The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-09-21

value of the gold taken from the mines was a litle over $101, ,0o0,0 900 and there was good deal of proper pride manifested in banking and financial circles when the announcement was made that the American mines were be- ginning to yield more than sl0OoOO,o0 of gold each year.
 Now Congress is asked to consider the fact that instead of an increase in gold production there was a falling of in two years of $l7,000,0o0 in this produc- tion, and the probabilities are that in the year 1918 our mines will produce even less than the $s4Oo0,0O0 reported as the production of 1917. In fact it is au- thoritatively stated that the yield of new gold in the first six months of the present year from the California mines has fallen off s3,O000ee.
 It is not because the gold deposits are becoming exhausted. The belief of the T A of science is that under wise directlon and economic treatment the gold mines of the United States and Alaska should continue a production which would yield considerably in ex- cess of s100, 00O,0O0 each year.
 The difficulty seems to be due to the high cost and the shortage of labor as well as the increase in price of materials and apparatus which are needed in gold production. The condition is said to be so serious that capital is being with drawn from gold mining and the situa- ton is such as to demand in the view of all of the authorities such legislation will make it possible to maintain our gold mining activities
 Courtenay DeKalk stated recently that very few of our gold mines are fortu- nate enough to possess reserves of high grade ore The Home Stake mine in South Dakota, whose managers have been conspicuous in their attempt to se- cure the highest possible aid from science in operating their mines, recov- CTS only about $40 for each ton of ore The average value of ore in the Mother mine of Lade, California, is only about S4 a ton, whereas the Lade mines of Alaska recover from 70 cents to $2. ton.
 In the early days of mining in Cali fornia so small recovery as thls py the miners would not have been worth considering. We have in this country considerably in excess of s3,000VeO,oOo Tn gold, but the amount is not likely 10 be increased to any great extent by im- ports from our debtors across the sea so that if there is to be yearly lh- crease in our stores of gold it must prin- cipally come from American mines. oueii a condition as was recently repoftea from California the authorities say should
 
 in Congress to prevent it. For instance. the federal law fixes the money value or gold at 20671S per ounce and yet there are. mining properties in Caliofhla WheIe since 1915 it has cost about $20 an ounce to mine the gold. Some of the mines are running behind since the cost of produc- ing the gold is greater than the amount for which the gold can be sold at the mint. MT. DeKalb says that the La Grange hydraulic mine in California, which has been in operation since the discovery of gold in that state, had been compelled to suspend operation and to scrap it's plant. Many other smaller mines have closed.
 The problem is difficult one. It can not be solved by tampering with the standard s20.671S an ounce which the government has fixed. Yet in view Of the extraordinary demands which the war has occasioned and also in view of the conditions which will arise after the war is ended it is regarded by the members of the federal reserve board and bankers as vital that we should in crease our gold supply as rapidly as pos sible.