The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1912-03-15
JUGGlED FIGURES HELP
\ PLAN TO GIVE SMHTER
TRUST GRIP ON REHNERIES
Why Treasury Department Rec.
ords Show Receipts To Have
Been Transferred
MATTER UP TO CONGRESS
Facts Taken From Books Con-
flict With Secretary Mac
Veagh's Public Utterances
BY HAROLD FRENCH.

ThsrA A re certain facts taken dl-
rectlv tsar the records OF the treas
NV aenagu 1ent which conflict with
recent puthIs utterances of Secretary
Az the Treaa lry Mac Veagh and his
6rsh assistaiS1. A. Piatt Andrew. The
ppb,ic utteraiN .es referred to- which
nv the way, IA themselves CONNECT
were as followst -. ,,,ovuh IN
On Feb. Sec rotary Mac Neash IN
Quoted as sayin :: me rennihs
hss.nha. NJ the NH 1t have been clos
nert NJ fJIs, economy plan"
Or the same daTa First Assistant
sacratarv Andrew said! Nobody
has suggested doing away WIN the
government refining. oo MOI SSe
3 any basis for the sEh teaeh W"
could do without the rehnerl9s II
we bought refined gold, As me ruiO,
pean minis 90, but l have oe nes 20
OF proposition to close 'ne ie
cries" ,,.h a.
an Feb Of in connection with the
charge that the Administered On was
manning to turn over the 'oVern-
Inent's refining business to tho snsr
tar trust, Secretary MacVeagh saie.
There is no foundation for the
charges made except that. having Te
Gently opened modern refinery y,
connection with the assay ONCE n
New York, IL has been deemed uIf'
4 necessary to continue the refinery
In PHILADELPHIA. The discontinuance
OF the refneries that Denver and
san Francisco minis are operating
has never been considered"
The facts referred to, which can
be found In the records OF the treas
ury department, are az follows:
When MacVeagh took charge In
1909 there were $50 employees in the
San Francisco mint. BY stoppins
The coinage OF gold and restricting
the output to silver the force was
cut TO 135 a year ago. With only
skeleton force at work the appropria-
tor for the present fiscal year was
4 only S310.320. MacVeagh's allowance
in his budget for 1928 was only
s213. 500 Sixty thousand dollars was
appropriated for the maintenance OF
3. the refinery this year. Anyone at
All acquainted with the refining bust
ness as operated by the government
knows that this sum is wholly IN
adequate for the operation OF the
San Francisco refinery.
II is impossible TO prove at this
time what the real intention or the
treasury department are, in view OF
the recent statements OF its officials.
n in entirely possible, however,
10 4proye from the records of the
treasury department that the only
economy in either shutting down the
refneries or cutting down their out
nut to the extent that will be neces-
cary. with the reduced approprfa-
ton for operation, will be to the ad-
vantage of the private smelters and
tine banks.
The following facts. taken from the
report. of the director of the mint.
cannot be characterized as either
..untrie'' or "scandalous."
Until this year the government has
operated three electrolytic refneries,
at Philadelphia, Denver and San
Francisco. In 1909-10, an average
year, the plants produced nearly
u 500 OOo. 900 In fine gold and silver.
The expense of these refineries. In
Gliding a small amount Of work done
at the New Orleans mint, aggregated
s245. $685.
The total receipts from parting
charges and minor sources were
s32s, BOOST.
The net earnings OF the refneries
we're s77,736.60. The record proves
then, that the rehneries were not
only seIf-sustaining, but were operat-
ed at o profit that went into the
public till.
By no other method than faiture
20 take account OF the sums received
by the refneries from parting
charges and other sources can il be
snoNn that the government rehneries
have not been profitable 10 the peo-
pie.
While there is no way Of proving
Y the intent, save by clrcumstantial eV-
idence, 10 Is q fact that this Is just
what has been done.
The books OF the treasury depart
ment will show that the collections,
parting and refining" have been
transferred from the books OF the re-
fineries TO the account OF "miscellan-
eous receipts" OF the general ac-
counts Of the treasury department
BY this shifting OF figures the ac-
counts OF the government refineries
now show only the expense OF their
maintenance and-ar- apparent loss
20 the government OF about quarter
OF a million dollars annually. This
could be put forward as an argu-
ment for permitting the smelter
trust to refine Uncle Sans bullion
exclusively.
Those are the facts. What ia
their significance It is clearly the
business Of congress TO determine.
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