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Show 4 INTER-MOUNTA- IN THE ACT OF 1873. Several reque ts have been made for the publication of the act of sections and 1873, demonetizing silver. The act contains sixty-seve- n would till six closely printed columns of the Plaindealer. It is entitled, An act revising and amending the laws relative to the mints, assay offices and coinage of the United States," and is almost wholly taken up with minute details of the organization and operation of the mints and assay offices. Its reference to the standard silver dollar is like the famous chapter on the snakes in Ireland. The demonetization of the standard silver dollar was effected by quietly dropping it out of the list of silver coins in section 15, and declaring in section 17 that no coins, either of gold, silver or minor coinage, shall hereafter be issued from the mint, other than those of the denominations, standards and weight herein set forth." That is all there was in the demonetization of silver, the omission;' 'unnoticed by all but two or three, who kept silent, of half a dozen words in an act of nearly 9,000 words. Cleveland In another column will be found a communication from an observing mining man, which to an extent shows plainly how visitors may come among us and, after hearing and learning something about our great mines and minerals, can leave really misinformed and with notions entirely at variance with the facts. The tourists who come among us with a wish to learn something of our resources are taken in hand by some of our enterprising promotors and are shown handsome specimens of native silver from Silver Reef, quartz specimens from Marysvale or the Blue mountains, which are filled with gold, beautiful pieces of crystallized copper, and in general, the glittering, showy mineral samples that always attract the eye. They marvel at a region that possesses and produces such mineral wealth, and leave us completely imbued with the idea that mining is dead easy and that native gold and silver is to be picked up anywhere and without much trouble. If the same people were shown a piece of the miserable looking friable Mercur lime from the a district, sample of the ore its district that that values and gives standing in the mining world, they wouid not be much impressed with its looks. Telling them that a ton of the rock carried as much as three dollars and a half in gold would scarcely excite their interest. But if the intelligent promotor in charge would then explain briefly the details of the extraction of that gold, the fact that though its presence was known for many years, it was worthless to the miner until a party of determined men introduced a method of saving the values after many failures and the loss of much money, the seeker after knowledge would form a dim conception of how much success in mining is due to identically the same personal qualities that are essential to success in any other legitimate business or profession. Instead of telling his friends at home of the wealth controlled by the mining kings," and how easy it is to get rich in such a country, he would explain that the mines contained stuff that would be thrown aside by the inexperienced; that men, to succeed, had to apply themselves for years, studying the subject in hand; that even then the values of the precious metals are so small that careless or inefficient management could easily open leaks that would make the whole enterprise a failure, instead of a success; and he and his friends would know the truth: That mining is simply a business such as other businesses, excepting that there is more and greater risks of loss. Nearly every mining man in this region has run across a specimen of that genius who deliberately fools himself by sorting the waste out of his sample before submitting it for assay, and bases his returns on the clean sample. The action of our well meaning men who chaperone inquiring tourists, show them the few glittering minerals and fail to introduce the forbidding stuff that pays the dividends, is much like the man who cleans his sample of fifty dollar ore till it assays $100, and then expects the lot to be as good as the sample. MINING REVIEW. almost a paradox to assume that low grade mines are better investments than high grade mines, yet the facts will bear out the assumption. Looking over the list of dividend paying mines in Utah there are but two that can be properly classed as high grade and the Mammoth, and the latter mines, the Centennial-Eurek- a more properly in the low grade class. Twelve of the dividend payers are mines the average value of whose ores is less than $ioo per ton and many of these depend on ores of a value below 20 to meet the dividends. As a rules the high grade mines are specimen mines and the low grade mines pay the dividends. The Ontario ores have always been low grade, but it has paid over thirteen millions in dividends. Bingham is and always has been a low grade camp, but has deserved her title of the Old Reliable, and it is a curious fact that not one of the few high grade mines that have been discovered there arc now producing. Tintic never flourished during the wire silver period, but as soon as her low grade ores were noticed she commenced to grow. The Horn Silver, with over five millions in dividends to her credit, became a financial wreck when horn silver was a frequent occuNow the average values of the ores are less than rrence in the mine. S16 per ton. The logical deduction is that the low grade mines are surer of returns than their high giade, glittering sisters. It seems be-lon- gs Governor James Sheakley, of Alaska, has forwarded his annual report to the secretary of the interior, in which he reviews the mineral outlook of the territory. He shows that during the year there were $2, 300, 000 in gold bullion produced from the mines, from ores much of which yielded less than $4 per ton, and he has great hopes for the future of Alaska, based on the fact that ores of even lower grade can be and are worked successfully He reports the discovery of a number g of quartz ledges and of good placer deposits in the Sitka district, and states that even the small amount of development work done so far indicates good prospects. The Yukon placers are still attracting the attention of gold miners, but no rich discoveries are of reported. Of the Cooks Inlet excitement, the Governor says that the thousands who were attracted there by the wild reports, nearly all have met disappointment and hardship, and are coming back as fast as they can. It is his belief, however, that there are paying gold deposits in the inlet, and that next season will demonstrate their existence At the same time, he does not anticipate discoveries that will warrant any rush to the district. gold-bearin- The recent advance in the price of wheat has been siezed upon by the gold standard men as a refutation of the claim of bimetallists that the price of silver regulates the price of all other products. If the gold men were able to show that the climb wheat has taken was due to an increased consumption at home, and that regardless of a heavier coin nsumption per capita, silver declined, there would be some reason their adopting the incident as an argument, but there would still be no reason in the argument. All indications at present point to still more of an advance in wheat, and the same set of indications predict a coThe famine in Asiatic countries, particuntinued low price for silver. slock larly in India, is the cause of the advance in wheat, and it is a argument with single standard advocates that the great law of supply and demand regulates our prices. Our wheat is a commodity that the people of India need at present and their demand has advanced the price. Our silver, which is a commodity since its repudiation as money by the government, they cannot afford to buy because is too great, in fact the famine itself will their stress for bread-stuff- s convert India from a buyer of silver to a seller of silver and thus further lower the price of the metal while wheat continues upward. The reason is that to buy wheat India will have to draw on what as money she can get, and the bulk of that is siiver hoarded away a accumulated wealth. It is an event that has disturbed the price ot raho, single commodity, while a hundred others remain at their old and when the exigency has passed wheat will gravitate back to its old relative price with silver. |