Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1892-05-11
MEXICAN ORES.
They Do Not Carry Enough Lead to
Flux Themselyes-M0re Democratic
Free Trade Eallncies ExD0sed.

tIux ThemSelveo-MOf0 UemOCrASl0
Free Trade FallAcies Exposed.
Ex.speaker Reeds minority report
on the proposition to admit Mexican
ores free Of duty. was presented to the
House of Representatives yesterday.
II is published in the Salt Lake Tri.
bune. and ~ follows:
"rhe majority Of the committee
advises the abolishment Of the duties
on lead ores for two reasons; FIRST,
because the American miner needs
this ore to smelt his own with, and
second, because it would be 50 CRATE.
iul to Mexico. Tho FIRST reason 10
business. The second reason Is phil.
anthropy, and both happen to be false
The American miner does not need
orc for flux, and, If be does, he
would not get it under the present
system, nor under the free raw mat
erial system, which prevailed before
the last tariff act. This can be proven
by tho nature Of things, a. we'll as by
statistics. The argument of the ma.
jority goes on the idea that Mexican
ores are different than Ameri ores;
that, while ali the mountain and min
eral characteristics OF the United
States aud Me xico are the Same, while
the same range of mountains runs
through both, at the boundary of
Mexico all these things change, and
we are then in
LAND OF FLUx ORES,
made by nature for the purpose of
fluxing the American dry ores. and
ouly kept from being SO BY the un.
wisdom of the protectionists, whose
hearts are hardened against free raw
materials. Has anybody attempted
to prove this? BY no means. 1t al
rests on assertion. Happily, the very
contrary Of this can be proven by
government returns. In tho year
1890, the very year Of the last tariff
bill, the amount Of silver ore admitted
into the United States, substantially
all from Mexico, was over ZIG, OOO, 900
pounds, containing 1898 per cent. of
lead. The next year, 1891, the pres
ent tariff being in force, the ,mporta
ton rose to 217,0O0,000 pounds,
bearing 1850 per cent. of lead. Now
the majority themselves state in this
very report that lead ores such as they
wish for raw material, contain rs per
cent. of lead, and they have under
stated it. These figures are so simple
that they are not open to objection as
being statistics, and therefore possibly
lies. They show conolusively what
everybody knows, that the Mexican
ores are
LIKE THE AMERICAN ORES,
both dry and aux, and the proportion
Of lead ore contained in the imported
Mexican ores, both before and after
the last tariff, shows that the imported
Ne xican Aux ores are not enough to
flux the imported Mexican dry ores.
Mr.. Myer, an expert on the other
side, who testified before the Ways
and Means Committee Of the Fifty
first Congress-, declared then that &c
per cent. otlead was necessary to Aux a
ton of ore, and that all the imported
Mexican ores had less than II pc.
cent. and therefore not enough to Aus
themselves. The truth is, the Amer.
lean miner is not back of this thing
Back Of it is the American free trader
who yearns not for free raw material,
but for the rawest kind of Mexica,
so cents a>day labor.
1.-THE second reason for the pro
posed change is philanthropic desire
to benefit Mexico. Unfortunately
the argument of the committee show
that Mexico would be injured by tn,
proposed change. The committee So,
that in consequence of our recen
tariff 100000 has been invested il
7 smelters in Mexico; that this shout,
be regarded as misfortune to Mrxic
by reformers we can easily judge, fror
! the feeling they have against our ow
: manufacturers, but why, after havin
forced Mexico to invest 100000 i
: smelters, it should be considere
philanthropic to abolish them, by e