The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-07-04
LETTER FROM MICHIGAN
IsHPEMING. MICH, June 30. 1s,

IsHPEMING, MICH, June 30, 1883.
Ed. DEMoCRAT:-Thinking that, per-
haps, few words from this, the great
iron ore producing portion of the United
States, would not be altogether uninter
esting, especially at this time, as we are
now experiencing the beauties and the
benefits of the late and lamented tariff
commission.
Ishpeming is the largest city in Mar
quette county, situated 16 miles west of
the city of Marquette, from whence
nearly all the shipments of Marquette
county mines are made by Lake. Within
the city limits of Ishpeming are located
the Lake Superior, Cleveland, New York
and Barnum mines; the first named, the
largest in the United States, shipping
last season nearly 100000 tons of ore.
The Cleveland with an equal capacity,
OF nearly so, whilst not showing so we'll
in the output, is capable of duplicating
the figures at any time. The BaTnum
and New York, each owned aud con-
trOlIed by good Democrats, viz: W. II.
Barnum and the silent man of Gram
mercy Park, stand we'll up in the figures
of ore mined and shipped last season.
Whilst the above named are the prinei-
pal mines in the immediate limits of
the town, there are many others close
by which, during last season, shipped
enormous quantities of ore; and, con-
trasting this busy, active and energetic
city of last year, with its eeaseless trains
of ore laden cars passing through the
city at all hours of the day and night,
and its merchants and tradesmen with
smiling faces in anticipation of the
gain their business was sure to bring
them, with what it is to-day, we find an
ore train is composed Of one section, and
trains run at long intervals and the
train man xunrH nv w hat ia knOWn hara
as mining time," and when the whistle
at six o'clock is blown the engines are
driven into their stalls in the round
house and grOOmed.
The business men are despOndent. Dur
ing the "bOb-tajl" flush times of last
year they very literally extended credit
to the miners, but after January 1st of
the present year, when the iron business
became unsettled, and men were being
discharged and wages lowered, they dis
covered that the men were unable to
meet their obligations and had to seek
other fields of labor and credit, to
their discontinue; and now, instead of
the bland smile lighting up their feat
ures, a sort of shylOck cast of cOunte-
nance Is pereeptible. And since the
date above named many failures have
taken place, and all this change has
come about since Congress imposed an
additional 90 per cent. duty on imported
ore, effectually keeping out of the mar
ket 100000 tons at least, chat being the
amount imported in 1892 But still the
grinding, crushing policy of free trade
has not brought this result about. Can
any sensible person believe that prOtec-
tion protectsp as you have often asked
in the DEMOCRAT. Just as 1 now write
learn that the l.. 8. mine discharged
150 men last night, making 400 disehar-
e,fv, lak Il. IA.
time many of them have, like Pegasus,
put wings to their feet and taken flight
to the land of the Dakotahs.
This county is situated in the Con-
gressiOnal district that had for its rep
resentative in Congress that statesman