The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1924-01-03
MINING ON COMSTOCK
YESTERDAY AND TODAY
MOVIES CREATE NEW DEMAND
FOR SILVER-WRGlNlA CITY
REEVES

in Virginia City"
The modest newspaper local out
of the Nevada mountain means little
to most Americans" remarks a bulle-
tin from the National Geographic
society. In western mining country.
where there's paint there's hope.
Amid debris of exhausted mines on a
gaunt shoulder Of Mount Davidson,
once the most prodigal silver produc-
ing center Of the world has known,
gray monument TO miners hope has
been recently completed. a stern,
businesslike building. Within rumbles
machinery of a modern silver cyanide
reduction plant. Into its huge NAV
goes 1000 tons of ore day, an
amount greater than that taken from
the entire Comstock vein in bonanza
days of 1863 when so mills were
grinding.
old men nod their heads, poke
thumbs in vests, and toss OFT an
told you So Prodigal scarcely de-
cribes the virgin lode of former days:
this single unbelievably rich vein pro-
duced five hundred million dollars
worth OF silver
Dug in Nevada Mountains
Some think this new monument to
hope in Virginia City was erected by
a silver company. True. the company
built it, but that new plant has actu-
ally been subscribed for with the
dimes and quarters the American peo-
pie have paid TO see the movies
Flickers that millions see on picture
screens side-splitting antics, harrow
ing sobs of heroines dark tragedy
and all the happy -ever-after do not
come out of Hollywood originally;
they are dug out Of Nevada noun
tains Mined silver becomes silver
nitrate, which catches the fleeing
image of a film. One company alone
uses three tons of silver bullion a
week to produce sixteen million feet
of motion picture film.
Samuel Clemens an idle penniless
miner, joyfully accepted a reporters
job on the Virginia City Enterprise at
$25 a week. That was in the early
COS A few months later the Com
stock rush was on. Samuel Clemens.
with so much money in his pockets he
did not stop to collect his salary.
covered the silver rush for the En-
terprise. Years later he wrote his
news scoop for posterity in the imper-
ishable pages of 'Roughing It.
Sailed Mine Discovered
"Rich as the Comstock vein was, it
could not measure up to an adjacent
pit that produced silver nuggets with
tho guarantee Of United States stamp
ed on them. Black nuggets from this
vein were the wonder of Virginia City.
It's stock went sky high. On one of
the Jumps of native silver was dis
covered the minted legend, ted States
Of and then it was plainly apparent
that the mine had been sailed with
melted half dollars. Stock fell!
SILVER mining left Virginia City for
new fields; Tonopah; Nevada, Mon
tana and other centers; but for years
old men who lived in memories used
to sit in the San Francisco stock ex-
change, waiting for a new strike on
the Comstock' They could not forget
the days when every man of $4,000
Adventures was a son of legendary
Midas. There is still silver in Mount
Davidson, but it was not until many
old claims were consolidated that the
new plant could be put up to make
extraction on a large scale pay. Elk
cept for the United States govern
ment, the Photographic industries are
the greatest users of silver today
Uncle Sam uses IT for coins, and Roch-
ester, n. Y, industries use it for
movie films and food for the amateurs
camera. United States produces one
third of the worlds silver; Mexico
completes with the United States for
leadership. and Canada follows third.
"Silver is a good soldier. The Com
stock rush was at it's height in 1868,
when the United States was torn by
civil war. 1t is said that millions
poured in from the Comstock lode
brought needed aid to the Union in
dark hour.
"Silver fought another good fight in
the World war In 1918 the allied
armies were battling desperately.
Every available man was on the fight
ing line. One of the things the allies
needed was jute; gunnysacking is an
other name for jute. There is only
one place in the world to get jute-
India. Patiently the British govern
ment had taught the natives that sill
yer certificates were as good as silver.
but in 1918 the British government.
by jute purchases. had withdrawn
nearly all the silver used to back these
certificates. Germany learned this,
and began propaganda in India. A
run on Indian banks would have de-
stroyed the confidence of the natives
in Britain and thrown India into re-
volt.
"Silver must be found somewhere
to save India, and possibly to save the
allies Supplies of mined silver had
been exhausted. There was only one
10 r-N