The Farmington times. [volume] (Farmington, Mo.) 1874-1902, 1898-12-22
PROPOSED GIGANTIC LEAD TRUST.
conismpiaies Absorbing all the 81. Fran
co.'s County Mines aus Uniting al
Missouri Lead procueefs.

States, about 90 Ia number.
II The deal can be carried through, Il
will be one Of tue largest combinations
Of capital ever attempted Ia this coun-
try. and will place The lead output Of
the country practically In the hands Of
one company. The promoters hope 10
be able 10 bring into the consolidation
the 81. Joe Lead company, which
probably Is the largest lead mining
corporation 10 tbs world. Il has a
capital stock Of ESQ, 00O,00 aud
mincs about l5 per cent Of the lead
produced In the State.
The National company, mp TO few
months ago, was engaged strictly IN
the Manufacture Of white lead, and
bought all Of its lead from mining coui-
panies IN Missouri and elsewhere, not
iuircquently being compelled TO 60 TO
Mexico and other foreign countries for
i:s supply. A short time ago, how
ever, the company bought what Is
known as the Taylor property in ST..
Francois county, and already has ca
pended $500, 900 on Il.
u Il the intention OF the National
company TO engage actively In mining,
and from this time on It's plan Is to de-
velop lis mining lands as rapidly as
possible. Its departure In this digec-
ton Is considered by lead experts 10 be
tho entering wedge oi tho Dig deal la
contemplation, as the fret oyertuTes
were made 10 mining companies for
the purchase Of their properties within
a few weeks after the Taylor tract was
bought 10.
MAA .hc ". Joe and Ss.!essi GEM
panies as a nucleus, the capitalists be-
hind the deal expect 10 bring In the
Union, Central, Doe Hun, Mine La
.s.iiS;;s, Central and Desi5S5, al. u
which are big corporations doing an
immense business In the Missouri lead
fields.
The Union Is the newest company
in the Geld. II has n capital stock Of
900, 600 and has 900 acres of land
In st. Francois county, purchased and
3 200 acres under lease. Included IN
this property Is The trae. formerly
owncd by the p1nnclly Lead company,
Immediately adjoining the st. Joe
company's tract. The company win
invest $1,000, 600. II is n st. Louis
corporation, and the only one whose
executive officers live In this city.
Senator Mark Hanna andJ Wyman
Jones are the large holders behind the
81. Joe Lead company, aud they are
backed By John u, Rockefeller. The
company owns az see scTes 5i min
cral lsnds IN the Bonnie TaTro district,
aud although il ha been operating on
big scale for 80 years II has only
mined out 80 acres. Within the last
10 years il has taken out about s3,-
500 900 worth Of ore, and It's ou;pat
this year will reach $1,000, O00. Its
$50. 0OO0, 600 stock Is divided into
st5, zoe, 900 common and si5, 00O,.
600 preferred.
The National company practically
holds a monopoly ON the manufacture
of white lead IN the United States. 1t
owns pIag:s all over the country aud
consumes 90,000 tons of pig lead n
year. 1t Is probably the largest sin
gle purchaser of commercial lead In
the county. 1t has 4 large branch in
this ci,y, but Its Offices arc 10 New
York aud President Cole makes his
headquarters there.
The high protective tariff on lead is
factor tina, Is largely responsible for
the present high price OF lead. and
win play a prominent part in bring
ing about u consolidation of the big
lead companies. There il duty Of
2 : cents on pig lead, which will make
1t possible for the producer to run the
price UP 90 o. 40 100 pounds by
January /, and still undersell the
Mexican product.
One Of the very best posted men In
St Loais yesterday told n reporter of
The Republic that the present cost Of
mining lead IL si.80 per 100, aud
that the product Is selling on tho mar
kct for sS so, profit of 100 per cen,
on every 100 pounds taken out Of the
ground.
Figures show that this years CON
sumption win be from Is, 200 to 20.-
600 tons more than the amount pro-
duccJ ia the country. Accordingly
that amount Of lead VIII have to be
Imported from other countries, and
rs tlc consumers will have 10 psy The
tariff In order to get Il, the lead pro-
dacers are In Il position to run the
price Of their product up to price
equal TO its market value and the tariff
added together.