Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1902-02-27
OPPORTUNITIES.
What a SmeIter Would Bring to
albuquerque and Vicinity.
THE SUBJECT DISCUSSED.

The manipulations of the lead smell
ter trust. known as the American Smell
ting and Refining company, have con
ducod to a state of affairs hat a very
important industry of New Mexico has
been seriously affected, and to the
same cause we ascribe the falling off
of the carrying business of the Santa
Fe railroad. Intersecting the territory
from north to south and from here to
the west the prosperity of the railroad
here can only go hand in hand with
that of our people. If one prospers the
other does; il one suffers the other
does. The burning of the Ell Paso plant
last year necessitated the shipment of
lead-silver ores to Pueblo at a higher
freight rate or the abandonment of the
shipping for the time. Then came the
decision of the trust to put down the
market price of lead to &C and the brok-
er's price to Sh cents per pound, re-
ducing the price so cents for each unit
of twenty pounds of lead in the ore to
40 cents. This reduction was explained
as necessary on account of overpro-
duction. The fact was a decrease of
1000 tons of pig lead in 1901, whereas
the Rocky mountains alone produced
10000 tons less than in 1900. The re-
duction. an inconsiderate notion of ,Ae
G~uggenheim management. lead to a
brisk demand for lead and the trust
advanced the price of the metal to Alb
and left the miners in vain expecta-
tion of an advance of the price paid for
ore to AZ cents a unit. We are charit-
able when we call this manipulation in
considerable. Others might call Ii q
swindle. The trust, which embraced in
its organization several worthless
plants, such as the piratical smelter at
Leadville n the Argentine works of
the Kansas City company, has to suck
out of the miners all it can in order to
secure dividends in which said worth
less concerns are participating as well
as the useful ones The trust has it in
it's power to shut down permanently or
temporarily any of its plants so that it
can adapt it's capacity to the output Of
the mines. 1t is reported that the
; works of the trust at Silver City, a
copper smelter, will be closed as soon
as the new Ell Paso one is in operation
and that nothing but ore buying by it's
sampler there will be continued. We
hope that this is not so, and If it is
Silver City will manage to start an
other. AS to lead there is at present
in New Mexico only the Cerrillos plant
which is in the market Tor ores but
does not seem to expect much bust
ness from beyond its vicinity as it does
not offer enough for lead. AT all events
there is no lead smelling concern in
operation in this territory that can and
does compete with the trust, and as the
latter has created the greatest antag-
onism in Colorado, where Independent
plants arise one after the other, SO is
the sentiment of the New Mexico min
ers. We have no doubt that Deming
will get a copper smelter and probably
also a lead plant, but we are equally
assured that a strong Albuquerque
smelling company, entering the ore
market at Deming and paying there
trust prices of>El Paso, will be heartily
welcomed. not only by the miners of
southern New Mexico but every town
there, not excepting Deming. Competi-
ton builds up; restriction kills. There
never was spoken a word as true as
that. 1t is so in life. The freedom of
rivalry stimulates and exalts, the lord
and peon system petrifies. We feel alb
solutely sure that a financially strong
and intelligently managed smelter at
Albuquerque will be a great success.
our text article we will propose a
Ilan that will pave the w%ayforit. There
is, however, one condition upon which
all depends. Will the Santa Fee help
us? Can we make her see hat it will
be for the best interests of the road?
We think so. The nominal rate on ore
from Deming to Colorado is Sc per ton.
That there is a rebate of 81 on pres
not from Santa Fe points we also
know. If the road can haul from Dem.
ing to Colorado points for 81, and iron
for say SO, from Fierro, it pays better
to haul from Deming to Albuquerque
for $3.50, avoiding the Glorieta and Ra.
ton ranges. 1t will certainly will pay
better than let the Ell Paso. Southwest
ern and the Southern Pacific carry ev,