New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-01-10

| ously crippled by the legislation of 1894.
Among the effects OF that law so far as the
| lead industries were concerned. were a heavy
| loss Of revenue which will be felt within this
| fiscal year. the prostration Of the business OF
| American lead producers. and the turning over
| Of the American lead market to foreign control.
| He regarded ridiculous the assertion that the
| mines Of the United States cannot produce all
| the fiuxing ores required for smelling purposes.
| He urged a restoration OF the lead duties OF
| 1890
II. J. Cantwell, representing the Lead Miners
| Association Of Missouri also addressed the COM
mittee He urged the imposition OF prohib-
! tory duty on Mexican lead ores. a higher duty
on pig lead and the repeal Of the provision
| for the smelling Of lead ores In bond. He de-
clared that there was no trust or other combina-
tion Of lead producers to fix or control prices.
whatever might be true as to those engaged In
the manufacture Of white lead and other lead
products. On the contrary. there was free and
close competition among the producers
Before the enactment Of the law Of 1894 about
5000 hands were employed In the lead district
represented by him. but since that time many
Of the mines had been closed and operations
suspended In that district about $j,1O0.OOO Of
capital had been invested In the industry-"none
Of 1t water" According to his information only
one company had declared dividend the last
three years. He suggested duty OF three-quar-
tiers Of a cent a pound on all ores containing
per cent OF more Of lead. and called attention
to remarkable discrepancy which nc said had
been discovered by the Chief of the Treasury
Bureau of Statistics showing that 21000000
pounds OF lead ore imported in bond remained
unaccounted for after deducting the exports. the
amount withdrawn from consumption, and the
amount remaining In bonded warehouses
Senator Carter Of Montana, who had been
an attentive and deeply interested listener to
the discussion Of the lead question. then OBJ
tanned leave to prepare and submit statement
reviewing the matters which had been pre-
scented. and the sane permission was accorded
to Mr.. Cole another representative Of Ameri-
can lead producers.
POSSIBILITIES OF NICKEL MINING.
CONGRESSMAN Hermann. Of Oregon. then spoke
IN behalf OF an American industry which. II ap-
peared. had not yet been established but which,
according to his information. offered glittering
possibilities and princely rewards when once de-
veloped It was the undermining Industry. MI
Hermann had been informed that vast deposits
~ nickel ore. much of 1t Of amazing richness
had been discovered in a number OF states.
among which he mentioned North Carolina.
Arkansas,
not least. Oregon 1t had been reported to him
that the Colorado deposits would yield IL to 30
per cent of nickel, the Nevada deposits IL per
cent the Washington deposits an average OF
per cent. and so on. He had also been Informed
that the ore or nickel matte. could be placed on
the dump in Oregon for 6 cents pound. Three
large companies had been organized to develop
those mines and they suggested duty OF lo
cents a pound Mr.. Hermann tried but not very
successfully, to show why duty OF lo cents
pound was required If the matte could ne pro-
duced for cents pound. and ne mail! au-
mitted that the duty proposed was propapiy 10
apply to the nickel itself and not to the ore Mr..
Hermann succeeded in doing one thing, however.
and that was in drawing the fire of two men
who appeared to know good deal about nickel
ore and nickel deposits.
One was Robert NJ Thompson. a New-York
refiner Of nickel ore. and the other was Steven
son Burke. Of Cleveland Ohio. who is president
of a company which has a contract to supply
the Navy Department with the nickel used in
the manufacture Of armor plate Mr.. Thompson
said that he was as anxious any man could he
TO see the undermining industry established In
the United States. To that end he had sent
experts to examine and report on all the de-
posits referred to by Mr. Hermann, and 1t had
been found that 1t would not pay TO mine any OF
them under any rate of duty which might be I'M
posed The Oregon deposits consisted or siicate
of nickel. which could not he economically treat
ed. as nickel ores at the best were exceedingly
refractory. The other deposits were too widely
scattered, existed only in pockets. and the
cost OF mining them would be too excessive to
leave any margin OF profit.
LOW RATES FOR THE NAVY.
Mr.. Burke said that the company Of which he
,s the president Is an Ohio corporation. and all
its stockholders, with a single exception, are
citizens of the United States. They own mines
in Canada In fee simple. The ore was reduced
in the United States. and the process gave re-
munerative employment to large amount or
American labor. The company had entered into
q contract to supply nickel matte to the Navy
Denartmen, at the rate Of II cents a pound for
the nickel contained therein. when at the same
time it had an offer from France OF - cents
pound for the same product They mad preferred
to sell 1t to the United States Government at
the lower rate. The company had received,
within few weeks. British offer for the entire
product Of its mines. Prior to the enactment or
the law of 1890 all the nickel ore or matte
(which was then placed on the free lisO produced
had been refined in Europe. and II duty should
be reimposed the refining would again be done
abroad.
Mr. Burke secuted the statement that any
nickel ore ever discovered would yield an average
of even 3 per cent Of nickel. He had seen speci.
mems from their own mines which would yield
as high as "a per cent, but they were only spec-
mems and the average did not exceed 3 per cent.
He also remarked that his company did not by
any means possess monopoly of the business.
there being other nickel mines in Canada owned
and operated by other companies.
THE PIG-IRON MEMS INNINGS.
The representatives OF the Eastern pig-iron
producers were then heard The ball was opened
by William A. Ingham. Of Philadelphia, and OF
the Eastern Pig-Iron Association. whose mines
and furnaces are in New-Jersey, and who had
submitted a written statement. He said that the
nroducers he represented desired the restoration
of the duty of 1890. which was So y ton. the
existing rate being 81.