govern
ment would not have sold that amount.
The result of the whole matter has |
been that foreign states have come TO
the conclusion that IL is not a good |
thing to buy silver
IF Mr.. Shaw had coined all the sill
yer bullion into silver dollars at the
rate of 81 10000 a month, as the law
required. silver would have risen in
value The foreign governments are
melting down their large silver coins
and they are converting them into sub
sidiary coin, when they would. in all
probability, have been in the market
for new silver | believe that the sec
retary of the treasury should be cen |
sured for thus evading the law. He is
continually insisting on not buying sill
yer and he is trying TO have law
passed that will prohibit its buying.
think that the matter should be called |
to the attention of the senators |
ana representatives of the west |
ern states, and that they be in
formed of the precise situation. l
think, too, that the Western people !
generally should take up this agitation |
10 have the government buy silver
when IL needs II, and to prohibit the |
secretary of the treasury from evading |
the law to give silver black eye