Mohave County miner and our mineral wealth., 1920-04-10
House Bill No. 132O1, presented by

Iiouoc Dill INo' 1oSOl, pISoCheCu ny Representative McFadden, of Nevada, has been referred to a committee, which is expected to favorably report it soon to the house and by that body passed without material change. This bill proposes to have all gold produc- ed in the United States purchased by the government and to be sold to man ufactures at fixed price of $50 per ounce. Just how this matter is to be taken care of We are not able to state, but the packers of the measure claim that there will be no losing made by the government in the handling of gold. Of course, the minted gold will contain the. same amount of yellow metal that the present dollar contains, but the miner will receive an excise rate of $10 per ounce on all gold that goes into manufacturers. It is held that under this bill stimulus will be given to gold production such as no other method heretofore offered would.
 The enormous decrease in gold pro duction since 1914 has caused the peo- pie of the United States to become alarmed, and effort will be made to find way to stir up the latent indus try, r In 1915 the total output of gold from all the mines of the world reach ed a maximum production of $469,- OOO,000. By 1918 the gold output had declined to $381 100000, loss of near ly nineteen per cent as compared with the maximum production, while in \ 1919 the best estimate places the gold production of the world at only $350,- 100000. From the foregoing figures it is evident that the worlds output of the yellow metal has fallen off $119 100000, or 25.4 per cent, in four
 years. The gold production of the United States during this time declin- ed from $101 100000 to $58,500,00O.
 There is also a natural waste of the gold supply on hand. It is said that in years use five dollar gold piece loses 1.5 per cent of its original weight in the handling. Some gold is lost by fire and sinking ships and some boarded in China and India, Then there is an increasing use of gold in jewelry. In the first ten months of the year 1913 the sale of jewellers bars by the U. s. Assay office in New York aggregated $31, ,523 3,964; for the first ten months of 1919 they aggre- gated $48,56S,69S. 9
 In the year 1919, the total gold stock in the United Ststes declined 9.5 per cent.
 Then, too, we must consider the eff , feet this gold shortage, if not reme. died, will have on the period of de. : flation which is bound to follow the period of imitation we are passing , through. r ,-
 The Guaranty Trust Company, oi New York, in circular issued Febru, ary 19, 1920, made the following ref erence in regard to deflation:
 "There are those who feel that while imitation is undoubtedly neces sary, it should take place gradually and not be unduly forced and accele' , rated by large losses of gold, the foundation of our monetary and credit
 structure. A gold dollar in the vaults of Federal Reserve Bank serves, ol may serve, as the basis of deposit lia- bilities of $2.50, and these deposits, tc
 the credit of a member bank, may in turn serve to enable credit extension by that bank of anywhere from seven
 and half to fourteen times that amount, or say $19 to $35. With re-
 serves close to the legal minimum therefore, every million dollars of gold lost practically means forced credit contraction of perhaps twenty million unless contraction comes by normal in dustrial liquidation" ..a T The bill now before congress would place a premium of ten dollars an ounce, on the production. of gold in the United States. This money to be paid as a bonus would be met by a tax of ten dollars per ounce on all gold used in the manufacture of jewelry.
 H. M. Lawrie, chief of the precious metals division of the American Min ing Congress, in regards to gold bonus plan has said: