The Seward gateway daily edition, and the Alaska weekly post., 1919-05-19

-EXpectatioNS Of residents of Wasn- ingtou, Alaska, Oregon and other go.d mining states that the next Congrcs is going to pass a bill authorizing the payment of subsidy for the produc- ton of gold seem to he doomed to dis. appointment,
 - The above is the opinion of ], J, Underwood. special correspondent oi the Seattle Times in a press dispatch to his paper from Washington, D. C., under date of April 10th,
 Many big mining plants tha. w" no longer able to produce gold at g. profit because of the increased eos, of labor ard material will douh'losS be converted to other uses or juuked The crushing plants that are in cjos' proximity Co spruce forests may be converted into pulp mills, and lt is morally certain that unless there Is heavy drop in the price of labor and material there will be Tn Inc next few years. a decreased production ot gold on the Pacific Coast and vastly increased production of paper pu'p.
 A bill providing for the payment of a gold-production subsidy was in- troduced al tho last session. but jt ne :sr g. .uas, the cc.1mitto, r2aH,. Arrangements have been made to hay, the measure reinroduced at the com- ing session and there was some hope that it would pass.
 Arguments for Bill.
 The arguments for the bill are that American gold is worth more abroad than at home; other countries are paying a premium for it; that the cost of everything used in the production of the mctal-dynamite, acids, tools. food. labor. drill steel and other com modities- have all greatly advanced in cost. while gold remains at the same standard price roughly SD an ounce.
 As a result of these conditions many low-grade gold propositions si,- uated in the Western states have been compelled to close down. They cou'I no longer produce gold al a profit. X subsidy of 10 per cent was asked in order to prevent many quartz mills from going to the junk piles. This, 2. was conterdcd, was not equivalent so the increase in the cost of productici but is was sufficient to enable n''r'- Der of big projects in which millions of dollars are invested in machinery development and equipment, to keep running at a small marC:n or pror,..
 England faces the same situation Hundreds of mines in Australia aNi South Africa which next to America, are the two greatest go,d-producinC countries on earth, were closed down, and a government committee w2s
 
 appointed to investigate with a view to arriving at a conclusion on the advisability. of paying a subsidy.
 After several months of study the committee has advised against it, according to advises just received at the Department of Commerce,
 Decides Against Subsidy.
 The committee agrees that the payment of the subsidy would hep the mining companies, and perhaps would keep a greater number of men employed, but it would be fun damentally an economic blunder Tor England to pay, say, S25 for an ounce of gold that it had to sell, when used in foreign exchange, for S2o worth of foreign goods.
 In this report lies the crux of the situation If it would be poor busi- ness for Great Britain to pay S25 for S20 worth of foreign goods, it would be a greater blunder for the United States government to pay forty per cent more for gold than the metal could be sold for in foreign country,