The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1890-06-06
FuNrosN ON FREE ORE.

resentatives on Saturday, May 10, OIL
the proposition to strike out the sec
ton of the tariff bill levying a tax Oh
lead ores:
Mr.. Funston: Mr.. Chairman unde,
the law as it has been administered,
Mexican ore consisting of lead and sill
Yer has been coming into this country
free of duty until by recent ruling f
was held that the metal possessing tn,
greater value should determine thu
class to which the ore belongs. II
other words, if of the metals embraced
in the ore the greater value IL silver
the ore comes i'm as silver ore; and |
the greater value is lead, ii comes In a.
lead ore and the lead in the ore ha.
been paying a duty of one cent and 9
half per pound.
This amendment is not designed t.
change the existing law but only Il
maintain the present ruling of the Sec
rotary of the Treasury. We are al
willing that ore coming in as lead ore
shall pay duty as such; but we are not
willing that an ore containing very lit
tie lead and a great deal of silver shall
come in as lead ore, with duty of one
and half cents per pound on the
lead.
Now, this provision which Is put
into the tariff bill provides that what
ever may be the amount of lead in
such ore shall have to pay duty OF
one and a half cents pound. l say
we would be willing to let the law re-
main as it is under the construction OF
Republican Secretary of the Treas
ury. And want to say further that
under the construction of the law we
have built up i'm this country from
nineteen to twenty-four smelling fur
naces. We have done it under the adj
ministration of the Republican party.
We have done it under the decisions
of a Republican Secretary of the Treas
ury, and appeal on this question to
my Republican friends not to tear
down by their votes to-day the great
industries of the country that have
been built up under the administrs-
ton of our own party. Now am plac-
ed perhaps in the apparently anomal-
Gus position of being a prOtectiOnist
and yet offering free trade measure.
But say to you to-day that it is not
a free trade measure. While the a.
mendment appears that upon its face,
It stands in the same category as the
provisions in reference to coffee end
tea, and camphor, India-rubber, acids,
and many other articles that / might
mention upon the free-list that enter
into the component parts of articles
manufactured in this country, or which
can not be produced here. / say'that
this ore which we bring i'm from Mex
leo is for the purpose of smelling the
ores that we have in this country, and
every ton of which Mexican ores costs
metal in it is worth when smelted and
ready for the market. For instance,
% per cent. of the ores of this country
are dry ores. Now, let me say that /
mean by that, Mr.. Chairman, that the
dry ores must be connected with wet
ore, with "fluxing ORE" in the language
of the smelters, in order that it may be
smelted and go out to the country as all
article of commerce, and hence it is
necessary to have the fluxing ores, or
Mexican ores, to prepare our American
ores for consumption and use i'm this
country.
l am aware it will be urged here on
this floor as an argument that we have
an abundance of fiuxiDg ores in this
country. But that proposition dis
pute, and [ hold in my hand to-day
the highest evidence on that subject
that can be produced. I have here
testimonyof the chairman,and the gen.
eral manager of the Colorado Smelling
Works, in which he says not only are
they compelled to smelt with insuffic-
lent charges of lead, but many fur
naces have to be shut down entirely,
since there is no lead in the ores that
they are using, and hence they can
not fiuX the metal. This shows that
many smelters have to shut down their
furnaces because there is an insufficient
supply of the fiuxing ores.
Again, 1 have the evidence of the
gentleman who was here representing
that industry before the committee,
who represented seventeen smelling
and that gentleman makes
this statement:
The lead which is incidentally produced from
the Mexican costs the American smelter just as
much as the lead in the American ores, and the
only reason why he goes to Mexico for this ore
IS because he cannot supply himselfin the Unit
ed States.
This was made by the representa-
tive of seventeen smelling furnaces
and representing more than S25 Co.,
300 of capital.
Mr.. Dubois: What is his name?
Mr.. Funston: Mr.. Meyer. Now, 1
have here again the evidence of more
of these smelling fur
naces, which shows as matter of fact |
that this scarcity of fiuXing ore, not |
these Mexican importa- |
ions, is so great that we are compell- |
I'd TO run at much less than our capa- |
ing journal of January 4, says: "Our |
nome supply of fiuXing ores is INSULT
:ient." That is the case with every
lody in the smelling business. and
hat is the spectacle presented to the
House of Representatives by the pres
mt condition of affairs. Here we have
of the richest ore, we have
/ mountain country possessing silver
md gold in vast quantities, and we
nave, as say, IS per cent of the ores
# the country that must lie there idle
brewer unless we have sufficiency of
iuXing ores.
Here the hammer fell.
On Monday, May 10, the same ques-
ion being before the House, Mr.. Fun
ton spoke as follows:
Mr.. Funston: Mr.. Chairman, was
amused by my colleague
Mr.. Perkinsl who is usually so fair,
n his reference made awhile ago to
hose who have smelters in their dis
riots. My good colleague forgot to
MENTION that he had little lead ore
Iown in his district, and that there
ore he is locally interested also.
Now, Mr.. Chairman, am sorry that
ny colleague in reference to the labor
l. /