Midas commentary for January 14, 2001

1p EST Sunday, January 14, 2001

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

GATA Chairman Bill Murphy has sent the following letter
to Gen. Colin Powell, President-elect Bush's nominee
for secretary of state; Paul O'Neil, nominee for
secretary of the treasury; John Ashcroft, nominee for
attorney general; and Lawrence Lindsey, nominee for
presidential economic adviser.

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.

* * *

January 12, 2001

Gen. Colin Powell
Bush-Cheney Presidential Transition Office
1800 G Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20270

Dear General Powell:

I am Chairman of the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee
(GATA). The gold price has been artificially held down
hundreds of dollars below its natuaral equilibrium
price by a cabal of New York bullion banks and a facet
of the present U.S. administration. GATA was formed to
expose this price-fixing fraud.

On May 10, 2000, a GATA delegation met in Washington
with House Speaker Dennis Hastert; Rep. Spencer Bachus,
chairman of the House Subcommittee on Domestic and
International Monetary Policy; and Dr. John Silvia,
chief economist of the Senate Banking Committee. We
presented each a copy of our report titled quot;Gold
Derivative Banking Crisis.quot;

Much has happened since then. Reg Howe, a member of the
GATA delegation, filed a complaint on Dec. 7, 2000, in
federal court in Massachusetts against the bullion
banks cited in the GATA report, the Bank for
International Settlements, Federal Reserve Board
Chairman Alan Greenspan, New York Federal Reserve Bank
President William McDonough, and Treasury Secretary
Lawrence Summers. The Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee
is supporting Howe's action with contributions from
around the world.

Howe wrote the enclosed essay, quot;White House Adventure:
Opening the Gold Closet,quot; which should be of
considerable interest to the new administration. I have
also enclosed a copy of the complaint for your perusal.

Please feel free to call me at any time regarding this
matter. I will be in South Africa from January 27
through Februay 9 meeting with political leaders,
mining unions, the press, and the major gold producers
of that country about this issue.

Best regards,

Bill Murphy, Chairman
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee