The following shows the relation between the expenses of parting and refining and the charges collected therefor:

Over $9,000 of above expenses was due to purchase of materials for the new electrolytic refinery, new dressing-room, and also to the replacing of old apparatus that had worn out, and which occurs in such degree only every five or six years or more.

Probably $2,000 could have been saved on this year's copper account if it had been possible to have melted at the proper time the scrap copper that had accumulated for two years or more, owing to rush of work and excessive amount of sickness among the workmen, but it is now melted and this department will receive the benefit in next year's accounts.

At the close of the year there was on hand considerable metal containing iridium and platinum, the amount of which can not be estimated, but if it could have been sold, would have increased the receipts considerably.

ASSAYER'S DEPARTMENT.

In this department during the fiscal year 1906, there were assayed 9,647 melts of gold deposits and 3,360 melts of silver deposits, a total of 13,007 melts. About 1,400 melts of fine gold and fine silver were assayed, and fineness stamped upon 51,813 bars of gold and 23,340 bars of silver, a total of 75,153.

Special assays numbered 880, largely articles of jewelry. There were 560 barrels of sweeps assayed and the usual assays for the melter and refiner's department and for settlement, the latter augmented by a large number made for the examiners during settlement.

The necessary proof gold, silver, and cupels were made as usual, and the year showed a slight increase in all parts of the work.

THE MINT OF THE UNITED STATES AT CARSON, NEV.

At this institution the number of deposits increased quite materially over those of the previous year, the value showing a gain of $442,754.11.

The deposits of the year aggregated in value as follows:

Gold..

Silver (commercial value).

$735,979.06

3,590.95

739,570.01

These deposits were principally from the State of Nevada. California deposits amounted to 1,107.956 standard ounces of gold and 591.15 standard ounces of silver. The larger part of the bullion is from

the famous Goldfield district; and with the advent of more milling facilities, a larger amount of bullion will be handled at this institution. The operations of the assay department required 2,363 assays. This includes melts, consolidations, bullion, and ore assays.

The force of employees consists of 7 men.

The following table shows the amount of deposits, earnings, and expenditures, together with the percentage of net expenses to deposits for the fiscal year:

At this institution there were received during the year 1,698 deposits of bullion, originating in the States of Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Washington, and Utah.

The office force consists of 9 employees.

No redeposits, silver, foreign coin, or bullion were offered. The volume of business handled, the earnings and expenditures, and the percentage of net expense to deposits were as follows:

ASSAY OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES AT HELENA, MONT.

At this office, there were 1,141 deposits of gold bullion, unrefined, during the fiscal year 1906. Of these 1,052 were regular deposits, and 89 were small deposits of less than $50 value in gold, or less than 500 fine in gold. The weight of the 1,052 regular deposits as received from the depositors was 148,232.93 ounces; after melting, 146,241.08 ounces, a loss equivalent to 1.344 per cent. The average fineness of the resulting bullion was gold, 776; silver, 146.

The coinage value of the gold and silver contained in the deposits of the year was $2,375,633.18, an average of $2,258.21.

The greater portion of the bullion handled was of domestic production, from the States of Montana, Idaho, Washington, Nevada, and the Territory of Alaska. Foreign bullion, unrefined, was received from the Northwest Territory, containing 8.988 standard ounces of gold and 1.75 standard ounces of silver; British Columbia, 6,692.091 standard ounces of gold and 1,617.11 standard ounces of silver; jewelry, 57.186 standard ounces of gold and 14.12 standard ounces of silver; redeposits, 329.420 standard ounces of gold and 113.21 standard ounces of silver in base bars originally made at this office. The force of employees consists of 13 men.

The following table shows the value of deposits, amount of earnings, and expenditures, and the percentage of net expense to deposits:

ASSAY OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES AT CHARLOTTE, N. C.

This office was a coinage mint for a period of some twenty-five years prior to the civil war. The business of the office is small, the deposits being chiefly of gold produced in the South Appalachian States.

Prof. George B. Hanna, who had been the skilled assayer of this institution since March 8, 1870, died on May 21, 1906, and up to date no successor has been found. The eligible list of the Civil Service Commission has been exhausted, and efforts have been continuously made to find a competent man outside of the Commission's list, but no one to whom the place has been offered has been willing to accept it permanently at the salary heretofore paid, to wit, $1,250 per annum. Congress should either increase the appropriation for the Charlotte office or abolish it.

The deposits in the last fiscal year were: Gold, $230,344.95; silver, $1,759.20, making a total of $232,104.15, against $257,098.42 in the preceding year-a decrease of $24,914.27.

The total deposits numbered 296, all being gold. There were two redeposits. One hundred and fifty-five ore assays were made and 18 pieces of chemical work performed.

The employees are 2 officers (males), 1 clerk (female), 2 laborers (males).

The following table shows the amount of deposits, earnings, and expenditures; also percentage of net expenses to deposits during the fiscal year 1906:

ASSAY OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES AT ST. LOUIS, MO.

The receipts of this office were the smallest last year of any office in the service. They aggregated $221,520.06, showing a reduction in value compared with those of 1905 of $204,376.47.

The receipts of domestic gold bullion amounted to 10,236.869 standard ounces of gold and 9.02 standard ounces of silver; of jewelers' bars containing 1,612.687 standard ounces of gold and 435.47 standard ounces of silver; foreign bullion contained 19.021

standard ounces of gold and 6.19 standard ounces of silver; uncurrent domestic gold coin, 9.950 standard ounces of gold.

One hundred and seventy-seven melts of gold deposits were assayed. There were received and assayed 42 special bullion assays, for which a charge of $2 each was made.

The working force of this office consists of assayer in charge and one clerk, male.

The following statement shows the amount of deposits, earnings, and expenditures, also percentage of net expenses to deposits during the fiscal year 1906:

ASSAY OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES AT DEADWOOD, S. DAK.

At this office, there were deposited during the fiscal year 1906, 126 deposits of bullion, valued at $567,068.98, all from the Black Hills district, South Dakota.

There were 6 button and 31 ore assays and 9 assays on mass melts, in addition to 126 assays on bullion deposited.

No mutilated or uncurrent gold or silver coins were received during the year.

The total number of employees in the assay office at the close of the fiscal year was 5 men, all in the general office.

Our business shows a decrease from last year, owing to the closing down of the mills of two of our regular depositors and the burning of the Horseshoe mill.

The following statement shows the amount of deposits, earnings, and expenditures, also percentage of net expenses to deposits during the fiscal year 1906:

ASSAY OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES AT SEATTLE, Wash.

A change occurred in the head of this institution during the year, Calvin E. Vilas succeeding Frederic A. Wing, resigned, on March 1, 1906. At the same time H. L. Glenn, formerly first assistant assayer of the United States assay office at Helena, became first assistant assayer at the Seattle office, succeeding F. C. Newton, resigned, and L. S. Kerfoot, of the San Francisco mint, became chief clerk, succeeding T. G. Hathway, who in turn succeeded George E. Adams as cashier of the office.

H. Doc. 9, 59-2- -19

George Edward Adams, who had been a trusted employee of this institution almost from the time it was opened, was arrested November 23, 1905, charged with stealing gold from deposits while they were awaiting assay. He was indicted and has since pleaded guilty to two counts in which the amounts stolen aggregated $45,000, and received a sentence of ten years in the penitentiary at hard labor.

Adams's method was to abstract a small amount of gold dust from each deposit, substituting enough sand to make good the gross weight by which the deposits are checked until the assays are made. Civil suits are pending against him to recover the equivalent of the thefts and considerable property has been attached.

The business of this office during the year is shown by the following

Twenty ounces of proof gold were obtained from the United States mint at Philadelphia in return for an equivalent value of gold cornets. The 305 lead assays were made for the collector of customs to determine duties on ores shipped into this country.

The number of employees at the end of the fiscal year was 31 (all male), but for six months of the year, during the winter season, only 27 men were employed, all in general department.

Of the 3,595 deposits received, 3,572 were crude bullion and 23 refined. The great bulk of refined bullion is foreign, coming principally from smelters and refineries in British Columbia.

The source of production of deposits is shown in the following table: