PARAGRAPH 11—BORAX. Resolved by the Chamber of Mines and Oil of Los Angeles, Cal., That we do most earnestly protest against any reduction in the existing tariff on borax and borate products, and do urge our Senators and Congressmen to devote their best efforts to the support of this resolution in the proper committees and on the floor of the Senate and House of Representatives. RUSS AVERY, President. JANUARY 9, 1913. RESOLUTIONS PASSED BY THE BOARd of directORS, CHAMBER OF MINES AND OIL OF LOS ANGELES, CAL., PROTESTING AGAINST REDUCTION IN EXISTING TARIFF ON BORAX AND BORATE PRODUCTS. Whereas the borax mining industry in California has shown a small but steady increase after 40 years of development work, notwithstanding the limited market; and Whereas with the increase in production and transportation facilities there has been an enormous decrease in the price of borate products to the consumer; and Whereas any reduction in the existing tariff will eliminate this industry in California, throw open the markets of the United States to foreign mines, benefit foreign labor at the expense of American labor, practically destroy the work of those who have built up the industry, and cause great loss of capital now invested in California: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Chamber of Mines and Oil of Los Angeles, Cal., That we do most earnestly protest against any reduction in the existing tariff on borax and borate products, and do urge our Senators and Congressmen to devote their best efforts to the support of this resolution in the proper committees and on the floors of the Senate and House of Representatives. Certified as a true and correct copy. RUSS AVERY, President. JANUARY 9, 1913. BRIEF OF FACTS IN RE THE BORAX MINING INDUSTRY OF CALIFORNIA. In view of the fact that the entire production of borax in the United States is virtually derived from four producing mines in this State, the industry may be defined as essentially Californian. The crude ore now being mined is principally colemanite, a borate of lime, and its content of anhydrous boric acid varies considerably, owing to the presence of impurities in the ore. The total production for the present year, from present indications, will be in the neighborhood of 4,100 tons monthly, with an approximate valuation at the mine of $29 per ton. The present wholesale price of refined commercial borax, a chemical combination of boric acid and soda, is $3.75 per 100 pounds. Incidentally, the wholesale price in the United States is as cheap as in Europe. It is estimated that the industry provides employment for about 1,000 men; that salaries and wages will approximate $2,000 to $3,500 daily; that the average monthly purchase of supplies, very conservatively estimated and excluding machinery and equipment, will reach $50,000. Los Angeles, being the nearest large center to the mines, secures the bulk of this business. It is, therefore, apparent that the industry is a small one, comparatively, and one which would seem to warrant protection and encouragement. Any reduction in the present tariff will, we feel sufficiently confident, eliminate borax mining in the United States, and yet at the same time will not tend to reduce prices to the consumer. Such tariff reduction will open the United States market to foreign mines in South America, Asia, and Europe. It would also help foreign labor, throw out of employment in the United States men who have specialized in this industry and helped build it up from a gross production in 1895 of 5,959 short tons to 53,330 tons in 1911. It is interesting to note that with the growth of the borax mining industry there has been an immense reduction in the value of the crude ore. in 1895 a production of 5,959 tons netted the miners $595,900, or $100 per ton; while the production of 53,330 tons in 1911 brought them but $1,569, 151, or about $29 per ton. Statistics to be obtained from the Federal authorities will also show that the price of borax and boric acid to the consumers has been steadily reduced during the period mentioned. Thus PARAGRAPH 11-BORAX. Even with the nominal protection afforded by the present tariff foreign competitore found it possible to import in 1911 for consumption in the United States borax and borates, including boric acid, with a valuation of about $24,000. The facts furnished above will prove the limited market for borate products in the United States, and a reduction in the present tariff will merely mean an increased profit for the foreign producer, as he could mine and ship the refined product to the United States at a slightly lower cost than at present, while such a reduction in tariff would effectually eliminate a minor industry in this State, the development of which has gradually lessened the cost of a household necessity year by year, and not followed the trend of other protected industries to the detriment of the general public. We urge all Senators and Congressmen receiving this brief to give the matter their most earnest consideration, and we sincerely trust that the facts presented may convince them of the necessity for retaining the existing small tariff on borax and borate products. Respectfully presented. CHAMBER OF MINES AND OIL, Committee. · BRIEF IN FAVOR OF THE PROTECTIVE TARIFF ON BORAX, BORIC ACID, AND BORATE OF LIME. VENTURA, CAL., January 7, 1913. The entire production of borax in the United States is virtually derived from four producing mines located in this State in outlying and desert country. Our mine is one of the four and is under heavy expense for hauling the ore 75 miles by wagon and very high rate for wages to miners and for supplies. Our crude ore is principally colemanite, a variety of borate of lime, having a large percentage of impurities, which necessitates refining The total yearly production of our mine is 6,000 tons, at an approximate valuation at the mine of $25 per ton for the crude ore. We employ about an average of 65 men, whose wage is approximately $200 per day. Any reduction of the present tariff will force us to discontinue operations and will not only work a hardship upon our stockholders, but also upon the laborers and others depending upon the operation of this mine. The present market price of the refined commercial product (borax) is lower than has ever been known before and would not be reduced even with a reduction of the tariff, and we can not see that it will be of any advantage either to the American consumer or manufacturer. HENRY M. RUSSELL, President Russell Borate Mining Co. PARAGRAPH 11-BORAX. BRIEF OF THE PACIFIC COAST BORAX CO., NEW YORK, N. Y. Hon. OSCAR W. UNDERWOOD, PACIFIC COAST BORAX Co., New York, January 28, 1913. Chairman, Ways and Means Committee, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: Referring to the present law: Paragraph 1. Boracic acid, present duty 3 cents per pound. Paragraph 11. Borax, present duty 2 cents per pound; borates of lime, soda, or other borate material not otherwise provided for in this section, present duty 2 cents per pound. We beg to protest against any change in the above duties, for the following reasons: BORATES OF LIME OR SODA OR OTHER BORATE MATERIAL NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR. The mineral (borate of lime) from which borax and boracic acid are manufactured is found in this country in commercial quantities chiefly in the western portion of the United States, and particularly in the States of California and Nevada, where it is confined to a limited area of desert country known as the Death Valley region. From this region there is mined annually approximately 50,000 tons of crude borate material. The production of this material has necessitated extensive developments for many years, and an industry of considerable magnitude has grown up in connection with the production of borate of lime in Death Valley. In the past years of growth in the borax business in America, it has been necessary to build railroads and wagon roads, and to establish water stations through the development of springs, and generally to civilize arid wastes of drifting sand. This development work has so opened up the thousands of square miles of land in Death Valley and other desert sections of California and Nevada that it is now possible to reach, with safety, most of the interior points on the desert, and prospectors as well as others are frequently seen traveling with safety from place to place on the desert, depending largely for food and water upon the stations established by the borax people, until death from want of water is much less frequent than formerly, and through prospecting thus made possible, much land containing other valuable minerals has been found which heretofore was entirely unknown. The possibility in potash alone is an example of what has been accomplished through civilization by the borax people, who alone have done the pioneer development work in the American deserts and converted them, and particularly the Death Valley, as it is generally known to-day, into an oasis of health and remunerative employment for many contented workmen and prospectors. During the past 10 years, extensive plants have been constructed in order that the borate material may be economically produced, assorted, calcined, and shipped. A great many men are constantly employed in this industry. A railroad of 127 miles in length has been built to carry the crude material from one of the fields of pro PARAGRAPH 11-BORAX. duction to a point of connection with a transcontinental railway line. The industry which, through years of development, effort, and economic management, has thus grown and developed in the arid region of Death Valley, until at present there is expended annually for labor and supplies approximately $750,000. In order to produce commercial borax and boric acid from the crude material extracted from the Death Valley fields, it is necessary to combine the borate ingredients existent in the material with a certain percentage of soda. Soda of proper quality does not exist in that region. It therefore becomes necessary to either ship the crude material to some point on the Atlantic seaboard, where it may be combined with soda, or to ship soda from the point of its production in the Eastern States to some point on the Pacific coast, and there to combine it with the borate material. Since the territory of the greatest distribution for the refined product is existent upon the Atlantic coast and east of the Mississippi River, it has been determined by experience that it is necessary to ship the crude ore to some point in the East for its manufacture into refined borax and boric acid, and from that point distributed to the consumers. The vast production and transportation of raw material from the fields in the West to eastern points of manufacture necessitates a considerable expenditure. Approximately 25,000 tons of marketable borate ore are shipped from the 50,000 tons mined from these fields each year to the Atlantic seaboard for refining. Of such crude material so shipped approximately 60 per cent consists of lime, which has no commercial value. Thus it becomes necessary to transport across the continent 15,000 tons of waste material in order that the essential ingredients of the crude ore may be secured. Such trnsportation necessitates the payment of large sums for freight and adds greatly to the commercial and economic value of the borax industry, as the same has grown up in this country. With the present import duty existing, the American borax industry is enabled to compete successfully in the American market with foreign producers of the same material. The producers of borate material in the western United States have their strongest competitors in the fields of borate ore existent upon the eastern and western coasts of South America. In the Argentine Republic, Chile, and Peru borate of lime superior in quality to the California mineral can be produced from extensive fields at a low cost with "peon" labor, which receives a daily wage of from 25 to 50 cents. The product of these fields can be cheaply transported by ship to American ports, and the total expenditure for production and delivery of South American borate material to points of manufacture and distribution within this country is, and will continue to be, very cheap when compared with the outlay necessary to produce the material in the Death Valley region and transport the same to the Atlantic coast, there to be refined and manufactured into the commercial product. Such South American competition becomes doubly dangerous to the borax industry of this country because of the fact that upon the completion of the Panama Canal the South American producer, chiefly in Chile and Peru, can extract, ship, and deliver crude borate material to New York or other Atlantic seaboard ports PARAGRAPH 11-BORAX. at a less cost than the cost of mining in the Death Valley fields plus the cost of transportation to the eastern seaboard points. If the import duty is removed from borate, as was proposed in House bill 20182 and passed by the House, the industry which has been built up in this country, together with its incidental and attendant activities and benefits, would cease. A great amount of valuable property would be forced to lie dormant and to revert to its original condition of an arid, nonproductive desert waste of drifting sand. The only direct result would be to wreck an American industry and take from the channels of trade and commerce the benefits which are now directly derived from such industry in a monetary and commercial sense. If, on the other hand, the import duty was maintained upon borate of lime, borax, and boracic acid, the present extensive workings of Death Valley will continue their operations and hundreds of persons who are now dependent for support upon such industry and its incidental activities would continue in their present satisfied and prosperous condition, and the other mineral resources of the territory which have been developed in the past will continue to be prospected and developed in the future. The duties under the present law are a reduction of 60 per cent from what they were under the Dingley law, and under these conditions only mines that are fairly well situated from a transportation standpoint are able to operate. Many properties that were formerly operated have been compelled to discontinue operations. We may mention some of these properties: In Oregon, the Rose Valley Borax Co.; in Nevada, the Amedee Borax Co., the Rhodes-Marsh Borax Co., Teels-Marsh Borax Co.; the borate properties at Columbus, Nev., the Reno Borax Co., in California, the San Bernardino Borax Co. (where the recent potash discoveries were made), and the mine of the Sterling Borax Co. in Ventura County. None of these properties can be profitably worked under the present conditions. It is therefore imperative that instead of putting borate material on the free list the present duty should be maintained and that the duties on refined borax and boracic acid also should not be reduced. The price of borax has decreased over 90 per cent since 1870, when it was 35 cents per pound, to 3 cents per pound in 1912. The annual consumption has increased from approximately 300 tons in 1870 to over 20,000 tons in 1912. The duty has been reduced 60 per cent from what it was under the Dingley bill, 5 cents per pound, to 2 cents per pound under the present law. To remove the duty would close the western mines. The present improvements and desert developments, including 127 miles of broad-gauge railroad, would, however, suffer, which is much to be regretted, for if the borate shipments were discontinued the railroad would have to be abandoned, as the other business would not support the operations of the road, and all development in that region of the Pacific coast would consequently cease. Yours, very truly, PACIFIC COAST BORAX Co., Eastern Manager. |