The Idaho recorder. [volume] (Salmon City, Idaho) 1886-1927, 1907-08-22

lands saturated with gold To thu
depth OF three-quaFters Of q mile,
and you will have faint conception
lof the possibilities OF the Rand.
| There Is no more risk than there
Is OF securing a harvest OF sand along
seashore. To produce gold In that
country IL as prosaic and certain -
cranberry raising in Connecticut.
There are no prospectors, no wonder
full discoveries; In their place are
stupendous mills and an army OF
poorly paid Coolies, aud from this
simple combination there rolls forth
an ever-incresina food of gold which
the world Is compelled 70 absorb.
"One more picture OF modern gold
manufacturing. Not many years ago
IL was discovered that all of the soil
In the Sacramento and San Joaquin
Valleys of California was filed with
gold. We will consider what Is being
done In the Sacramento, For hun
dreds Of miles this river runs through
broad valley Of a width varying
from twenty TO more than one hun
dred miles. When Ii became known
that gold was scattered through the
soil Of this 1900 square miles of val.
ley, Capital called on Science and In.
'ention for assistance The distant
mountains we're made To furnish
water power for electricity. Then
there was built a boating gold fac
tory at cost OF $4,000. 1t took a
position near bank OF the river, and
with its dredging appliances began
TO eat its way In to the soil. The
mud and dirt we're carried over the
huge scow, the gold extracted, the
tailings being dumped in the rear.
Thus was witnessed the strange sight
Of factory crawling slowly overland
toward the distant foothills. II
rested In Canal OF its own making !;
1t was run with electrical power gen
Grated by a mountain brook: 1t work.
ed twenty four hours day with
three shifts Of men; the amount OF
gold extracted was as uniform as the
thrust OF Its motors; it's mine was an
ocean OF mud, there was no more
romance about its operation than
there Is about a brick kiln, and yet
that $3.50, 900 gold factory made a net
profit OF 100000 the lirst year,
There are thirty. Of these boating
gold dredges at work cutting their
way from the river out into the open
country. They ATE winding farms,
orchards, and meadows into gold.
There Will be one hundred OF them
In commission inside OF a year, and
at the lowest estimate they will add
s25, 900, 600 annually to the gold sup
ply. The dredging capitalists lease
the land from the farm owners and
divide the profits on such a basis as
may be agreed upon.
Such are the modern methods OF
producing gold. The element OF risk
Is absent, aud 1t has become merely
matter Of capital and labor. New
processes have multiplied by a thou.
sand ties the amount OF ore which
can be proftably handled 1t is not
necessary 10 discover new sources OF
gold. Now and then the hardy pros
pector will uncover strata in which
the yellow metal will glisten before
his eve, but he will become no richer
than the capitalist who pays men SO
much day 10 jam a gold-making
dredge through the valleys OF the
Sacramento or the San Joaquin, and
he may rest assured that bis claim
will be exhausted centuries before
the Coolies are through with the
hundreds OF cubic miles of gold ore
which lies Ia Africa.
Science, Invention, and the Ma.
chine have conspired to demolisb the
gold standard. 1t was based on
mans inefiiciency to cope With nat
ure. The values Of gold and silver
we're safe when savaees and machine.
less races inhabited the earth. Had
the ancient Romans known Of the 10.
cation of the billions of tons Of gold
bearing rock In the Witwatersrand
they would not have added pound
OF gold to the worlds stock.
The Machine has made gold a COM
mon metal. Ii j. were possible 10
maintain 80 stupid theory as the
gold standard Of value the Machine
would grind the Rocky Mountains 10
dust and extract from it millions or
billions Of gold. but 1t will not he
necessary. Gold is about to step
down from the throne and take his
proper place as servant.
But how will this be done? What
will be the effect upon prices and on
prosperity in the interim before the
world fully realizes that its measur-
ing stick is ruined? VIII there be
great losses. and. II so. who win sus.
tain themy Is II possible to check
by law the production Of eoid2 What
will be the attitude CT the great
bankersg What will be the future
standard Of Yalueg
These are questions which the
near future sill have TO answer, and