The Cordova daily times., 1919-05-21

say, $25 for an ounce or gold that It had to sell, when used in foreign ex- change, for $2O worth of foreign goods,
 In this report lies the crux of the situation. If it would be poor business for Great Britain to pay $25 for $20 worth of foreign goods, it would be greater blunder for the United States government to pay forty per cent more for gold than the metal could be sold for in a foreign country. In other words $1O0 of American gold would buy only $6O worth of foreign goods. This argument, together with the exhaustive report made by the British committee of experts, doubtless will be used by congressman and senators in whose states there are no gold min ing industries, and who are in big majority in congress.
 Prejudice Against Subsidies
 Besides that, the prejudice against the payment of subsidies to different industries Is becoming more and more pronounced. For instance, commit mittee from Farmers grange the other day told the members of the shipping board that the farming in- terests of the country would protest vigorously against the sale Of any government ships They also protested against certain plans the railroad ad- ministration had in mind.
 The delegates were reminded in very emphatic language that farmers only little more than twenty-five per cent of the population of the United States, and yet there recently had passed congress an ap- propriation of s1,250,OOO,0O0 to guar antee a market price for their wheat which is away beyond it's value in foreign countries, and that this sub sidy involved the possibility of a tax of $12.5O on every man, woman and child in the country.
 There has been considerable con- gressional grumbling about the pas sage of that wheat subsidy approprla- tion, and appeals for an appropria- tion to subsidize the gold mining in dustry are likely to fall on deaf ears
 Mining Mems Hopes Blasted
 The hopes of the western mining men were based on expectation that the British committee would find in favor of the payment of a subsidy. If Great Britain had agreed to it, there was some probability that the United States would do likewise. Conditions would then be on somewhat of a parity in nearly all gold producing countries. But those hopes are blasted in the report just received. The report says in part:
 Subsidy for the production of gold appears to the committee to be fun damenta1ly unsound. Gold has been adopted as the standard of value be- cause by reason of the operation of natural causes it is available in quan- titles and at such cost of production in terms of other commodities is di- rectly influenced by the laws of sup ply and demand. Periods of increased gold production, following on the dis covery of further deposits of gold capable of extraction at low cost have been marked by an increase in the price of commodities.
 Would Lose Purchasing Power
 "The intention of the subsidy sug gested by the gold producers is to en- able gold to be produced that would not--conformably with the economic law of supply and demand be produced at all. Other things being equal, the result would be that the purchasing power of the whole would De diminished The value terms of gold of the commodities for which it change it at lower price.
 Ut is undoubtedly desirable that