The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-11
HEACY COSTS IN
 GOLD PRODUCTION
By HOLLAND.

New York, January l0.-(Special.) MT McAdoo. the direcetor general of the American railways. fs quoted as having made reference recently to the so-ealled over-capitalization of the American rail roads. The clear intimation seems. to many who read what Mir McAdoo IS reported tc have said. 10 be that he is 0, the opinion that American railroad capital represents heavy watering of stock. One comment made this morning I by a man of high authority and long experience was this; 'I am wondering whether Mir. McAdcr, knew that 0s it has been with cur gold production so also it is with our railroad systems.
 This man had in mind the fact, as he believed it to be, that railroad capitaliza- ton of today represents as much money as the aggregate outlay required for first construction and also. for improving, equipping. and providing terminals for sCme of our great trunk lines as we'll as the vast sum collected from stockhold- CTS for repeated congratulations
 Just at this time, when the railroad problem is under serious consideration both by Congress and by railroad execu- tiNes. toere comes intimation that an appeal will be made to Congress to light eli the burdens which the operators and owners of gold and silver mnes especi- ally goldS assert are now upon them burdens so great that unless relief be obtained serious impairment of the min
 ing of precious metals Is likely to follow. IL may be that Congress will be asked to excuse the operators and owners of gold mines from paying excess profits taxes. It may be that in other ways rthe production of gold will be stimulated although it is fact that the United States now possesses approximately one third of all the gold above the ground and in circulation throughout the world.
 From one point of view the owners and operators of the gold mines of the United States and the owners and opera tors of. the railroad systems of the Uni ted States have had similar experiences.
 WHAT GOLD COSTS
 careful estimates were made 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 incon- cetvable value, up to the present time or at least until Alaska was found to contain the precious metal in large amounts, and these estimates led an as- tcnishing 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 attempts to exploit gold mines. The aggregate amount of money unsuccessfully invested appears by these statistics to be greater than the amount of gold, measured in dollars, which has been taken from the soil. In other words the cost of produce ing gold has been in the aggregate great CT, measured by dollars, than the gold which has been produced And yet in recent years the gold mines of the United States and Alaska have each year yield ed $i00000 900 in gold.
 Vast sums of money have been sub- scribed for the promotion of gold mines, almost every penny of which has been lost. These losses are not confined to the Wall street district. Probably the greater part of these losses represent subscriptions made by the American peo- pie from the Atlantic to the Pacific, for stock which purported to represent great values in gold mines. Therefore when the question of relieving the gold operators and owners is under considera tion there should be, it is claimed, a good under standing of the history of gold mining in the United States since it began upon a large scale in California. Great for tunes have been made by some who were lucky enough to have the ownership in mines which after explointation were found to be very rich in gold deposits. On the other hand there are millions upon millions of dollars worth of worth less stock which represent disappointed investment by the American people in gold mining property
 There is another point of view which, according to the belief of those who have studied the question, has not been con- sidered even by the public or by those who are opposing governmental aid to the gold miners, For the assertion is frequently made that the United states has gold in plenty in the banks, in the Urea sury vaults and in other places and that if 1t should be increased by home production that will tend still farther to
 initiate commodity prices. Nevertheless the government is still conserving gold and some of the leaders are convinced that in the refnancing of the word which is to be in considera ble measure the work of the United States the more gold we have the easier will this new financing be accomplished.
 On the other hand strong, plausible and apparent sincere argument is made in opposition to any special favoritism on the part of the government towards the gold mining industry. The reason behind this view is the belief that the govern ment should grant no special privileges to any American industry.
 AS WITH THE RAILROADS
 In the United States the number of owners of raiIroad securities amounts to