New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-07-30
HOW SMITH NJ WEED WAS HIT
A VICTIM Of CLEVELAND AND MILLS,
THE IRON, LUaBER AND WOOL OF CLINTON COUNTY
AMONG Tn,sE "RoBBER" INTERESTS WHICH
THE PREE Traders WOULD THRoTTLE-Is Mr..
WEED IN nIrTICsf


upon a lower sDpe Of Lyon Mountain and built fire
cook their coffee and food. AS they watching
the bubblng cofeepot Of them said, peering into
the fire:
"Why, thereis iron"
The party hal built fire upon ledge where there
outcroping Of iron ore, and the heat Of the
fire melted Of the and revealed It gstening in
the flames.
At the time Of this discovery there was living In
Plattsburg a shrwd lawyer, Smith NJ. Weed who had
capital exccp his brains. The land at Lyon Noun
tain was owned by 4 resident of a distant city, but
Mr. Weed leased II and then to interest capital
ists In his sch,me 10 develop the mine. Analy-
sis showed that the iron had constituents not found
I'm iron mined elsewhere In the United states--constt-
ucnfs extremely valuable to steel makers. But the
mine am'st inaccessible. Mr. Weed Induced
the State bulh a railroad from Plattsburg TO Clinton
Prison, at Dar-emora for the ostensble purpose Of
Transporting pDvfsions for the convicts, and then
leased the rall,oad for the stupendous sum of 81 a
year Dannemra was situated three -fourths OF the
distance TO Lyon Mountain and Mr. Weed, therefore,
extended his railroad to Lyon Mountain, and hav-
ing thus sccurl means for tho transportation OF his
ore, he opened his mlbe. The railway was extended
last winter urtI now It reaches from Platsburg to
Saranac Lake distance Of seventy-four miles. The
observing tourist must have noticed everywhere along
the line tokens that a gigantic mining company IS at
awful desert The trees have all been cut off, the
hard wood fo charcoal the soft wood for timber :;
the bushes have been cut down, and then fire has
been let loose the tract TO prevent forest hres
The Chatcaugy IRON Mining Company whose directors
also own the railroad, have recently purchased a
forest land miles in width and twenty
four miles in 9Th extending from Lyon Mountain
TO Loon Lake, on each side of their railway The
wood choppers and the charcoal makers arc already
tpya ~.
Mr weedt chief enterprise, however, IS iron min
ing, and at .requenr points the railway one sees
largo mound OF pig iron, furnaces and forges and al
Lyon Mountiin dozen shafts with lifting apparatus
on the side Of the mountain. One Is not surprised
to hear that 9 900 men are employed by the mining
company that It has forges and furnaces IN other
parts Of Clinton County. and an elevated track at
Piatsburg for loading and unloading brought down
from the Lyon Mountain mine.
Now Mr. Weed, besides being the chief owner OF
IN iron mine developed by his own industry, Is one OF
the most prominent Democrats In the State He has en-
craned President Cleveland at his handsome house here
in Pllusburg and has been suggested by Adminisra
don journals as worthy of being considered when
Democratic candidate for is selected this fail
In Washington by the Administration chiefs. But
what shall it profit to own an iron mine ana De
prominent Democrat, II such bill as the Mills DILL
reduc the duty on bloom iron 81 ton, IS passed oy
the National Democratic Administration.
Mr. Cleveland in his free trade message OF last
December advocated strenuously the abolition OF all
taxes on raw materials Iron ore is raw material
and M Weed visited Washington and demonstrated
in strong language against such recommendation
being adopted. Mr.. Mills was at first determined
that he duty on iron ore should be abolished, Dut
when tho owners Of some trtImpery irl mines IN Ala
hama 1olned Mr. Weed, he yielded ana iron orc was
left Untouched
Blu. Mr.. Weed is not to escape entirely unscathed-
An Important part Of the business OF the Chaeauga!
Iron Mining Company IS the manufacture OF charcoal
bloomL That is why the forests are falling and the
charcoal burners are so hard at work The Mills bill
reduces the duty upon the charcoal blooms from S22
a ton to 500 ton. There Is great agitation through
out the Plaitsburg region in consequence OF thls re-
ductio, and it promises have much effect on the
voting in Clinton and Franklin Counties. John H.
Moitt IS superintendent Of the furnace at Belmont
In Franklin County, where the Chateaugay company
makes IT'S bloom iron. Mr. Mofitt IS also the Con-
cressuan from the district lie IS notably inde-
pendert man. but still he must have had Mr.. Weeds
consent when he made speech In the House OF Rep
rcsentatives on July demonstrating against the re-
ductioa Of the duty upon bloom iron. Mr. Mohit offered
an amendment which OF course rejected, keeping
the On ~ on charcoal bloom iron at S22 Mr. Moihtt
I'm hl. speech showed that the mere fear OF Ia" ike
the NILS bill had already closed forges and made iron
dealers reluctant buy.
Le Grand q. Cannon. of New York, who Is large
iron manufacturer In this Champlalh Naney say nc
also Is stacking up iron waiting for better TarEet
" Nv men, he said on Thursday, know tbat coum
not make any money on the iron am manuiactuIing,
that ! am keeping them az work In order not 10 sloP
the business machine. My also perceive how
disastrous the iron business the action OF the House
Of Representative upon the Mills Oll Is, ana am
convinced hat Democrats as well as Republicans
among them will vote for Harrison this fall
smith NJ Weed has suffered severely from the acts OF
President Cleveands subordnates. some wise person
in the Treasury Department ruled that swedish iron
butts could be admitted scrap iron.' Now scrap
iron pays a duty of only s6 30 ton, while swedish
iron has to pas duty OF S2b ION. Ihe hesseiner
swedish butts Just as readily the Chateaugay char,
coal blooms I'm the manufacture of Bessemer steel
and they began using them by the hundreds OF tons
smith NJ Weed is a good business man and he
perceived that he was not getting any oaerS a r rnu S
proprietor of the Wetherel House but formerly HTai :
special agent Of the Treasury T tc h1es mswsi
of that fact Mr. Weed said 10 him
scarcely believe that the Pen Pennsyiyana ytySoi
charcoal blooms and yet they are not ordering any.
Mr. Howell pointed out the decision OF the rn
Mr. Weed started for Washington by the nfst traln
There II was acknowledge that some one had DluI
how. tho decision Of the Treasury Department was
reversed Meanwhile American laborcrs and Amert,,
thousands Of dollars and the Chateaugay Company had
ost enormous amount Of business ,,,o % him
Recently Mr.: Weed met Mr. Howell and SAID 10 MIN
Well. you out Of politics :!
Mr.. Weed laughed and replied " am somewhat con-
fused - - - .,,
\ W Lansing. Editor Of The Plattsburg sentinel
who IS well acquainted with the iron business. said
yesterday look for large Republican vote In this
,ounty owing 10 the passage Of the Minis bill The
hef Industries OF the county Of Clinton are IRON unl-
Der and wool. and all OF these are touched Dy the
arr The iron business Is specially depressed IN con
sequence Of the Mlls bill
George II. Weaver Of Plattsburg, cashier OF oanK
ere. and member of the Republican state Committee,
aid few days ago Assemhlyman Palmer, IN l9e4,
Predicted IN speech that. II the Democrats came Into
Ower. not more than one charcoal bloom iron furnace
n this country would be In operation in 1858.
mlth VI. weed replied that he would buy every forge
hat was thus shut down, bus Palmer was right. for
here K only one such furnace now I'm operation,
lameIy that OF the Chatcaugay Company at Be mont
SHUTDOWN OF A LARGE HOSIERY MILL
light HUNDRED HANDS IDLE-THE MILLS BILL