The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-08-13
By HOLLAND

John D. Glenn, who is the represen-
 tative in Mexico of one of the largest
 trust companies of, New York, con
 firms the opinion which has been for
 some time held by those who have made themselves familiar with con-
 ditions in Mexico Mir Klenn should know what the real condition Is
 since he has lived in Mexico for Is years.
 | He reports that conditions are more favorable now than at any time since 1910. Certainly the opinion commonly held here is that present day condi-
 tions in Mexico furnish promise for complete restoration of Mexico's pros- l perity and the early establishment
 of satisfactory relations between the 1 United States government and that
 of Mexico.
 | This opinion will undoubtedly re- vive the strong disposition formerly held in the United States in favor. l of investment of capital in some of 1 Mexico's very rich resources. It may
 be that American capital will be strongly tempted to invest in some
 of the silver mining properties which
 are contained in radius of about 100 miles south of the City of Mex | leo.
 |
 which has been invested in Mexican silver mines has owned and operated the silver fields in northern Mexico. There is remarkable difference be- ! tween the silver ore which is ob- tained from these northern Mexican
 mines and the ore which the southern
 mines yield. The ore in the northern
 part of Mexico is for the most part
 base ore This entails smelling and that process adds considerably to the cost of producing silver,
 On the other hand the rich silver
 mines which are within a radius ot 100 miles south of Mexico City. yield
 ore which does not require smelting. lit can be. and has been treated with the cyanide process As cyanide costs
 only 16 cents pound, and as small portion is needed for the recovery of silver from the ore. the cost en- tailed by producing silver from the mines of southern Mexico is con-
 siderably less than the cost of pro ducing silver from the northern mines.
 It is an interesting incidental fact
 associated with Mexican silver min ing that up to the year 1914, all of the cyanide came from Scotland and from Germany The war put an actual em- , bargo upon imports of cyanide. There upon American capital and skill were
 speedily employed in the manufacture of cyanide and with such success
 that the American product is ex-
 clusively used in Mexico. Even the
 mines owned and operated by French
 and English capital now buy and use American cyanide.
 The Worlds Greatest Silver Country Americans who are considering in- vestment in Mexican silver properties base part of their faith in the profit
 able operation of these mines upon
 the fact that Mexico Is the greatest silver producing country in the world. The silver mines near Mexico City persuaded Cortez to establish the cap
 ital at Mexico City. Mexico with re- spect to silver stands in the same re-
 laton to the world that the United States does with respect to copper. About 100 miles south of Mexico City are the two largest silver mines
 owned and operated by American cap ital, England obtained possession of the ma ajority of the rich silver mines
 in that district. and the gains which
 have come to the English investors
 have amounted in the aggregate to
 hundreds of millions. Some French
 capital is invested in these silver
 mines. The reasons are excellent for presuming that when Mexico is com
 pletely pacified and stands as gov
 ernment in cordial relations with the
 rest of the world, American capital
 will be invested in some of these silver properties.
 The American Investment American capital was some years ago invested in silver mine lying
 about 100 miles southwest of Mexico City. The mine became well known as the Rincon. In four years it yielded
 net profits of ss53,000 Then the ban dits came. They called themselves zapatas, protesting to belong to the
 army of that revolutionary leader.
 They flooded the mine in want of mis-
 chief They burned the mills and otherwise impaired the property. not Ipermanently because after the death
 of Zapatas. the bandits dispersed, and it was possible to begin operation
 with intent to bring the mine back to its former condition. Whereas formerly TOO men were employed in this mine, now 70 are at work there
 The Gold Which Is In Silver
 The ore which is taken from the
 mines of southern Mexico having been treated by the cyanide process for the extraction of silver is found to yield large percentage of silver. This Is put into the form of bars and is sent to Mexico City. There it is received at the greatest silver re- lining plant in the world, which is
 owned and operated by French capital and has been little interferred with during the various revolutions since 1910. At this refinery the silver bars are so treated as to extract the gold
 which is invariably in this silver.
 About 10 per cent of gold is found in
 this silver. It is looked upon as by
 product. butssa valuable one. The | silver bars then come from the re- finery guaranteed at 9s9 per cent out | of a 1000.
 London controls the silver market
 of the world chiefly because Eng
 land is the largest purchaser of silver. | It is needed for export to India ana to some of the other British colonies. Therefore this Mexican silver is bid for in the London market, and in that way the market price of silver IS
 established.
 | No matter how much American capital may be invested in these southern Mexican silver mines, the silver which is produced will find it's way directly or indirectly to the lAon- don market The certainty that the world demand for silver for many years will continue to be very great /, and the further certainty that Eng 1 land will purchase through competi- l tive bidding all of the pure silver
 taken from the Mexican mines, fur
 nishes one of the reasons why Ameri-
 can capital is now considering in- vestment in Mexican silver properties.
 But the investment will be made in the
 mines of southern Mexico instead ot
 as heretofore chiefly in the mines ot northern Mexico The two large Amer