The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-03-09

Free Iron ore under the Wilson tariff
bill precludss the possibility Of shipments
Of Lake Superior iron ores TO any point
east Of the Ai.eghanies. Foreign ores will
take away from tho Lake Superior miners
the seaboard market. One Of the largest
mines In the Goesbic district OF Mime
sota. ths Norrie, has contracted 70 lay
down $1,000 tons Of ore at . lake port on
the opening Of navigation II sass ton.
A year ago the price was $4.2o. As the
value Of tbs ore shove tho royalty Of 30 or
% cents . ton paid the owner Of the ground
consists wholly in labor, IL II clear that TO
produce ore at the selling price named, the
price Of labor must be cut down severely.
Ninety per cent OF the cost Of production
OF iron 10 In labor. Last year, when ore
was a. Is . ton. labor was paid 81 to 81 so
day. With the market price 81. rs ton. .
reduction Of 81 so ton. many mines must
shut down. and such - continue TO run
can only do 30 with the cheapest labor.
Under the circumstances only the largest
and best equipped mines can continue pro-
duction. The Alabama and Tennessee
mines will find themselves shut out OF
every Northern market west Of the Ale
ghsnies with the passage Of the Wilson
ball with the free ore clause. Tho miner
In the Lake Superior region will get less
than two-thirdA Of what no now receives.
Every msn on the lake boats viii receive .
third less wages, and the boats themselves
will cost % per cent less. saving that pro-
- {xx~ Lab to
handle tho ore will get cents ton i'm
stead Of II, and the wages at the furnaces
will be reduced correspondingly. The price
OF pig iron will settle down to sii ton.
II 10 simply question whether We shall
continue TO pay American labor American
prieea We can produce iron rails or any
other iron product As chesply In this
country - In any other. but IL can only be
done by reducing wages. A lower price
for iron necessitates lower price for labor.
Turning from free iron orc to free coal.
the Wilson bill admits free to American
markets tho coal OF Canada. both on the
Atlantic and Pacific seaboards. The Nova
Scotia coal fields even today. with their
product shut out from tho American mar
ket under tho Mckinley tariff. turn out
about loo, 600 tons per annum. The ISL
and of Cape Breton produces .0oo. 600 tons
Of coal yearly. 80 that free coal surrenders
the Atlantic ssaboard market TO the coal
composition Of Canada On this Coast
free coat means tho surrender of the
American market to British Columbia.
There IL no coal suitable for steaming
purposes on the whole Pacific coast until
We come 10 Puget sound. The coal fields
on the American shore OF tho Sound Will
have their product driven from our home
markets If IL h exposed TO competition
with the output of Vancouver island. The
annual delivery of the coal mines a. Ma
naimo aud Wellington has isen to over a
million OF tons. few miles from Banf,
and close 80 the line OF the Canadian Pa
cisic railway q mine of anthracite coal is
now worked. Concerning these Rocky
mountain Canadian coal fields the New
York Ssn. Dem. says:
sIhis coal IL used exclusively by the
Canadian Pacific railway for heating its
cars as far eastward as Lake Superior. and
Al is sold for domestic purposes as far east
miles distant from the anthracite mine, Is
found another Kind of coal. almost
smoxeless aud possessing the quail
ity OF cosiag well. Were IL al
mi,ted 60 the markets OF car states
near st, its sdaptabshEy 10 smelling pus-
poses and relative eheapness would drive
out al competitors Coming eastward, wa
find in the prairie country OF the Canadian
Northwest another extensive coai deposit
The CALI mines At Letabridge yield good
titumiaeus eea.. we'll adapted 90 railway
uses, which. Il tho duty we're removed,
would De exported lin large quantities ia
the states lying immediately ~ ths south.
IL is estimated by nr. Dawson that the
coal measures stretching saslw ard from
Ieihertdgc. along the American border, 10
Manitoba cover IaNo square miles We
may add that ali along the banks of the
kaskstehswsa. in the vicinity of kimon-
ton. thick seams al coal are visible snd
that ssfvtoeabts domestic coal il dsiiv-
cred ~ that place for s. 80 tou-"