Idaho news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1887-1891, 1888-10-13

LEAD.
Mr.. Dubois spoke here the other night
and devoted great deal of his time
to the lead question. While believe
in the reduction of the tariff, while
believe in the principles embodied in
the Mills Bill, shll l do not believe
in so acting towards the mining in
dustry of this territory as will compel
one single mine to shut down or one
single laborer in these mines to have
his wages lessened in any degree. Sc
far as this lead question is concerned
there is nothing in the attitude of the
Democratic party as shown by the
platform of the Nation and Of the
Territory, or by the Mills Bill itself,
that will initiate against this interest
of Idaho. Is lead free? Is lead un-
der the Mills Bill to be brought into
the country free of dutyP Not by any
means! WhyP Because under that
bill the raw material is taxed at the
rate of SIS per ton and the manufac-
tured article at much heavier rate.
say here as have said elsewhere that
any man who will give this subject
one moment thought can and will de
termine for himself, that under a
tariff of that kind not one pound of
lead or lead ores or of articles manu-
featured from lead, can be brought
into this country if they do not pay
the tariff | say furthermore upon
this subject that lead has been com
ing into this country for the last six
teen years free of duty; that on ac-
count of the ruling of Republican
Secretary of the Treasury made some
Is years ago, the only competing
points we have, Mexico and South
America, have shipped lead and lead
ores into this country free of duty.
According to that ruling, "where the
lead at the point of shipment con-
tanned silver and gold of greater value
than the lead, of greater value after
the whole shipment was averaged, the
lead should be admitted free of duty"
He went further and declared that
the shipment, be it train load or ship
load, should be averaged up as to the
relative value of the load, and the
consequent result of that ruling was
that, to train load of lead ore, the
shipper in Mexico could add car load
ofrich silver ore, thereby making the
average value of the train load great
er as to silver than to lead, so ship
ping his lead ore across the boundary
free of duty And it is a we'll known
fact that such has been done continu-
ally since that time.
Another point Mr.. Dubois overlook
ed in discussing this question, and it
struck me at the time, that instead Of
discussing this matter from facts that
proved something, he was rather ap-
pealing to the preiudices of certain
sections of this Territory, and of peo-
pie engaged in certain lines of busi.
ness; was the fact that more lead is
produced in the United States than is
used for home consumption. Mr.
Dubois in discussing this matter the
other night got into hole and came
very near pulling the hole in after
him; for the reason that he demon.
strated from figures, which presume
had been taken from official tables
that the United States produced one.
fourth of the lead produced in the
world. Now if the United States
with only sixty millions produce one
quarter of the lead mined In all the
world, if such is the case, are we not
bound to be exporters not importers
of lead? How then can it possibly
be thought that this lead industry Is
threatened with disaster when we shin
and sell lead in immense quantities
to other nations? How would il he
possible for the Mills Bill to iniure
the American miner. Does the Re-
publican Senate tariff bill offer any re-
lief even if injury was threatened
Another thing in connection with this
matter that Mr.. Dubois and the Re. |
publican papers and orators have gen.
orally overlooked: Lead is an article
whose price is regulated by the law
of supply and demand. That being
the case where is the price regulating
market of this article situated: is it
In San Francisco, or New York or
Baltimore? say no. 1t is in London
and if tomorrow lead is quoted at 6
cents per pound in London, before to-
morrow night in New York, Salt Lake
and in Idaho it will be quoted at a
corresponding price. Let that mar.
zet lower the price to three cents Der
pound and our markets follow suit
md lead here falls accordingly So
ong as the capitalists of London fix.
'he price of lead and the moneved
men of Paris the price Of copper. /
are not whether we have a tariff or
Tot our mining interests will not be
Effected in this country, because we