Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1886-02-24
leeds IMMEDIATE ATTENTION


visiting in the East, sees in the provis-
ions of the recently-introduced Morrison
tariff bill threatened danger to the gen.
eral mining interests of the United States,
and more particularly to those of Utah.
To ward off this threatened danger, he
writes letter to Governor Murray, as
President of the Utah Mine Protective
Association, in which he urges that a
representative of the Association be sent
to Washington at once, to work against a
measure whose passage cannot affect this
Territory otherwise than disastrously.
Professor Holden says in his communica-
ton to the Governor:
l learn that a somewhat concerted and
strong action is liable to be taken on the
tariff on lead, which if successful will be
detrimental to the interests of Utah. While
it may not be possible at this session Of Con-
gress to pass the whole bill, as proposed by
Mr.. Morrison, 1t is nevertheless important
that our interests be watched with great
care.
The effort to be made strikes for the intro
duction of raw materials free of duty, and
it is going to receive strong support from
New York and Boston, and some other large
importing as we'll as manufacturing centers.
The greatest danger that we have lies in the
fact that unless we are constantly on the
alert and keep the public informed upon the
subject, and our interests are combined with
other interests, there is great danger that in
an unguarded moment the whole lead pro-
ducing industry may be destroyed in this
country.
l am not deceived. speak that which
know when | assure you that England is
doing everything in her power to get control
of the United States as market, not only
for manufactured products, but for the raw
material which is produced in her own prov
inces and owned by her capitalists. External
vigilance is the price of victoryt'
I am very certain that some one repre-
senting the lead interests of the Rocky
Mountains, and perhaps one from every
State and Territory, ought to be in Wash
ington for the purpose of preventing any
unfavorable action of the tariff question.
I do not write this in order that our asso-
citation may urge me to go to Washington,
for as understand it, by a former resolu-
ton am still their agent, or delegate, to
look after their interests at that point.
write, however, to urge upon them the neces-
sity of having means provided to meet the
expenses, which will be necessary if any
one goes to Washington and does effective
work. l have so much to- do here and in
Utah that very much wish that the associa-
ton would appoint some one else, say Mr..
E. P. Ferry, to do the work. l have laid all
my plans to be in Utah by the middle of
March, and do not see how it is possible
for me to give such time to the business as
is required, and hence l write to you that
you may bring the matter before the board
SO that proper steps may be taken for a
delegate and for the money necessary for
his expenses.
The suggestions of Professor Holden
are most timely, and should be acted
upon at once. With the tariff taken off
lead ores, three-fourths of the mines now
being worked in Utah would have to be
closed down, for the reason that England
could and would supply the United States
with that metal at a price awav below
the figures at which it can be produced
by American miners. This is phase of
free trade which the people in this West
ern country should spare no efforts to
knock in the head, for it menaces an
industry in which hundreds of thousands
of Americans are interested, and whose
means an annual loss of
OF dollars to the States and Ter
ritories of the Pacific Coast.
Utah miners should see to it that no
such hostile legislation against their inter-
ests is permitted to go through Congress
without their most vigorous protests.