The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1902-05-24
AGAINST The
LEAD TRUST.
Combine That Holds Large
Tracts Of Land in Missouri.
COULD SUPPLY THE WORLD
EeW prccass Whereby Product Can Be
Put on tha Market In Three Days
at TTIfng Expense.
COULD SUPPLY THE WORLD

New York, May 24--within a few days
a company will be incorporated, proba-
bly, in New Jersey, for the taking over
OF about 10000 acres of lead-producing
properties in the counties OF Washington
and ST. Francois. Missouri. which have
been acquired by Thomas +. Ryan in the
last three years.
The formation OF this company Will re-
suit in an alliance between it and a
concern known as the Union Lead and
oil company. whose factory is at 81
Front street. Brooklyn. The new com
pany will produce pie fead and the old
company white lead and other products
OF pig lead, and together the two COM
panies will come pretty near to control
ling the lead output of the United States.
Associated with Mr. Ryan I'm the com
pany that Is 10 be formed and In the
Union Lead and oil company are Daniel
Guggenheim and his fve brothers, who
are the big men In the American Smelt-
ing and Refining company, and William
G. Whitney.
AGAINST THE LEAD TRUST.
II has been commonly supposed that
the National Lead company, sometimes
called the Lead trust, was the unassail-
able lead octopus in the United States.
TO all intents and purposes IL Is such to-
day, but with the formation of the new
company fits alliance with the Union Lead
and oil company and the alliance OF the
Guggenheims with Mr.. Ryan and Mr.
Whitney an entirely new face Is put on
the lead situation.
So quietly has this alliance OF interests
ha hssNp nyiHanpa
News gives the details of what has been
going on. The mining Of lead and the
manufacture OF it's products Is altogether
@ new business for Mr.. Ryan, and he got
into IL by accident.
Mr.. Ryan is one OF the largest stock
holders in the Consolidated Tobacco com
pany and It's allied plants. Three years
ago he sent agents TO st. Louis to ac-
qulre the property of a large -indepen-
dent tobacco company. While the nego-
tiations were pending Mr.. Ryan's repre-
sentatives had their attention called TO
some farms i'm the counties OF Washing
ton and ST. Francois. about so miles from
St Louis. which were said 10 have be-
meath their surface rich deposits of lead.
This information was laid before Mr..
Ryan, and he sent experts TO examine the
properties.
COULD SUPPLY THE WORLD.
II was found that all of the original
statements made about these Missouri
farms could be verified and more, too.
The experts found that. by going down
500 feet below the surface, they would
strike n plateau Of sandstone, through
which ran deposits of lead rich enough,
as they said. 10 supply the world with
lead and its products for uncalculated
years.
Upon these reports Mr.. Ryan began to
buy up farms in the two counties as
rapidly as he could. The rapidity of
purchase was not so great however, as
90 attract undue notice to the transac-
tion. For some OF his farms he paid as
high as 800 an acre, but others he OBJ
tanned much cheaper Beginning In
May, 1899. he purchased, as opportunity
offered until a few weeks ago. when he
got the last farm he was after. His to-
tai holdings of Missouri farm land now
amount to about $4,000 acres. and as a
friend of his put IL today; Mr.. Ryan
has in that area enough lead to supply
the world fsr $4,000 years"
But the Guggenheims were nelghbor-
ing faremrs to Mr.. Ryan out there i'm Mis-
souri, and the National Lead company
was another neighbor The latter con-
Germ did not appear TO be particularly
neighborly. Mr.. Ryan did not cultivate
II.
The Guggenhelms were more friendly
together and plans have been formed for
the Incorporation OF the new company re-
ferred 10 above. When this company Is
formed Mr. Ryan. Mr.. Whitney and the
Guggenheims will be the largest owners
of lead mining properties I'm the United
States, If not in the world
NEW PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE.
Meanwhile Mr.. Ryan heard of one j.
w Bailey, who was said 60 have invent
ed a new process for the manufacture OF
white lead the staple product OF the
National Lead company. Until Bailey
came along. probably nine-tenths of all
the white lead I'm use was made by the
old Dutch process OF slow corrosion. IL
was a slow process and an expensive
one. The problem Of the white lead
makers for years had been that which
involved the exposing OF a large superb
cial area Of ore 20 corrosion. Mr. Bal
ley solved the problem by a process which
he patented. Air. Ryan bought
his patent. AS soon as he acquired the
patent MIR Ryan began making white
lead by the Bailey process at 81 Front
street. Brooklyn. having first organized
the Union Lead and oil company.
Briefly. the Bailey process Is this:
Lead Is melted In n receptacle elevated
about 10 feet above the floor OF the fac
tory. II Is then run into second and
FIRE the object being 10 keep the metal
at the right temperature. At the bot
tom Of the smaller pot Is n horizontal
nozzle about 2 y inches in diameter. ter
minating In a thin plate OF steel which
g. perforated with about 200 minute holes.
The lead is forced by the pressure of its
own mass through these minute perfora q
tions and becomes solidihed as IL falls
through the air. into fine --callic fibres.
These metallic hbrcs are collected In
trays and treated with carbon diCxide
EaE and acetic acid. The necessary cor
rosion IL complete In three days. by
the old Dutch process corrosion took
from three 10 hve months The total
cost Of manufacture Of white lead by
this process is less than s. a ton ~ dry
product The cost by the old process is
not less than SIS.
HAVE ENORMOUS PROPER TIES.
Mr.. Ryan Mr.. whitney and tho Gug
renhcins have not only enormous lead
mining properties, therefore. but they