Great Falls daily tribune., 1920-11-15
PITY THE POOR GOLD DIGGER

PITY THE POOR GOLD DIGGER
The Tribune is in receipt of cry for help. 1t
comes from the Hartman National Bank of New
York and is headed, Give Aid to the Gold Min
er." Not many Of our readers have given this
class Of producers much thought or sympathy
it is true and yet they have very good case
indeed. They produce the only commodity IN
the world whose price is fixed by law the world
over, and while everything the gold miner uses
in the production Of the yellow metal has about
doubled in price including labor his product has
remained at the price fixed by law half century
ago. The circular received from the Hartman
Bank reads as follows:
"Have you read Congressman Louis T. Nc
Fadden's analysis of the report of the Gold Com
mittee delivered at the recent meeting of the
American Bankers Association at Washington?
''Do you know that with the increase in all
commodities of 112 per cent in 1919 as compared
with 1914, gold was virtually the only commod-
ity fixed in price SO that it could not respond to
the law of supply and demand? Otherwise, gold
would have gone to premium corresponding to
the average increase.
'The price Of gold IS fixed at s2o.67 per troy
ounce. That is the price which the United States
Treasury will pay for pure gold, but while the
increased cost of producing in every line has
been fully covered by the price to the consumer,
plus profit, gold mining alone produces at the
higher costs Of today and sells at an unchanged
price. Do you wonder, therefore, that gold min
ing has ceased to be profitable and that our pro-
duction has fallen from s1o1 200, 900 in 1915 to
less than s5O,0OOOOO this year?
Regard the comparative percentages of
world production for this year estimated
1919 United States p 20 British Empire .es5o
1920 United States. .120se British Empire. .75.Oqs
'Please note that for over year the British
Empire has been paying an exchange as high
as so per cent to its gold producers, and that
France imposes sumptuary tax Of $3.50 per
ounce on gold used industrially, while the United
States has rendered this industry no assistance
whatsoever.
''The Hartman National Bank will send COPY
of Congressman McFadden's address to any one
requesting it,.
Time was when gold was asking no odds of
any one, and it was the silver producers that
were asking for fixed price for their product
and the same treatment at the mint that made
the yellow metal received. Time flies and con-
ditions change to be sure and now it is the pro-
ducers of gold that are worrying about it's price
They used to tell US in those days that gold new
er changed in it's value That was not true then
or now, for an ounce Of gold would buy many
times what it would now in other commodities
It has changed in value but not in price since
those days. That is, however, another question.
There is no doubt that gold miners have been
getting much the worst of it of late years by
the increase in the cost of wages and materials,
and that unlike other commodities their pro-
duct does not experience any change in price
through laws Of supply and demand This is
true because the principal demand for it comes
from the mnts who want it for coinage pur-
poses, and the price at the mint is regulated by
international agreement and remains the same
regardless of supply or the cost of production.
The only remedy for the gold producer who is
seeking higher price level for his product lies
therefore in new international agreement rails
ing the price per ounce or government bonus
for production. 1t is the latter we assume, that
is proposed by Congressman McFadden. though
we have not seen his address yet
NEWEST NOTES OF SCIENCE
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