The Washington herald., 1919-01-11
COLD MINING
POOR BUSINESS
Holland Explains How In
dustrial Consumption May
Exceed Production.


ton seems. to many who read what
Mr.. McAdoo is reported to have said.
to be that he is Of the opinion that
American railroad capital represents
heavy watering Of stock. One COM
ment made this morning by a man OF
high authority and long experience
was this: Il am wondering whether
Mr.. McAdOO knew that, as it has
been with our gold production. so also
1t is with our railroad systems" This
r'~r nd In mind the fact, as he be-
lieved it to be, that railroad capital
L .-,sl OF TO-DAY represents as much
money as the aggregate outlay re-
Quired for first construction and also,
f. f~'"~~v'Ur,. c1uipping, and provid-
ing terminals for some Of our great
collected from stockholders for re-
peated reorganizations
Gold Mining UnproductIye.
Just at this time. when the rail-
road problem is under serious con-
sideratiOn both by Congress and by
railroad executives, there comes in
timatiOn that an appeal will be
made to Congress to tighten the
burdens which the operators and
owners Of gold and silver mines, es-
'pecially gold. assert are now upon
them-buTdens so great that unless
relief be obtained serious impair
ment of the mining of precious
metals is likely to follow. 1t may
be that Congress will be asked to
excuse the operators and owners
of gold mines from paying excess
profits taxes. 1t may be that iIr
other ways the production OF gold
will be stimulated. although II Is a
fact that the United States now pos
sesses approximately One-third Of
all the gold above the ground and
in circulation throughout the world.
From one point Of view the own
ers and operators Of the gold mines
of the United States and the own
ers and operators of the railroad
systems Of the United States have
had similar experiences.
What Gold Has Cost.
Careful estimates were made a few
years ago. reaching far back to the
days when California announced to
the world that in her valleys and
mountains there existed stores Of gold
Of almost incOnce.vabIe value. up to
the present time. or at least uptIl
Alaska was found to contain the pre-
cious metal in large amounts. and
these estimates led an astonishing
fact. For it was possible to secure
fairly good statistics which told OF
the amount of money that has been
invested in prospecting and in a.
tcmpts to exploit gold mines. The ag-
gTegate amount of money unsuCCess-
fully invested appears by these sta
tistics to be greater than the amount
Of gold. mea asured in dollars, whlcn
has been taken from the soil. In
other words, the cost OF producing
gold hos been in the aggregate
greater. measured by dollars. than the
gold which has been produced. And
yet in recent years the gold mines or
the United States and Alaska have
each year yielded between ninety mil
lions and a hundred millions in gold.
More Lost Than Won.
Vast sums OF Ir"r ey have been sub
scribed for the 7. emotion of gold
mines, almost every penny of which
has been lost. These Iosse- are not
confined to the VOL street district.
TIoSably tlG greater part Of these
losses represent subscriptions made
BY the American people from the At
la.ntic to the Pacific for stock which
TrTorted to represent great values in
god mines. Therefore, when the
question Of relieving the gold crcra-
tors. and owners is under consldera-
-'cu there should be, it IS claimed, a
gOcd understanding OF the history OF
gold mining in he United States
since it began upon a large scale in
California. Great fortunes have been
made by some who were lucky
enough to have the ownership in
mines which after exploitation were
found to be very rich in gold deposits.
On the other hand. there are millions
upon millions Of dollars worth of
wortN'0z .0ck which represents dis
appointed investment by the Amerf-
can people in gold-mining property.
Gold Is stored Away.
There is another point of view
which, according to the belief OF those
who have studied the question, has
not lbeen considered even by the pub
lie Or by those who are opposing gov
ernmental aid to the gold miners
For the assertion is frequently made
that the United States has gold in
plenty in the banks. in the Treasury
vaults and in other places, and that, If
= '. ID be increased by home pro-
duction, that will tend still further to
y. c0~1rr0ditv prices. Neverthe-
less the government is still conserving
gold and some of the leaders are con-
WINGED that in the refinancing of the
world, which is to be in considera BILE
measure the work of the United
States, the more gold we have the
easier will this new financing be ac-
complished.
On the other hand strong, plausible
and apparent sincere argument is
made in opposition to any special
favoritism on the part Of the govern
ment towards the gold mining indus
try. The reason behind this view is
the belief that the government should
grant no special privileges to any
American industry.
With the Railroads.
In the United States the nurnbar
Of owners Of railroad securities
amounts to millions. These owners
have borne the burdens of construc-
tion and improvement Of the great
arteries of commerce. In almost
every case the first investors in
railroad securities. especially in the
years between 1880 and 1870, lost
all or nearly all of their invest
ments. Probably in the Interstate
Commences library can be rouna
statistics which set forth the origi-
nal cost Of building. equipping and
establishing terminals for our great
trunk lines. If to this sum, which
rises into the billions, there should
be added the money collected from
stockholders by repeated reorgan-
Izations, it is certain that the totaI
sum would represent q far larger
outlay Of money than does the pres
ant Capitalization reDresAntsd nv