El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-12-03
COLD INDUSTRY
MUST BE AIDED
Soaring Costs Create I'm.
perative Need For Re
lief, Says Foster.

dustry and the relations OF the de-
creasing output of that metal TO the
vastly extended credit. the universally
! increased cost Of the production pc:
ounce Of gold even up TO 90 percent
above its fixed value Of S2O.67ls. are
awaited with interest by miners OF
the metal, financiers. economists AMI
thoughtful holders Of all government,
securities. Congress Is expected soon
TO act in the matter to encourage con-
tinued gold production, for more gold
is needed
The foregoing was the idea ex-
I pressed by r. r. Foster. president and
I general manager of the Vera Cruz
! Leasing company, operating in the
] Nogal district. y. N
Costs Are Soaring.
/ The greatly increased cost Of pro-
I ducinS an ounce of gold IS now so
/ great continued Mr. Foster. that in
/ California and Colorado. where deep
( mining is done on low grade ores
with such a small margin of profit. it
! has increased TO as much as 60 per-
I cent, in some cases. Of value Of the
metal Some are operating at a loss.
hoping for a change for the better
! rather than let the mines fill with
water and cave. when it would never
/ pay to unwater them
! The same conditions prevail in the
! Transvaal. and the British govern
! situation, but the plan is rot dis
closed.
Labor Increases Big.
The situation was aptly put. I
I think. by Eugene Davis before the
American Bankers association at Chi
! cago on September y, last, when he
said: The increased cost Of labor is
I from 80 TO so percent. with a decrease
of 30 to so percent in efficiency.
( Freight and smelter charges have ad-
vanced fully 25 percent. while the
cost Of supplies has risen from 100 to
! 500 percent. It is true the war is
over and labor will be returning to
the mines, but readjustment to peace
conditions and prices can not move
sufficiently to help the gold miner so
he can afford to keep'up the output Of
the metal
Decline In Output.
The decline in the worlds gold
output for 1917 was "a percent; in
the United States, IS percent, and in
the British possessions, 6.5 percent
In 1851, the decline in world pro-
duction was about $55,0O0.000. Of
which the decline in this country was
s16.500.00O. or 80 percent, and the es-
timated decline for 1918 is given at
S15.000,000 or more, reducing the out
put to s65.0OO,00O, or IS percent less
than the $101,000,000 in 1915.
Can't Reduce Coinage.
The reduction of the amount OF
gold in standard coins as relief to
the miners is declared by practical
financiers and experts to be out OF the
question. as it would disturb the
- -=sa- IT,
would it relieve the miners to debase
the dollar. The recurrence of bimet-
alism talk need cause no alarm, for
the STANDARD of value never was
more firmly fixed than now. as all
the vast war Indebtedness is payable
in terms Of gold and anything else IS
branded as reputation, say the finan-
clers, not TO mention the 25.0oo,o0e or
more bondholders in the United States,
in place of gold as had been provided
nor would they want q gold dollar
with less gold in it than they thought
they would get
Is Up TO Congress.
The gold miners are Willingly
leaving the remedy up TO congress.
with what assistance in the way OF
suggestions they themselves can give.
They ask for temporary relief only.
knowing that after readjustment. sue
ceeding pease, gold mining viii sooner
or later take its rightful place. Nor
do they ask that the price OF gold be
raised Relief in the way of direct !
taxes and indirect are suggested !
helpful factors.
a bonus by the government TO !
meet the cost Of gold mining over
and above the fixed value of $20.s71S !
per ounce has been suggested as z |
temporary expedient to tide the in I
dustry over. The comparison is made /
to the governments having practic- I
ally paid a bonus for wheat produc- /
ton
Something Must Be Done.
Something has to be done II the 1
supply of gold is kept up, and 1t ap-
pears to be universally conceded by I
economists and financiers that II must /
be, for reasons 1 have tried to indi- /
cate, and others. This necessity is
shown in official action and other
wise The first official action was
when secretary AcAdoo wrote Charles
A Sulzer: AT no time has this country II
so much required the largest possible
production Of gold as at present Next I
to food and ammunition, gold is one
Of the most needed war essentials IN
order to face the enormous amount of
government bonds required to finance
our war expenditures, a large credit n
structure will inevitably be created
on our gold reserves, and il is neces-
sary that those reserves. which are
the foundation Of the structure, shall ,
be maintained on the broadest posi-
BILE basis
Suggest s1s Bonus.
The first official meeting to take
up the subject was that Of the Colo
rado chapter Of the American Mining
congress and the Colorado Metal
Mining association In Denver on Aug
1st 9. last They went on record as
stating that the gold miners should
have some relief and elected delegates
to the American gold conference TO
meet at Reno, New, on August Is.
This was composed Of gold producers
and economists from II states. The !
estimated that the cost Of
producing an ounce OF gold had in
creased so percent since 1919 and
would call for a bonus of So per
ounce. and passed a resolution that
relief by the United States be made
70 the gold producers OF this country
% correspond with the increased cost
II production. the extent OF such re-
ief 10 be fixed from time to time to
meet changing conditions; that moth
ng IN these resolutions is 10 be con-
itrued as meaning an intention 10
liter the amount of gold in the dollar
" 10 place a premium on gold
Take Same View.
The Pacific Coast Bankers gold
conference at Portland. Ore. on Sep
ember 5 took much the same view 5
md recommended a congressional
committee to investigate and recon-
mend what is best to be done. At the
Northwest Mining association at Spo-
zane, attended by American and Ca