Show TRADUCERS OF SILVER GET DESERVED TROUNCING engineering mining journal march 12 apparently the latest tirade launched against the pittman act appears in a recent leading editorial of the commercial and financial chronicle the statements made leave no doubt in mind as to the attitude of that paper the operation of the pittman act is characterized as a piece of extravagance and profligacy a monstrous wrong to the people of the country and an iniquitous law these caustic re marks would not be so bad were arguments advanced to substantiate them but absolutely no facts are presented that in any manner prove the chronicles contentions one acquainted with the history and operation of the pittman act can find much fault and serious criticism with the presentation of the editorial comment noted misstatement follows misstatement so that the rea reader er unfamiliar with this silver legislation may unwittingly be induced to agree with the conclusions reached it appears to us that this attempt of the chronicle to discredit the act is merely exposing b either its own ignorance of the silver situation or its unwillingness to present all the appertaining facts for forthe the article carefully fails to point out that the government and hence the taxpayer is not losing one cent by the silver purchases under the pittman act the silver was sold to the british government for one dollar an ounce we reluctantly refer to this point as it has frequently been stressed in these columns but it has evidently been overlooked in this patently ignorant attack it is not the american taxpayer who is feeling the effect eff act of the pittman act but his british neighbor who bought about ounces of silver in the first place at one dollar an ounce and through the intermediary of the united states government which had a large stock on hand and which is now transferring the money it received in the transaction to the american silver producer if it had not been for the enormous amount of american silver that was shipped to india in 1918 1919 there is little doubt that the silver market would be in much better condition today indias andias large silver repast of that period judging by the recent selling for indian account has evidently not been digested or assimilated the present unusual spectacle of selling from india deferred a bit would surely have been longer the chronicle states that should silver purchases continue at present market and the prices the loss logs to the government clear bonus to the silver producers would 0 o reach the prodigious sum of A prodigious statement A moments reflect be purely a pa tion will show that it owald per loss logs and not a loss at all for should the government make its future silver purchases at the market price it would be making an actual profit of at the expense of the silver producers Is that the purpose of the purchases if so why not have the government withdraw its buying entirely at the present time so as to bear the market and then to buy gingerly without disturbing the low level of the mar ket fortunately such is not the purpose of government which should function not for its own particular profit but with equal consideration to everyone the pittman act merely gives due and equitable treatment to the silver producers and the flimsy pretexts hasty assumptions and gross distortions of those unfamiliar with its history and its purpose will not change it we wonder if it is generally know what in hat a boon the pittman act has been of late in keeping the wheels turning in some of our copper and lead mines where silver is recovered as an important and valuable byproduct were it not for the support given by dollar silver to the low priced copper and lead produced many valuable mining properties would be shut down in montana and idaho mining districts and hundreds of miners added to the already swelled list of unemployed in the mining industry this statement is not introduced as an argument to continue the act but merely to point out one of its beneficial results through stabilization the pittman act can stand on its own merits and the splendid service it rendered in helping win the war tribute was recently bestowed upon it by a prominent british official and needs no extraneous support attacks against the pittman act may be expected at any time particularly as it may appear to the uninformed that the government and hence the public is being mulcted mulched of a large sum of money in making silver purchases it would help much however if before venting their spleen critics took care to present all the facts in the case so that the reader may also draw his own conclusions v on clu elu |