The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-02-16
SENATOR CAaDHN os SALT.
HIS Remarks on the Proposition 10
Lower the Duty ON that Article.

Supplementary 10 Senator Bayard's
speech on the tariff on salt, and referring
more particularly to the Kanawha Valley,
Senator Camden spoke as follows:
Mr.. President, do not wish to detain
the Senate, and shall occupy but few
moments. l was not in my seat in time TO
hear all the remarks Of the Senator IRON
Delaware Mr.. Bayardl on this subject, but
that portion Of his remarks which referred
10 the salt OF the Great kanawha country |
heard, and what he said seemed 10 demand
from me some explanation Of the cause OF
the idleness Of the works there spoken OF
by the Senator. 1t is True that The salt.
works in the Kanawha region are among
the oldest, perhaps the very oldest, salt
works west OF the Allegheny Mountains
and for long time that industry prospeied
and WAS very profitable 10 those engaged
in it. 1t is also true that for great many
years that industry has languished until II
has become bankrupt III the main; there
are but few establishments now in active
operation; but the cause is not quite thai
assigned by the Senator from Delaware.
The question OF the value OF the suit in
iuStry there depends not so much upon
protection against foreign salt ~ it does
upon competition with the other salt pro
durers Uf the United States. The Cost Of
transportation is au important element
entering into the question OF its value. Fol-
long time that industry had facilities
along the Ohio and Mississippi rivers by
water transportation, aud q large market;
but as the facilities for transportation in
creased in other quarters and the salt from
New York aud Michigan aud other points
where salt could he manufactured cheaper
than it could in tie kanawha Valley came
in competition with it, the market which IL
had before enjoyed WAS restricted.
Ii is true, as stated by the Senator so
elouuently, tia. there are found in con
junction there all the elements which seem
10 be necessary for the production Of sail;
Uut IN reality there are two important FAC
tors lacking wi go TO make the manu-
faCture oil salt IN that region much more
expensive than in others. In the first
place, the boring OF wells is much more ex-
pensive because they are much deeper,
and the yield OF salt brine from those wells
is much more limited lhau in other sec
lions. In the second place, the water is
| MOI 50 stEOuS utu tlOt o. CttellN IuuNtltVh
INTO salt as the waters at Syracuse and III
the Michigan salt country.
The cheapening Of transportation, as l
said before, has brought the salt Of those
regions in competition with the salt OF tlI-
OuiU Valley until the area in which VIZ can
market our product has become 50 circum.
scribed that our salt only ti1tis u profitable
market in very small portion OF the coun.
inv west. The result lIAs been 10 produce
the facts mentioned by the Senator from
Delaware, and they are attributable large
" 10 another cause. In the arrangements
Of the salt companies, instead OF allowing
all the works in the kanawha Valley to
run, tine various manufactures were assign.
ed given proportion, say or 10 per cent
Of the salt sold within certain section OF
territory, this per cent being allowed them,
il was too small 10 allow all the works to
run. Two or three Rlt manufactures
rond make all the salt that could be mar.
Ieted by that section OF country. The
consequence WAS that the salt furnaces
agreed among themselves, for the purpose
Of getting what little profit they could, 10
divide among those works, by running
only few and paying the others their pro.
portion Of profit that would accrue from all
the salt made.
Mr.. Bayard: Paying portion Of them
not 10 run?
Mr.. Camden: As suggested by the Sena.
tor, there was "desd.rent paid in one sense
Of the word, but not "dead.rent" to any
foreign salt company. They are simply
idle by agreement among themselves, be.
cause il there is only sAlt enough for three
furnaces to make it would be worse than
folly to run twenty, fori would bring them
all in debt.
do not know that protection in salt
would add one cent oil value or interest 10
the salt region Of the Kanawha Valley, ex
cept incidentally. The region to which |
have referred in New York and Michigan
can sell salt in the country reached by the
Kanawha salt cheaper than it il possible
TO make it in the KAnRwha Valley. The
only benefit which tan accrue, in my judy.
ment, to salt west OF the AllrghanIes, is
simply in keeping the Eastern market at II
price at which those producers can run Il
certain portion Of their works and sell their
products at a TemunprRtive price.