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\ l T A R i Kilpl ™ S,,:, U K K C.rv tte" »Sbk A m e W April 9, 19UZ Mr* Harry S. Joseph, Chief of Oroat American Prospectors Association, Hotel Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah* Dear Mr. Joseph: Permit bio to say in reply to your letter of April 1 that I have not been misquoted if I am represented as agreeing with the Secretary of the Treasury that the purchase of silver should be discontinued since the continued buying and storing of silver at West Point has no justification from any monetary or military standpoint. On the contrary, its purchase is purely inflationary at a time when every effort of the Government needs to be directed toward removing inflationary factors. If it is necessary to pay a higher price or a subsidy to the producers of lead, copper and sine in order to procure supplies needed for the war, that would make sense, but to pay & subsidy to the silver producers does not make sense at this time* Since 1 grew up in mining regions and have been familiar with the mining problem all my life, and since I have given this subject of silver intensive study during the past eight years, testifying repeatedly before various committees of the Senate and House, including the silver bloc committee headed by the late Senator Pittman, I am not on new or unknown ground* I believe that you and those like you who try to make it appear that silver has some monetary significance in the world today, when we are the only purchasers, are doing a disservice to the mining interests of this country* If we are to pay a subsidy for the production of silver, then let us frankly recognise it for what it is without pretending that it is neoessaty in our monetary system or that it will help the war effort. If it is necessary, as I have indicated, to pay a subsidy to the lead, sine and copper mines, then let us pay it frankly for what it is, recognising that the production of these metals is essential to the war effort, whereas the production of silver and its interment at West Point has no such justification* But let us stop pretending that there is some monetary or military need for the Government to continue buying silver* That is a sham which only a handful of stockholders or vested interests in the silver industry seem to be unable to see through* Mr* Barry S. Joseph - April 9* 191*2 (2) I have always tried to look at this question from the standpoint of the broad public interest as well as that of the mining interests themselves* Helther you nor anyone else oould persuade me that it is to the interest either of the country or of the mining groups to attempt to maintain any such sham as I have indicated* Very truly yours, (Signed) M. S. Eccles It* S* Socles * Chairman* IT:b
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