Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1886-02-13

PITTSBURGH, Pa, Feb. 3, 1886

? PITTSBURGH, Pa, Feb. 3, 1886
, To the Editor of the Custer Chronicle
, My attention has been called to an ar
, ticle IN your issue of January 10Th last
under the caption 1.-The Tin Industry in
America" which purports to be criti
cism on quotation taken from our las,
pamphlet to the public, on tin plate
manufacture in the United States, to
which We deem but proper to reply and
offer an explanation.
J We do this because we desire a fair
discussion Of this question which is now
become one of national Importance. We
also desire to place ourselves square on
the issue before the public, without any
eQuivocation or evasion whatever. In
this case that hes called forth your edi.
torial we say plainly that we had, and
have not any intention OF treating the
matter-the discovery Of tin in Virginia
and Dakato-'as q matter Of no conse.
qusnce." We go further and say tha,
We consider il one of great importance
in every essential to our national pro,
gress and welfare. Neither are we in.
different to the Importance of protecting
the development of tin mining in this
country. No good and true protection.
principles Of the system Of protection is
the app. ication Of labor and capital in
the utilization of our own raw materials.
1t is for the parties interested to pre-
sent Y direct demand for protective
and Dakota will take up the question of
demanding protective duty Oh tin, for
the purpose of developing tin mining,
a. G,l ,,,l Il
needs no argument on my part to show
plate industry established here, prOtec-
| ton on tin would be of but little service
in the development Of tin mining For
these reasons we must work in harmony
us our interests are strictly mutual.
| If you will again carefully read the
quotation from the pamphlet, you per.
purely argumentative. We are con-
importers and the agents of the foreign
producers Of tin plates, that we have no
tin in this country, and that without it's
made, etc. You will observe that we
say: This, however, is now settled as
| it is known that tin ore has been dis
1 CONtTcu III pdyIHs IudnttticS III virginia
and Oak ota." To meet this further ar
| 1t would he no argument, for the major
part of tin used in the English and
| Welsh works Is imported tin etc" This
makes it plain that what we want to
imply was, that if the tin plate industry
in England depended upon foreign tin,
! il was quite as possible to have the in
| l,.
tin being imported free into each ccun-
that with home production of tin We
would fayer free tin.
There is no necessity that we should
take up your argument verbatim, as
what we say fully cover the ground
| With the presence of tin ore in the
mines o: Dakota and Virginia, and the
essity of fuller and more complete
diversifcation Of industries than we
now possess, our success is assured mt
great importance TO our country and
especially to the future state Of Dakota.
Very respectfully yours,
JoHS JARRETT, Secy
American Timed Plate Association.
We are pleased to note the harmony
Of views that now seem to exist between
the CHRONICLE and the American Timed
Plate Association, as indicated in the
above communication. 1t is, however
matter Of regret, that these views
were not more clearly outlined in the
pamphlet referred to. Since it is here
admitted that the interests of the pro-
ducer and manufacturer are mutual, the
fact Of their having directed their entire
attention to the one central idea of pro-
tecting the manufacturer, seems quite
incompatible with the admission, which
we can only account for in the belief
that the writer shared to some extent
the opinion Of those he quotes, who
ignored the existence of tin in paying
quantities in America. We cheerfully
concede, considering the fact Of the
limited development of our tin mines at
the time of the issue of the pamphlet,
that the situation did not warrant that
marked attention that it has since
claimed, and that it formed no part Of
the intention of this association to
champion measure which, in their
opinion would be detrimental to the in
terests of any branch of the American
tin industry. The situation has been
materially changed. BY continued
development the tin mines of the Black
Hills give ample assurance of mex
haustible bodies Of high grade tin ores.
A vast amount of capital has recently
been invested in these mine. Costly
machinery for the reduction Of tin ores
aggregating hundreds Of thousands of
dollars have been purchased and trans
ported from the east, and the true merit
of these mines of which so little was
known even up to period within the
past few months, has now been more
fully determined, resulting in giving
them degree of prominence through
out the entire country, that is even
greater than was anticipated by the
widest enthusiast in our mdts Later
discoveries in the Southern Hills lying
contiguous to Custer City, indicate more
extensive, and richer deposits than
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