St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-09-10
ONE DEAD INFANT.

One act of the congress which has not
had the mention 1t deserves was the
ruthless slaughter OF one of the most
erapacious infants paternalism has given
birth to. the copper Industry" By
copper are reduced from So per cent to
20 per cent, and all other forms Of cop
per, including ingots and pigs, are
transferred to the free list.
Prior to the unfortunate day when an
Irishman's pig fell into a pit among the
hills Of the peninsula of Michigan. and.
in getting him out, the presence of cop
per was discovered, the chief supply came
from Chile and several foreign c0un-
tries, experimenting the scanty product
of our mines along the Atlantic. in the
shape of ore, which was smelted In the
cities of the Atlantic coast. They were
used also to mix with and facilitate the
smelling of our native ores. With the
adoption, first as war tax, and next for
the sake of protection. of the Morrill,
and succeeding tariffs, came the de-
mand of the copper mine owners Of the
Superior region for protection. The
was formed, and it's influence procured
the imposition in 1S67 of a tax of three
cents POUND on the fine copper con-
tanned in imported ore. The immediate
effect of this was the destruction of the
smelling Industry in every coast city.
The revenue tax OF two cents a pound
on pig copper imposed in the Morrill, act
of 81 was raised to five cents in 1867.
The effect is seen in the enormous
wealth of the companies securing the
protection. Organized with capital Of
sl.OOO,0OO twenty-four years ago, the
Calumet & Hecla paid. in addition to
millions for improvements. up to Feb. l,
1898, S3S, $50, 900 in dividends to its stock
holders, or over $50 per cent year. Not
content with this, it attempted few
years ago to create worldwide mo-
nopoly of copper. Joining the other COM
panies in this country with the French
operators, which ran the price of copper
at once to nearly twice its ante-trust
price. Even after the collapse Of the
corner the American companies kept
the price of copper in this country far
above that which they received for the
surplus which they sent to market in
foreign countries.
This robbery, for it was nothing else,
touched the people at unsupported
points. In its increase OF the cost of
the utensils of the household. so great
as to compel the use of the cheaper tin
articles. its effect was direct, but in the
thousand uses to which the devel =
opmeLt of inventions put copper, the
trust levied its toll mercilessly. 1t
reached the pockets of the people
through the telegraph and telephone.
and, when the electric light came to
compete with gas and oil, 1T added to the
price the users had to pay for that SER
vice. The power to tax in this manner
is the most certain and most prolific
source of wealth. These companies have
declared annual dividends of over hun
dred per cent, and the value of the
Calumet & Hecla's stock, with par of
S25 share, is today 1865.
This power to steal has been taken
from these greedy infants of Repub.
lican paternity by this congress. and
they will have to content themselves
with the protection which the cost OF
the freightaee of foreign copper gives
them, protection which is ample, as is
shown by tie exports of copper to for
eign markets and its sale there in open
competition. The result will soon be
apparent in the restoration of copper
utensils to the household, and. in the
decreased cost of plant, it should be felt
in reduction of the cost of the SER
wee of the companies using copper wire
largely in their operations.