Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-02-10
THE sILvER-LEAD ORE DUTY.
A Tariff Imposed Solely for the Benent
of Colorado Lead Producers.

a T8rfn Imposed Sofety Tor the bcoeut
of Colorado Lead Producers.
4 duty of ~ cents per pound Of lead
con tanned in silver-lead ores imported
from Mexico was imposed by the Nc
KiIley tariff solely in the interest of a
few lead producers of Colorado. Utah
and Montana, who believed that it
would materially increase the price of
LEAD here and thus swell their dividends.
The duty was opposed by the smelters
of lead in Kansas, Missouri and Illinois
on the ground that it would so injure
their business as to compel them to shut
down their smelters or remove them TO
Mexico.
In reviewing the history of the lead
industry in 1891, Mr.. R. P. Rothwell
says For short time, indeed, toward
the end of 1890. the price of lead was
advanced by the Mckinley bill, and the
smelling charges on dry silver ores were
also advanced quite heavily, owing to
temporary scarcity of lead huxing ores,
but more liberal Interpretation of the
allowed the Mexican ore to enter The
price of lead thenceforward declined,
though the smelling charges did not.
and as final outcome it must be APP
parent to every one that the Mckinley
bill has been an injury rather than
benefit to the lead, and especially to the
silver, mines of the west"
This shows that the lead miners, who
had the duty imposed, have got no bene-
fit from it.
Of the effect of the duty on our silver
and lead smelling industry, Mr.. Roth
well says: Previous to 1890 only few
unimportant smelling works existed in
Mexico, the product of which was very
small, but when the American market
was closed to the Mexican miners. who
could not afford to pay the heavy freight
charges to Europe on the low grade ores.
nothing was left for them to do but to
establish a smelling industry of their
own. The opportunity was promptly
seized, not only by them, but also by
some OF the larger American smelters
who found themselves deprived of a por-
ton of their supplies. They. too. went
over to Mexico and started up smelling
works, which are now partly in opera
ton and will be entirely SO early this
year"
Now that the Mckinley bill has built
up the smelling industry of Mexico the
Mexican government has imposed pro
hibition export duty on high grade silver
and ores, as the following dispatch from
Ell Paso, Tex, shows:
For the last two days no silver ore
has been imported from Mexico into this
country. though seventy carloads of ore
stand in the yards of the Mexican Cen
trail railway, in Juarez (Paso del Norte).
The cause of the blockade is new order
just sent out from the treasury depart
ment of Mexico placing a heavy duty
on all high grade ores exported into this
country. 1t is for the protection of
smelling companies forced to establish
plants in Mexico on account OF the EN-
barge placed on Mexican ore containing
lead by the rulers of the United States
treasury
Heretofore the only tax paid by the
Mexican government on ore shipped to
this country was regular state tax. but.
according to the new order, ore running
more than ninety ounces to the ton
must pay duty Of SAG on every
500 of ore in excess of the ninety
ounces. The ore must be assayed at a
Mexican mint and the duty paid before
it can pass to this side and in addition
the shipper must pay a stamp tax on
each carload"
Of all the injurious results of the Nc
Kinley bill this is probably the most
disastrous