Gilpin observer., 1919-06-12
MINER THE GOAT
DURING THE WAR
Takes the Worst of 1t all Thru
Without Word of Complaint.

lot of game sports and while war
legislation was for the most part
framed against them no one heard
whimper out of them, says the
Denver Mining Record. Their
private affairs did not matter just
so long as Uncle Sam and his
brave soldier boys were provided
with all the food, money and
equipment necessary to win the
war. But sometimes the Rocky
mountain mining men wonder If
there is anyone down in Washing
ton looking out after their welfare
and if the western representa-
tives in congress ever lift up their
voices in their benefit. The eyes
of the mining men have been OPP
ened to some extent by conditions
brought to light by the war. The
tungsten miner up in Boulder
county has learned that while he
has been voting to protect the
eastern manufacturer against the
cheap labor of European markets
he has not been protected against
the ten-cents-per-day miner of
tungsten ore in the Orient. He
has learned that so-called friend
ly interests have been playing in
to the hands of the steel trust.
and, thru false representation as
to supply and demand, the west
ern miner of the black metal has
believed statements to the effect
that there was no demand for
tungsten, molybdenum, chrome.
manganese and other metals of
this class. The war has taught
him, however, that the demand
for these metals is always on the
increase, but that the demand, so
far as a supply for these metals
from the Rocky mountain coun-
try is concerned, has depended up
on the ability of the steel trust
and other steel manufacturers to
import a supply of these metals
from the cheap labor districts of
tin-America, the Orient and
Russia. Now that the war is over
and these truths are evident, the
miners of the west are demanding
that Uncle Sam give them the
same treatment accorded to the
eastern manufacturer in the mat
ter of a protective tariff, and they
also demand that their represen-
tatiyes in congress study the re-
quirements of their respective
communities and do something to
help the west solve it's problems.
Gold miners and silver miners
have not been treated much bet
ter than have the producers of
war minerals. Legislation pass
ed to overcome the law of supply
and demand kept the price on gold
and silver down to the levels be-
low their intrinsic worth as COM
pared with prices of staple food
stuffs, labor and supplies. West
ern mining men in Indifferent To-
calities met and resolved" but
nothing came from their effort to
secure justice for the miner of
precious metals. Gold is now at
a premium abroad, but the pro-
ducer of the yellow metal does not
get any part of this premium, al
tho it costs more to produce an
ounce of gold today than ever.
The silver miner has Jared a lit
tie better than the gold producer
but the producer of the white met
al is not enjoying the high price
he is entitled to in comparison
with the prices he must pay for
foodstuffs, powder, cyanide and
other supplies. Gold and silver
are important factors in the read
justment of war debts and world
commerce. Congress has lost
much time for Uncle Sam in the
matter of improving his position
thru increasing the production of
precious metals. A little atten-
tion to the requirements of the
miner would have kept produc-
tion of the metals at the maxi
mum and would have added mill
ions in gold and silver to the hard
money behind Uncle Sans bonds.
The production of gold and silver
should be stimulated if we wish
Uncle Sam to control certain Wit
ally essential currency problems.