Great Falls daily tribune., 1920-05-30
THE PRICE OF GOLD

An Associated Press dispatch under Wash
ington date line the other day, gave voice to the
wall of a gentleman named Seaman who is presi-
dent of mining company, and who is firmly of
the opinion that the salvation of the nation re-
quires that tax should be levied and the pro-
ceeds handed over as a subsidy to the mining
companies which produce gold in order to stlm-
ulate them to produce more gold. The dispatch,
dated May Is, says: "Gold production in this
country already greatly decreased, will virtually
cease unless speedy financial relief is given the
mining companies, H. w. Seaman of Chicago,
president of the Trojan mining company, testi-
fled before the house ways and means commit
tee Every ounce of gold now produced costs the
companies So to $40 more than the government
price of $2O60, he said. Immediate passage by
congress of bill levying an excess tax OF SlO an
ounce on gold used by jewelers. and other trades
with the money so raised to be subsidiary for
the miners, was urged by Mr.. Seaman"
The logic of Mr. Seaman is interesting because
It displays the binding elect of self interest in
discernment of the truth. His form of state
ment is also interesting because it is character
istic of most propaganda. He twists the facts
into a statement which is in fact not true, in
order to lead the person addressed into concedlng
the truth of his argument. When Mr.. Seaman
states that every ounce of gold now produced
costs the companies S8 to $40 more than the
government price of S2O60,' he does not state
the truth accurately. What he means to say,
doubtless is not that every ounce produced costs
that sum, but that the average Of all the ounces
produced high costing ounces and low costing
ounces, is more than the government price. And
that is only another way of saying that more
money goes into gold mines than comes out OF
them, taking them all into account-those that
pay big, those that pay small, and those that pay
not at ALL Put in that form the statement is un-
questionably truthful It could also be made OF
about every other form Of mining investment.
It could be made of the oil business, the produc-
ton of newspapers, the cost of producing trans
portation and most forms of investment. Pro
duction in all these lines would be stimulated by
federal tax turned over to the producers. If
the producers of gold are entitled to it, why not
the producers of newspapers. There are rich
gold mines that pay great profits, as there are
rich newspapers which pay big profits, but on
the average newspaper costs more than the
price the public pay for it, and $40 have been
sunk in newspaper production for every dollar
newspaper owners have taken out in dividends.
Applying the logic of Mr.. Seaman, the news
papers also should have a federal subsidy
through a tax levied to make good their losses.
In fact there is no end to the sea of difficult
les the logic of Mr.. Seaman would lead us into
if you grant its justice and soundness. People
are tempted into gold mining as into many other
forms of production by hope of high rewards,
and in spite of the fact that many investors
never get the cost of production back again. We
don't think he will get far with his project Too
many others would want to get in on the scheme
and besides, there is no justice in it