The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1914-03-03
FEDERAL CONTROL
FOR RAD|UM BEDS

The committee on mines and mining
of the house of representatives having
reported favorably the bill providing
for government control of the produc-
tion and manufacture of radium, and
hearings having been recently held in
the senate on similar bills, the situa-
extent that the following is now rec
commended for passage: "That all de-
posits of carnotite, pitchblende or 9TH
er ores, containing radium in sufficient
quantities for extraction, in lands be-
longing to the United States, and the
lands containing the same, shall be
subject to exploration, occupation and
purchase under the mining laws upon
condition that said radium- bearing
ores shall be exclusively sold and de-
livered to the United States ag here
matter provided, and all said ores
hereafter mined from lands the title
to which is now in the United States.
and which were not located under the
mining laws of the United States.
and of the states wherein the same
are situated prior to the 18th day of
odhuaiy, SNAIL DC so SOlQ and
delivered and the exclusive right of
the United States to purchase and re-
ceive said ores from the owners of
such ores, their lessees and assigns to
gether with the right of the United
States to annul and void any patent
issued for such lands because of fail
ure to develop and mine such ores
with reasonable diligence, shall be ex-
pressly reserved in any and all pat
ents which may hereafter be issued.''
At the recent house hearing, facts
were brought out which have a def
mite bearing on this legislation The
Bureau of Mines has an arrangement
with the National Radium Institute,
whereby the latter will profit greatly
from the operations of the govern
ment should it go into the manufac-
ture of radium as this bill authorizes.
The hearing brought out that the said
National Radium Institute is DR..
Howard Kelly of Baltimore and DIR.
James Douglass of New York; that
they know of no process for getting
out radium and that the government
had none. When, then, may we ex-
pect the government to start the pro-
duction of radium? If it has taken
the two producing companies which
are in the field in the United States
today from one to three years to de-
-velop a process, when may we expect
government red tape to allow the pro-
duction of radium from government
plantsf
If the government wishes to aid in
the industry, why does it not enter
the field in open competition with
those who have already spent large
sums of money in pioneeringf No, its
position is so weak that it must pre-
vent its competitors buying any ore
from lands located after January Is
of this year, and thus gradually pre-
Guide their getting ore later, when
they shall have treated ore now avail
able.
If the government competed fairly
with those pioneers it would buy ore
in the open market and give the mine
owner and prospector chance to sell
in a competitive market. As it is,
irrespective of conditions, the ore will
be sold at fixed price, made by the
government. If you don't like the
price and could get more elsewhere,
get out of the business, abandon your
claims and try some other occupation.
Also, just what is gained by this
affiliation of government bureau with
so-called National Radium Institute,
and what guarantee have we that
this institute is the legitimate object
of the government IS solicitude and
paternalismf Are there not branches
of the government, which could apply
the radium, without bringing in pri-
vate parties and private philanthro-
pists to aid in the work and reap the
benefit Is the government too poor
to undertake the whole work alonei
This whole question is in an unsat-
isfactory condition. In the absence
of authentic reports on the hearings
on the bill in question, now before
the senate committee, we are unable
to give the opinions of those who
have testified. Newspaper reports,
however, indicate considerable oppo-
sition, and it appears to us that there
is little occasion for the passage of
the bill. If the government must in
terfere in the matter, let it do so in
fair and open competition with the
honorable gentlemen now making ra-
dunn in this country, and justify its
position before the eountry-Mining