White Pine news. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1920-1923, 1923-07-22

eft? Silver was $1.42 in San Fran
cisco and $1.37 IL in New York
when the bill was introduced that
reduced it to 81 an and held
it there for four years while refilling
the war chest. Is the aftermath more
expensive to the silver mining indus
try as q whole than the benefit given
to q few? Letson Ballet, mining en-
gineer and industrial economist, says
the bill was a mistake, but it is evil
dent that he figures that the indus
try will not perish il American brains
devote their energies to meeting the
conditions with ~eficiencies instead of
bemoaning the fact that the charity,
as he terms it, has ceased.
BY Letson Ballet in the Salt Lake
Mining Review.
| have been asked many times by
people in the big cities, How does
silver mining meet the conditions
following the ending of the Pittman
bill? How does silver mining look
now" ETC., and ! have been asked by
people of the silver mining districts,
How does it look to investors and
people remote from the mines?"
To all of these questions my an
swer has been the same, and it may
serve as a food for thought to re-
peat it.
The law of ages is written ITO
those that hath shall be given, and
to those that hath not shall be taken
away even that which they hath. "
This law has never been more clearly
exemplified than in the results of the
Pittman bill.
The big producing mines, that had
silver bullion to sell and could pro-
duce silver. were given a bonus of
IS cents per ounce for their silver.
Such producers were thereby given a
war profit or a war price for their
product. Notwithstanding the in
creased costs of material, labor, etc.
most of these producers could have
continued, and would have contin-
ued to produce silver with an in
creased struggle for economy, and
less strenuously. In other words,
most of the silver mines did not alb
solutely need the bonus to keep alive
Like the man receiving aims, many
of them thought they needed It. and
that they couldn't get along without
it, but if they had not had it they
would have struggled through. Can
ada and Mexico and ether countries
struggled through, but the mar who
has lived easy and extravagantly on
liberty aims finds it difficult to come
back and earn his own living. The
causes that led to that bill, it's merits
and dement's, are not under discus
sion now.
That is all past history. We are
face to face with the aftermath of a
condition that has ceased to exist
The result of the silver bill is what
concerns us at this time. In my hum
Bile opinion the Pittman bill was 4
mistake and a detriment to the silver
mining industry for several reasons.
First, it stimulated almost every
big mine that could produce silver
ore to gut the mine and produce ali
LAG Wao poooADiN WIiiV Ii wal piOEt
was obtafnable.
Second, because il stimulated
strenuous production and not eff
cient mining. Like many other in
dustries the cost was not considered
so long as the wal price Of the COM
modify was obtainable.
Third. it killed prospecting for sill
yer and new development, because
every man who was appealed to for
funds to develop a new mine realized
that the price was only a temporary
one, which would be ended by the.
time a new mine could be brought.
into a stage of production. 1t was
like starting a peanut stand on a
Playground when the fair ended be-
fore the stand would be ready for
business.
The Pittman bill Quilted many OF
the producing mines, killed prospect
ing, killed development and promo
lions and left many OF our mines in
poor shape to compete with foreign
mines where efficiency and economy
had been necessary. and in addition
to all that, it created the impression
in the minds of many that silver min
ing is IN industry that cannot live
without a bonus.
The smelters and owners OF pro-
ducing mines benefited primarily.
Secondly, the mining carp mer-
chants reaped a harvest through in
creased prices and a good trade, with
the miners employed in the strenu-
Gus effort to produce--for there was
an increased number of miners m
ployed in the producing mines. with
q more than offsetting decrease in
employees of new mines and develop
ing properties that would normally
have come into production to take
the place of the depleted and in some
instances Quilted properties. Thirdly,
the miners enjoyed a doubtful, or al
best a temporary, benefit IN the in
creased wages paid to them by the
big mines in a feverish effort for pro-
duction. This benefit was eventu-
ally lost to the miners by the IN
creased prices charged for necessities