The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-01-26
The Mexican Lead Question.

The Leadville Herald Democrat u..ints
long interview with prominent smelling
man" Of that city, who has travelled ex-
tenslvely In Mexico and has made a careful
study OF their ores, manner of treatment
and character. Regarding the method of
collecting duties On the ore brought to the
smelters at Ell Paso, he said:
1.-The government has an official assaver
stationed at this point, and all ore brought
from the Mexican mines is subjected to
careful sampling and assaying before il is
allowed to cross the river When the sill
yer In the ore predomin ates in value. if is
considered to be silver ore and. as such. is
exempt from duty under the special pro-
visions in the free list for ores of gold and
silver; when, however, lead predominates
In value, the ore is considered as lead ore
and Is subjected to duty at the rate of 4
Genus per pound on the ore. The cost in
custom house fees on carload of silver GRO
Is about sl2, and it takes about week be
lore 1t can be brought across the river
Inc government has adopted purely arhi
trary system in determining the vslne nj
silver and lead, silver being valued at o.
per cent, OF New York prices, and lead al
cent pound less than the New York
>-D.,DU
New York, the custom house valuation at
I'll Paso would be 2.S0 per 100 According
to this ruling-purely arbitrarv-the
higher the price in New York the more
difficult 1t will be to obtain Mexican ore as
the valuation would be raised in proportion
to the New York price. This ruling. how
ever, was adopted Tor the very purpose of
excluding Mexican ores as much as posi-
b!en N eoS'i-
What have you to say with reference to
the claims of the lead producers of Colo
rado and Y tab, that the importation of lead
free of duty from Mexico wlll involve
them in speedy ruin, and that it will en-
tlrely destroy the prosperity of the west?',
Simply this, that the mine owners in
TINS state and Utah argue the question
from the Standpoint of their own pocket
books. Naturally, there is another side to
the question, which the public are not
familiar with, and which the lead produc
ers take care IS not presented in their ex-
haustlVe petitions and memorials to Con
gress. Colorado, especially the Leadville
dlstrlct, produces very small quantity of
lead nuxlng ores, only about % per cent of
the actual output of the camp being lead
carbonate. As is well known to every ore
producer In the district, the principal ores
mined are of a dry silicious or sulphide
character, which are very difficult to treat.
Unless more bodies of lead carbonate ore
are uncovered in the district, we will have
to depend largely on fuXing ores brought
from dlstance-especially from Mexico.
On account OF the high price of lead fiux-
ing ores, the shelters are compelled to
charge the owners of the dry ores more for
treatment than if the fiuxes were easily oh
talnable. In other words, some one must
pay the piper, and necessarily this I'M
pleasant duty devolves on the dry ore men.
as the smeIters can not assume the entire
ar,r don "A ID ~,
dry ores must be raised in proportion to
the cost of obtaining fiuxes There is no
money In smelling the Mexican ores. ex-
cept as they are used as fluxes In fact If |
would be to the interest of the dry ore mon |
to favor the free importation of the Meyi |
can article, as then their ore could be |
treated much more reasonably.
'Again, whether or not the government |
prohibits the importation of silver lead ores
the Mexican mines will be worked lust the |
same with just this difference. that instead |
of the United States reaping the benefit. |
smelters would be built on Mexican soil by |
English capitalists, and the money now
coming into the United States would be de
fected to England. Already Britain is in
the field waiting for the lead protectionists
to get in their work, and if the restrictive
system is adopted, American interests viii
suffer largely-especially American rail
road interests in Mexico and elsewhere
The freight from Ell Paso to English ports
is about the same as that from Ell Paso to
New York. Thus in every way England
would get the better Of the deal in spite of
alleged protection to American indus
tries"
''But how about the Mexican peon. work
ing for so cents per day in the lead mines!'
II beg your pardon, they receive sl.25
per day. AS matter of fact, there is
more money expended by Americans, and
paid to Americans. in handling Mexican
ores in the United States than there is on
the other side of the line. The argument
SO frequently used by the lead protection
sts that if Mexican ore is excluded the
price will go up, is also faliacious. ASH
said before, the same amount of ore will be
produced, and as soon as matters adjust
themselves the price Will fall to its normal
cvel. while the odds viii be entirely in
'avor of foreign capitalists, who will sup
,iant Americans in the handling of Mexi-
ean ores.''
Trade I'm the Fast.