Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1897-04-03
Tariff on Lead,

There is no question which has come
before congress for long time, which
rs of more vital importance to the
miners of the Black Hills than the
question Of the proper adjustment of the
duties on lead contained in the ore and
as refined article. There is TO ques.
ton which should receive the prompt
attention of all the mining companies
and business men more than this ques-
ton. This great mining camp is now
the greatest producer of siliceous ores of
any mining camp in the United States,
and it is daily growing to vast proper
tions. The crying need of the Hills is
market for this ore We are now suffer.
ing for greater smelling capacity in or
der that the ore of low grade may be
marketed and may be smelted econom
ically. 1t is difficult operation to
operate smelters in the Hills without
larger supplies Of fux ores. 1t is well
known that the copper ores of Montana
are being monopolized by the great
copper works in that state. The lead
ores of Montana and Idaha, which are
the only lead flux ores available in the
Hills, are monopolized by the old smelt-
ing companies, whose associations with
those old mines are such that they Sc
cure them for long time contracts. We
can expect to get lead fux ores only in
from British Columbia.
There is disposition on the part of
some to urge the imposition ofa duty on
lead ore, which will exclude the ore
from the United States entirely. Moth
ing could be more disastrous TO the
Hills than the success of such policy.
The purpose of the American lead mine
owner is to secure high prices for lead.
Congress proposes to meet that question
by placing a duty Of cents per pound
on refined lead, and in order to restrict
the importation of lead ores, they desire
to place the duty on lead contained in
the ore at of a cent per pound Of lead.
Miner of the Hills have no objections
to their fellow miners of lead ore re-
ceiving greater compensation for their
""a ''" "c.ns rntnrns npan thair -
vestments. They would join heartily
in any proposition which would bring
such results. At the same time the
miners of the Hills do not deem it
justice that the lead miners should pro-
tit at very excessive expense to them. In
other words, the question should be con-
sidered from the standpoint of both lead
miner and the miner of silceous ore.
1t is possible that IS per cent of the
ores smelted in the United States are
non-lead bearing, and any effort to ex-
clud0 the flux ores necessary TO the
successful smelling of these siliceous
and other refractory ores, is imposing a
hardship upon the largest of all our
mining enterprises in favor of not over
10 per cent of the whole production,
which is lead.
Miners of the Hills want free lead ore
and they insist that it will result in the
greatest advantage to the greatest mum
| Der.
With the duty on pig lead at cents
per pound, the American miner will
secure higher prices for his lead, and
with free lead fux ore smelling indus
tries can revive and blow in the full
capacity, which have been idle fol
several years, and give an extended
market for the ores of the Black Hills
Citizens and miners of the camp should
avail themselves of this chance t
further the interests of all of us by ad
crossing our senators and represent
atives and urging upon them to advocate
the admission of lead in the ore free
urging that it is of vital importance t,
the general interests of all the miners o
the camp.-Times.