The herald., 1897-01-10
IRON AND STEEL SCHEDULE
Reached by Ways and Means
Committee
OPINIONS ARE INVARIABLE
All Want Protection and All That They
Can Get
The California Conference Closes Its
Session and Will Ask for Duties
on All State Products.
Associated Press Special Wire

| Associated Press Special Wire
WASHINGTON. Jan. 9.-The house
committee on ways and means reached
the iron and steel schedule today. Rep
resentative Draper of Massa achusetts. in
behalf of the machinery manufacturers
of New England. advocated the restora-
ton of Mckinley rates.
w. II. Alexander of the Grant Smelt-
ing company of Omaha spoke for lower
rates on lead ore, asking provision that
lead in all metals containing lead ore
be dutiable at three-fourths of q cent a
pound. The importation of lead ore was
necessary for smelling, he held. and, un-
der an erroneous Interpretation of the
present law. it paid as high rates as 5
and 5la cents pound. Duties of IA
cents on lead bullion and 1ss cents on pig
lead were asked. American capital was
| invested in Mexico and British Colum-
bia for producing ores.
John D. Davis OF California asked for
duty OF cent a pound on lead ores
California, he said, could produce all the
lead ores needed by American smelters.
anf had begun to supply the demand
under the Mckinley law, but business
stagnated under the Wilson law. The
| product, he represented, contained 40 TO
60 per cent silver and so per cent lead.
! Dwight A. Jones OF New York, repre-
seuting the St. Joseph Lead company of
Missouri. spoke for protection which
would enable Americans to conserve
their lead supply and prevent the aban-
donmen. OF mines. A bonding system
enabled Mexican ores to affect the
American market injuriously. Under
| the Wilson law they controlled the mar
ket.
Representative Hermann of Oregon
recommended a duty of 10 cents pound
on nickel in behalf of his constituents.
He recalled that congress had passed
resolution IN 1897 authorizing the secre-
| tary OF the navy 20 contract for the pur-
chase of 81, oOo, 900 worth of nickel for
armor plate on the assumption that it
could not be produced in the United
States. Since that time ores have been
discovered in various parts of the Unit
ed States, IN Nevada bearing is Fer cent;
in Jackson county, N. c.. and Fremont
county, Col, bearing II to IA per cent,
and Saline county, Ark. in Washington
and Oregon. where there was a noun
tain of ore. Oregon producers claimed
to be able to produce nickel at cents a
pound cheaper than Canadians.
Representative Turner of Georgia
suggested If Americans could do that.
it would be necessary to offer bounty
to the Canadians to compete. Hermann
replied that as soon as Americans got
into the market, Canadians combined to
drive them out. Freight rates also ia
vored Canadian producers.
A reply was made by Robert NJ.
Thompson of New York, the principal
refiner of nickel in the United States.
His statement was that he and Mr
Wharton of Camden, the other chief re-
finer, had examined all the nickel mines
spoken of by Mr. Hermans, and had
found that none of them could be made
to pay at reasonable duty.
Stevenson Burke of Cleveland, spoke
for the Canadian Copper company. Of
which he is president, and which is en-
tirely an Ohio corporation. They had
sold to the government copper, nickel
mats al IL cents pound when the
market price was % cents, so that its
value in armor plate might be proved.
If a duty was put on the ore the refining
in the United States would be stopped.
He knew of 10 ores as rich as ten or five
per cent nickel.
H. j. Cantwell spoke for the Missouri
association Of lead mines He said the
organization had nothing to do with the
control of prices. The labor cost of pro-
ducins lead was so great a factor that il
should not be classed as raw material.
All OF the companies except a few N
the southwestern part of the state had
made a positive loss in 1896.
The subject of pig iron was next taken
up. William Ingham of Philadielphia.
for the East Pig Iron association com
posed of the smelters east of the ALLIE
ghanies. asked for restoration of the
Mckinley rate.
X. L. Smith, a repre- resentative of the
Canned Goods association of Baltimore.
protested against any increase in, the tin
plate duties on the ground that it would
decrease the governments revenues.
Three Baltimore tin plate mills, he said,
had been closed under the WILSON, law.
but the witness thought from other
causes than that law. For a year past
American tin plate had been from Is to
20 cents per 100 pounds cheaper than for,
eiSn plate delivered at American ports.
Mr. Morse of Massachusetts, made a
statement in behalf of the tack manu-
facturers
w. c. Cronemeyer of Pittsburg asked
the following advances in the tin plate
ana similar wares: On tin plates or
sheets of iron or steel from 1-5 to 10
cents "a pound; sheet iron or steel. pol
ished or glazed from is to Ia cent a
pound; sheet common or black, between
10 and 20; wire gauge from 1-1O to l 2-1o
cents
The witness said that congress had
guaranteed six years protection to the
tin plate interests and since then provi-
dence had favored them after the gov
ernment had deserted them. and thew
mad been able to continue in business.
American engineers had been able TO
make great improvement, but the man. |
ufacturer had been obliged to- reduce
wages to live The witness complained
that the Standard Oil company obtained
rates on tinware imported and after |
wards shipped out of the country with |
oil, the labor on which would Give |
American workmen $1,000, 600 a year if |