manner of production or to its cost will be very readily given your AMERICAN PIN COMPANY, By JOHN P. KELLOGG, Its Attorney. LEAD. [Paragraphs 181 and 182.] THE TACOMA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND BOARD OF TRADE Hon. SERENO E. PAYNE, TACOMA, WASH., November 23, 1908. Chairman Ways and Means Committee, Washington, D. C.: The Tacoma Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade desires to join in protest against any reduction in the tariff on lead and desires to state that it is our firm belief if the duty on lead is reduced it will surely close down the lead mines of the Northwest and stop developments of the lead mines of Alaska, which are now in their infancy. Higher wages paid in the United States as against Mexico, Australia, and Spain would make competition with these foreign countries impossible for us. TACOMA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE and Letters and telegrams similar in purport to the above were received from the following: Lewis E. Anbury, state mineralogist of California; Board of Trade of Silverton, Colo.; Dunkin Mining Company, Leadville, Colo.; The Luema Mining Company, Leadville, Colo.; San Juan Mining Association, Silverton, Colo.; T. S. Wood, Leadville, Colo.; Spokane (Wash.) Stock Exchange; The Aburdix G. M. and M. Co., Pueblo, Colo.; E. I. Palmer, Pueblo, Colo.; The American National Bank, Leadville, Colo.; Weber Club, Ogden, Utah; Durango (Colo.) Board of Trade; Z. F. Higginbotham & Sons, Fertile, Mo.; Denver (Colo.) Chamber of Commerce; Commercial Club, Salt Lake City, Utah; New Monarch Mining Company, Leadville, Colo.; Utah Mine Operators' Association, Salt Lake City, Utah; James Long, Potosi, Mo.; J. F. Callbreath, jr., Pittsburg, Pa.; Secretary American Mining Congress; Helena (Mont.) Commercial Club; Madison Land and Lead Company, St. Louis, Mo.; Colorado Manufacturers' Association, Denver, Colo.; Hon. John C. Cutler, Salt Lake City, Utah, governor of Utah; Southeast Missouri Lead Company, St. Louis, Mo.; Chamber of Commerce, Missoula, Mont.; L. W. Hutton, Spokane, Wash.; Parks Brothers, Spokane, Wash.; East Pacific Mining Company, Helena, Mont.; William A. Nicholls, Spokane, Wash.; Chamber of Commerce, San Francisco, Cal.; Montana Mine Owners' Association, Helena, Mont.; Exchange National Bank, Spokane, Wash. JAMES M. HADDEN, FREDERICKTOWN, MO., THINKS REMOVAL OF DUTY FROM LEAD WOULD CRIPPLE INDUSTRY. Hon. SERENO E. PAYNE, FREDERICKTOWN, Mo., November 20, 1908. Chairman Ways and Means Committee, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: I have just been unofficially notified that on November 25 there is to be a hearing before your committee at Washington, and that an effort will be made to reduce the duty of 13 cents per pound upon lead. It is unnecessary to say that for the lack of time I can only state a few facts, but the proof of them can easily be produced. The condition of things regulating our own affairs will, I think, portray pretty fairly those of by far the majority of lead-mining companies as to numbers. There are, I know, a few who could, I believe, make money under almost any conditions, and even if the tariff was entirely removed could still manage to do so, but the large majority of us would be obliged to shut down permanently. These few companies were exceedingly fortunate in their possession of ground containing a large percentage of lead-bearing rock. It is their good fortune, and no one of your committee would for a moment question it. It is what all the companies are looking and hoping for and but few ever find. We are compelled year after year to mine an ore that would not average in lead over 2 per cent of the rock actually taken out, and few of the many companies engaged in the business for the past number of prosperous years have done more than come out even, without considering the interest upon their money invested. Many things that may not appear to your committee do actually occur to most of these companies. They are, as is well known, almost always located in isolated rural districts and become at once the almost sole means of building up the community, both from the direct support of the operatives as well as furnishing the bulk of taxable property for schools and all other improvements, and the local authorities are never slow to tax foreign capital. The present protection as to duty and any sudden or gradual raise in the marketable price of lead, I have found, very seldom benefited the producer as much as the operatives, for they, too, are quick to take advantage of favorable conditions by demanding higher and still higher wages. It is, I think, safe to say that the lead-mining companies generally believe in your absolute justice in this matter, but it is also my belief that if you reduce the duty upon lead you would put the majority of us out of business. Yours, very truly, JAS. M. HADDEN. THE CLOUD CITY MINERS' UNION, LEADVILLE, COLO., THINKS DUTY ON LEAD SHOULD BE INCREASED. Hon. S. E. Payne, [Telegram.] LEADVILLE, COLO., November 23, 1908. Chairman Ways and Means Committee, Washington, D. C.: On behalf of the mine workers of this district we earnestly urge that the present duty on lead not only be maintained, but if possible increased. We also urge the adoption of a sufficient tariff on zinc to permit of its being produced profitably in this State. Any reduction in tariff would completely demoralize mining in this district and throw hundreds of men out of employment; therefore it is absolutely necessary that our industry be protected, more especially the lead and zinc mining. Any other action by your committee will result disastrously. CLOUD CITY MINERS' UNION, By THOS. POWERS, Secretary. THE SPOKANE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE URGES RETENTION OF PRESENT DUTIES ON LEAD ORES AND LEAD BULLION. COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS, SPOKANE, November 17, 1908. Washington, D. C. GENTLEMEN: Whereas the United States produces more lead annually than it consumes; and Whereas the lead-mining industry, employing thousands of men at high wages, is largely dependent upon a fair price for lead bullion; and Whereas a reduction in the tariff on lead ores and lead bullion would be followed by a reduction of the market price of the commodity, which in turn would cause many mining properties now being operated at a profit to be shut down and thus cause great pecuniary loss to thousands of investors, as well as take away employment of thousands and cause a reduction in wages to miners employed in mines which would survive under the new régime: Therefore, be it Resolved, By the board of trustees of the Spokane Chamber of Commerce, members concurring, that we earnestly protest against any revision of the tariff which shall reduce the present duty of 11 cents per pound on lead ores and 2 cents per pound on lead bullion; be it further Resolved, That we urge our Senators and Congressmen to vote against any proposed reduction of the tariff on lead ores or lead bullion; that a copy of these resolutions be sent to each of our Senators and Congressmen and to Sereno E. Payne, chairman Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives; also, to the secretary of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of the Pacific Coast for its indorsement. Attest: L G. MONROE, Secretary. BOARD OF TRUSTEES, By F. E. GOODALL, President. STATEMENT OF C. E. ALLEN, OF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, RELATIVE TO LEAD MINING INDUSTRY. FRIDAY, November 27, 1908. Mr. ALLEN. I appear on the subject of lead. Gentlemen of the committee, I had not expected to present this question except with particular reference to the miners of Utah. The CHAIRMAN. Under what paragraph is it? Mr. ALLEN. I believe it is paragraphs 181 and 182. I have here a set of resolutions passed by the Commercial Club of Salt Lake City, which I will file in the record, which simply illustrates the common position of the people of Utah. (The resolutions referred to are as follows:) Hon. SERENO E. PAYNE, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, November 21, 1908. Chairman Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C.: Whereas the matter of reducing the present tariff on lead is being considered before your honorable committee, We, the undersigned, representing the Commercial Club, of Salt Lake City, Utah, as its board of directors, respectfully present: That a reduction from the present tariff on lead will paralyze the mining industry of this State, bringing disaster to thousands of men employed and to all industries which in a measure are associated with mining; That during the year 1907 the lead production of the State of Utah amounted to 60,000 tons, valued at $6,000,000; That Utah ranks third in the production of lead in the United States, the total production of which is valued at $38,000,000 for the year 1907; That the industry has been made possible by the tariff on the metal lead, and that an industry made possible by protection is as worthy of preservation as it was of creation; That the prosperity of the entire United States is dependent in a marked way on the welfare of the mining industry. Therefore be it resolved, That the Commercial Club, of Salt Lake City, Utah, by its board of governors, earnestly petition your honorable body for a maintenance of the present lead tariff schedule, and pray that the integrity of so vital an industry be preserved to the citizens of the State of Utah. I was asked by the Mine Operators' Association of Utah, comprising practically all the operators of that State, to present as well as I might their position in this matter, and the secretary of that organization has prepared a statement of facts so far as he could ascertain them from the data at hand in that city, which I also will file. We are not here asking that there be any increase in the tariff, although we are all tariff people. The president of the Mine Operators' Association of Utah is a Democrat, and many of the members are Democrats. Many of them are Republicans. They are all unanimous in their position in this matter. I had expected that the gentleman from Idaho would be here and present the general aspects of this matter, and I would deal entirely with the local situation in Utah. Therefore I am not as thoroughly prepared as I otherwise might have been on the general aspects of the case. The CHAIRMAN. Who is the gentleman from Idaho to whom you refer? Mr. ALLEN. I do not know. They sent a delegation here, but they are out banqueting, I believe, to-night. The CHAIRMAN. That is a good place to be. Mr. ALLEN. Yes; I would like to be there myself. I would like to have the gentlemen of the committee bear in mind the distinction between tons of lead and tons of lead ore. I noticed yesterday there was some confusion of thought because that distinction was not noted in another discussion that went on. In 1906 there were 350,000,000 tons of lead produced in the United States. We imported 84,000,000, in round terms. That is, our production now is about 82 per cent of our consumption, and we import about 18 per cent, which shows that the tariff is not prohibitive. The CHAIRMAN. Are those imported ores dry ores or wet ores? Mr. ALLEN. All ores are wet before they go into the furnaces. The CHAIRMAN. What is that? Mr. ALLEN. Perhaps you are using the word "dry" in one sense and I in another. The CHAIRMAN. I am talking of the fluxing ores. Mr. ALLEN. Lead is a fluxing ore. Lead is a wet ore in that sense. The CHAIRMAN. All lead? Mr. ALLEN. All lead. The CHAIRMAN. Is there not some lead ore that they use for fluxing rather than others? Mr. ALLEN. All lead ore acts as a gatherer of the precious metals, and lead ores are mixed sometimes with what smelter men call "dry ores to collect the gold and silver that are in the dry ores. The CHAIRMAN. It is necessary to have those fluxing ores in order to smelt, is it not? Mr. ALLEN. Yes; but we can get plenty of them out of the United States. The CHAIRMAN. What is that? Mr. ALLEN. We can get plenty of them in the United States. The CHAIRMAN. But they do import them generally now, do they not? Mr. ALLEN. Not generally. The CHAIRMAN. A large portion of the importations are fluxing ores, are they not? Mr. ALLEN. A large importation of what? The CHAIRMAN. I say a large percentage of the importations are fluxing ores, are they not? Mr. ALLEN. There is 61.000 tons of lead ore which comes in from Mexico, for instance-61,000 tons of lead, I mean; I do not know how many tons of lead ore. The CHAIRMAN. Does no lead ore come in? Mr. ALLEN. It comes in the form of lead ore. The CHAIRMAN. How much lead ore comes in? Mr. ALLEN. I can not answer that question. I could not find the statistics. The CHAIRMAN. I have forgotten a good deal about this question; I have not looked it up for twelve years. Then we went into it very thoroughly, and this committee thought 1 cent a pound on lead ore was a very high duty. The Senate put on 13 cents, and the House finally yielded. At that time we made up our minds that a duty of 1 cent was a very high duty on those lead ores. Mr. RANDELL. We imported 127,196,540 pounds of lead ore and base bullion in 1907. The CHAIRMAN. Lead in ore. |