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Show Prices Advance 223 Per Cent Purchasing Power of Dollar Now as Compared With 1913 Is Shown. EXPANSION OF CREDIT CAUSE Man With Income of $2,000 Is Actually Actual-ly Drawing $870 Upon Basis of Dollar Value in 1913 Gold Mines Closing. Washington. The man with an income in-come of $2,000 is now actually drawing draw-ing $870, upon the basis of dollar value val-ue in 1913, according to a statement to congress by Harold N. Lawrie, economist for the American mining congress. The purchasing value of the ounce of gold, which under statute stat-ute cannot bring more than $20.67, has, Mr. Lawrie claims, shrunken through Inflation of currency until it is no longer possible for gold to be profitably produced. Lowers Purchasing Power. The expansion of the national credit has lowered the purchasing power of a dollar through increasing all commodity com-modity prices. Based upon the prewar pre-war prices of 1913, these prices gradually grad-ually advanced from 100 per cent in 1913 to 223 in October, 1919. Each increase in-crease in credits has been absorbed by a corresponding increase in commodity com-modity prices and has resulted in placing the nation upon an artificial plane of living. The gold producer finds the purchasing power of his ounce of gold is now $9 instead of $20.07. (!old mines of the United States are being closed down at an alarming rate. Many of these can never be reopened re-opened owing to the prohibitive costs of retimbering and unwatering. Cripple Creek, the greatest American Ameri-can gold camp, is taking on the appearance ap-pearance of a city of dead hopes. Whole cities are being deserted and thousands of skilled miners are being forced to seek new camps because gold the basic monetary metal of the United States cannot longer be produced pro-duced at a profit. Jewelers Make Mililons. The manufacturers of the United States used $21,848,800 more gold last year than was produced in the United States. The gold producer lost millions mil-lions during the year. The manufacturing manufac-turing jeweler made millions because, while his goods mounted in values, he secured the gold at coinage price of $20.67 per ounce, less than the cost of production. Seventy-five years ago the world produced but $30,000,000 in gold per year. In 1915 the world produced pro-duced $409,000,000. The gold stock of the United States suffered a loss in 1919 of $292,796,000 by the excess gold exports over imports. im-ports. The government has allowed vast shipments of gold for expor. Meanwhile the production of the American Amer-ican mines has fallen from $101,000,-000 $101,000,-000 in 1915 to $58,500,000 in 1019, a loss of 42 per cent. At the beginning of the war, England Eng-land arranged protection for all of the gold produced by British mines. This protrtion is still maintained and the gold reserves of England are being be-ing increased by imports from the United States, and their own heavy production of new gold. |