proved by the Bureau of the Budget. The House of Representatives, however, has reduced this estimate by $163,610, which reduction was allocated by the House to the following offices: Office of the Secretary, $34,000; General Counsel, $14,340; Research and Statistics, $16,130; Mint Bureau, $99,140. The restoration of the $99,140 is at this time being requested by the Mint Bureau in the letter now before your committee. If approved by your committee, the restoration of this $99,140 will increase the total to be available under this appropriation for 1937, for the entire Department from $1,499,190 to $1,598,330. Now, if you compare the latter amount with the amount previously referred to as being available for the current fiscal year, you will note Senator MCKELLAR. Is that within $1,598,330? Mr. SCHOENEMAN. Yes. Senator MCKELLAR. All right. Mr. SCHOENEMAN. If you compare $1,598,330 with the 1936 appropriation you will note that $293,735 less will have been made available for the current fiscal year. Senator MCKELLAR. Mrs. Ross, anything else? Mr. SCHOENEMAN. I may say, Senator, that you will notice that we are protesting only one of the four items affected under the emergency banking appropriation. The Treasury is willing to absorb the reduction made in the other three. Senator McADOO. Is the item requested here within the Budget? Senator MCKELLAR. Yes; is the $99,140 within the estimates of the Budget? Mr. SCHOENEMAN. Yes, Senator. Senator MCKELLAR. The House struck it out and you want it reinserted? Mrs. Ross. Yes; if you please. And, may I just say finally, that the mint is carrying practically all of the physical load, and a large part of the clerical work that is incidental to the change in the monetary policies; the cost therefore is correspondingly increased. Senator MCKELLAR. Thank you very much. STATEMENT OF HON. BURTON K. WHEELER, A SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF MONTANA Senator MCKELLAR. Senator Wheeler, you want to be heard? ASSAY OFFICE, HELENA Senator WHEELER. I want to take up with you and ask you to restore the assay office at Helena. Senator McADOO. I think that we might ask Mrs. Ross a question about the restoration of the assay offices. Senator WHEELER. The purpose in restoring the Helena assay office is Senator MCADOO. Has it been abandoned? Senator WHEELER. Yes. Mrs. Ross. Yes; it was abandoned in 1933. Senator WHEELER. It was constructed in 1870 and was in existence for 60 years before being discontinued in 1933. Since that time the production of gold and silver in Montana has increased considerably, as you will see from the following table given to my secretary by Miss O'Reilly, Assistant Director of the Mint. In 1933 there were 61,243 ounces of gold produced. Senator McKELLAR. HOW much? Senator McKELLAR. What is the value of that? Senator WHEELER. Well, I can give it to you. Senator McADOO. Just generally. Miss O'REILLY. It is $35 an ounce. Senator WHEELER. That is the value of that gold. Miss O'REILLY. Yes. 1. Senator WHEELER. In 1934 the amount of gold produced was 89,080 ounces; in 1935 it was 134,501 ounces. The silver produced was, in 1933, 3,563,820 ounces; in 1934 it was 3,567,763 ounces; and in 1935, 7,819,026 ounces. The increase in production of gold and silver was due, of course, to the legislation that was passed. Now, the closest place where a prospector can send his metal to be assayed at the present time is Denver, Colo. The large mining companies do not need an assay office, because they do all their own assaying themselves, but during this depression there have been thousands of men who are out of work in the mines, because the mines were closed, and thousands of prospectors went out all over Montana and were able to make a day's pay-not a day's pay-but they could make some money. They have gone out into the hills and opened prospects, and what they have to do is they have to send that ore down to Denver, Colo., and it takes a long time. It is an expensive thing for them to send it down there and the cost of maintaining the assay office in Helena is only $22,000 a year. Senator MCADOO. Is that for personnel, or does that cover the restoration of the plant? Senator WHEELER. That covers simply the restoration of the personnel and whatever other expenses are necessary, that $22,000. Senator MCKELLAR. Is the old plant still there? Senator WHEELER. Yes; everything is still there. It only needs to be opened up. That is my understanding of it. Senator MCKELLAR. You understand that there are plenty of places that want mints, too. Senator WHEELER. I assume that there are; I do not know. Senator McADOO. Is the plant in such condition that it can be put in operation without expending a lot of money on it? Mrs. Ross. It would have to be equipped. Of course, we could not allow the material to stay there, could not allow the equipment to stay there after the plant was discontinued. Senator McADOO. Will this $22,000 cover the reequipping of the plant, or just the personnel? Miss O'REILLY. $22,000 was based upon the cost of the maintenance of the assay office for the year before it was closed. It would 51314-36 be necessary to have additional funds to cover the cost of restoring the building and purchasing the necessary equipment. May I suggest the reason that the small assay offices were closed— we had 10 at one time and we have but 2 now? They were gradually closed, because there are smelting plants and commercial assayers throughout the West where miners could send their ore directly. The ore has to be smelted before we may purchase it. We buy gold in the form of bullion. For the purpose of obtaining an assay it does not cost more to send a sample of ore to Denver than it would to send it 3 miles away. Samples are usually sent by parcel post at a very insignificant charge. The cost to the Government for maintaining these offices seemed unjustifiable. They were originally established to accommodate western prospectors before smelters were established in the West. Now, smelters are scattered all over the West and there is not the necessity for accommodating any great number of people at these small receiving stations. When crude bullion is received at an assay office it must then be shipped at the expense of the Government to the nearest mint. Gold received at Helena, Deadwood, Salt Lake City, Carson, which have all been closed, had to be sent to the nearest mint at the expense of the Government. This gold is now sent directly to the mints. It may Senator WHEELER. Let me correct you to this extent: I am sure you are wrong in saying that it can be sent at little expense. be that the shipment expense is little, but there is certainly inconvenience to the prospectors, to the mining companies themselves. The mining companies like Anaconda or the United States Smelting Co. do not need the mint. Miss O'REILLY. No. Senator WHEELER. But what I am speaking for is these small prospectors and the Mining Association of Montana has repeatedly written to me and pointed out-now, I am not a mining man and I do not know very much about mining I am frank to say to you— but I do know that the Mining Association of Montana has repeatedly written to me and stated how much inconvenience it was and how costly it was for the small prospector because of the fact that they had to send it to Denver; they had to wait, whereas they used to bring it in, because Helena is really in the heart of the goldmining district and likewise the silver-mining district of Montana. From Butte it is only 70 miles. Of course, Butte is owned and controlled by Anaconda, so that is not necessary, but in Basin and in the vicinity of Helena, for miles and miles, there are small mines and prospectors scattered all through those hills, thousands of them, and particularly since this depression as is evidenced by the fact that the number of ounces produced has greatly increased. Senator MCKELLAR. From your figures, the number of ounces mined in 1934 were less than 1935. How is that? Senator WHEELER. No; it has risen, practically doubled in 2 years. Mrs. Ross. It has practically doubled in 2 years. Senator WHEELER. In 1934 the amount of silver produced was 3,567,763 ounces and in 1935 it was 7,819,026 ounces. Senator MCKELLAR. I was speaking of gold. Senator WHEELER. The gold produced in 1933 was 61,243 ounces; in 1934, 89,080 ounces; and in 1935, 134,501 ounces. Mrs. Ross. May I compare my figures? I have here the figures that I got in the Bureau of the Mint. In 1933 the domestic silver was the output was 23,200,000 ounces. Senator MCKELLAR. How much was that? Mrs. Ross. 23,000,000. That is the domestic silver. Senator WHEELER. I am speaking of Montana. Mrs. Ross. You are speaking of Montana? Senator WHEELER. You are taking the whole of the United States. Mrs. Ross. Yes. Senator WHEELER. I am talking about Montana. Mrs. Ross. Oh, you are speaking of your own State. Senator WHEELER. The production in the whole of the United States has practically doubled since 1933. I have here a letter from the secretary of the Mining Association of Montana, Mr. F. C. Gilbert, which I would like to insert in the record. (The letter referred to is as follows:) Hon. BURTON K. WHEELER, MINING ASSOCIATION OF MONTANA, United States Senator, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR SENATOR WHEELER: Newspaper dispatches advise that you have recently reviewed the subject of the establishment of the Federal assay office at Helena which was closed in 1933. The Mining Association of Montana prepared some statistics for showing: the need of the office for the mining industry of Montana. These have been brought up to date and are attached hereto. It will be seen that from 1885 to 1933 the Helena assay office handled 3,242,891 ounces of gold, valued at $61,445,317 and 1,976,295 ounces of silver, valued at $2,461,383 or a total value of gold and silver of $64,906,700. this period, the total gold production was as follows: At $20.67 per ounce: 1885-99_. 1900-1932- Total__ At $25.56 per ounce 1935. During $59, 538, 000 101, 913, 000 1. 266, 000 162, 717, 000 1, 911, 975 In the active years of the operation of the assay office, it handled about 40 percent of the total gold output of the State. Since 1933, the production of gold has made very substantial gains, as follows: At $34.95 per ounce: 1934_ 1935 $3, 405, 736 5, 174, 750 Examination of the yearly figures of gold production will prove that the year 1935 is higher in total value than for any year since 1900. It is safe to say that if the Helena office is reestablished, that it will handle not less than $2,000,000 in gold yearly based on 40 percent of total Montana production. It is more than likely that the percentage going to the Helena office will be increased owing to the larger number of small operators, than in former years. The total number of placer mines operated in 1934 was 654, and the total number of lode mines in the same year was 583, most of which were gold and silver mines. In order to show the location of the gold mines in Montana, I take the liberty of sending you under separate cover, copy of the December number of Gluck Auf in which is shown the main operations in gold mining, past and present. Wishing you all success in the passage of your bill through the House and assuring you of our desire to assist you in obtaining this very necessary service to the imning industry of Montana. I remain Your very sincerely, F. C. GILBERT, Secretary, Mining Association of Montana. Deposits of gold and silver, Helena Assay Office, 1885-1933-Production of gold in Montana Senator WHEELER. Now, they have been very much worked up over it because of the fact that it does not mean very much so far as the cost to the Government is concerned, $22,000 a year, but it is a tremendous inconvenience, they claim, to the prospectors. Senator MCKELLAR. I think that this trouble arose, Senator Wheeler, 8 or 10 years ago. Senator GLASS. We had 10 and it took us 10 years to get rid of them. Senator MCKELLAR. And got rid of them because there was no gold and silver being mined? |