Potosi journal. (Potosi, Mo.) 1894-1929, 1896-08-05
Rad For a Missouri Industry.

The article given below appeared
in the Globe Democrat Of July 80.
and the writer evidently knows
whereof he speaks. 1t bears di-
rectly upon our leading industry
and the effect free coinage Of silver
would have thereon. We give the
article in full. as follows:
st. Louis, July 80, 1896.
Editor Of the Globe Democrat:
A very few people are aware
that the free and unlimited coinage
of silver would paralyzc one of the
greatest industries of Missouri,
namely, the mining of lead ore and
manufacturing Of pig lead. A
great deal of the silver ore mined
is not, as popularity supposed, a
silver ore only; on the contrary,
the best silver ore to handle is lead
ore (galena) which contains per-
centage of silver. Nearly all the
lead ore of the silver States con-
tains silver and will run from 20 to
400 ounces of silver, and often
more, to the ton of lead ore. The
process now in use for the smelling
of silver ores. and the one which
has proved to be most economical,
requires lead ore in the mixing Of
the articles that 60 into the blast
furnace. Silver now being pro
duccd on a vast scale. it is manufac-
turcd in large blast furnaces the same
as pig iron.
Now. the silver bearing lead ores
being most easily melted, and lead
ore being needed to fuse the silver
ores not containing lead, it follows
that the owners of smcltcrs will
invariably buy lead ore containing
silver in preference to lead ore con-
tanning none, IS it will diminish
the cost of operating the plant.
With the free coinage Of silver
the main object of the smclter will
be to produce as much silver as pos
sibIc in the shortest time, with the
necessary consequence of producing
Il vast amount of pig lead: this, of
course, will be thrown upon the
market as a by product, and us the
demand is limited the natural con-
sequence would be to lower the
price of pig lead to at least 81 per
hundred pounds, as the smclters
would not. in case of free silver,
expect to make any profit from the
pig lead.
Taking the United States over,
the production of pig lead is in the
neiohborhood of four car loads, or
120, 900, pounds, to 1900 ounces
of silver; in other words, to produce
II, 900 ounces of silver absolutely
requires under the process now in
use the production of 100000
pounds of pig lead.
The State of Missouri produced
from 1880 to 1898, so. 200 tons of
lead ore. valued at SO. 756, 900,
from which we manufactured 81,
100 tons of pig lead, valued at S3l,
342. 900.
Consider what Il vast army of
men. by the labor necessary to pro
ducc this amount of work, were
housed. clothed and fed.
Since the lead ores of Missouri arc
not silver bearing ores, it naturally
follows that they are valuable only
for the lead they contain. Now,
the conclusion is easily drawn.
Under free and unlimited silver
law the owners of smcltcrs will
wish to produce as much silver as
possible. They need lead ore t(
reduce it to bullion, consequently
they will buy lead ore containing
silver from silver States and Mex
leo, and there will be no market
for the non-silvcr- bearing lead ores
of Missouri. Also, there vii
necessarily be such a great quantity
of pig lead produced that it vii
glnt the market and lower the price:
leaving the mines Of Missouri
which must depend on their leat
only, no recourse but to close
down, throwing all miners ant
smeltcr operators out of employ
ment, and practically destroying
all of the lead industries of thu
Mississippi Valley, and all otheI
businesses dependent upon then
for their livelihood.
Let every one who gains hi
means of support either directly OF
indirectly through the lead indus
try remember the above facts whel
he casts his ballot on November 3
and that every vote cast for TIN
Democratic candidate is one nearc
to the destruction of his means 0
support. WM. H. OHNSORG.