The evening star and Newark advertiser., 1907-10-11
WILL CONTROL
WORLDS TIN
MARKET
Valuable Discoveries Made
in Mexico by Former Resi-
dent Of New Jersey.

NEW YORK, Oct. 11.-Private let
ters received yesterday from Mexico
indicate that New Jersey is to have
the honor of contributing a new kind
Of millionaire to the many brands to be
found in this country. Ferdinand S.
Ruttmann, a graduate of the Plain
field High School, and who later gradu-
ated at the Columbia College School of
Mines in the class of $780, is the fortu-
nate man. He has been In Mexico for
the last eight years, except for few
visits to his old home, and for two
years he has not ventured north.
The reason for Mr.. Ruttmann's long
absence became known yesterday, when
advices were received telling the story
of his explorations in Mexico and his
discovery of mines that have already
made him millionaire
Mr.. Ruttmann, who is one of the
prominent mining engineers of the coun-
try, being a member of the American
Institute of Mining Engineers and of
sthe American Society of Mechanical
Ei.s siffeefs, was left with a modest for
tune on the death of his father, who
was a successful New York merchant.
His bent of genius was toward useful
discovery. and his professional educa-
ton in New York's famous technical
Institution gave him added incentive
to pursue 1t, while his independence
financially afforded him the opportu-
nifty to go ahead without the draw
backs that come to equally ambitious
but less fortunate prospectors.
In starting out Mr.. Ruttmann found
that the mountain ranges of the United
States had been well exploited. There
II ri. - ~. ftrN4a
almost everywhere in the country
where there was a chance to operate
mine He decided to become an ex-
plorer and sought nearby Mexico as a
field for his operations. Mexico is a
sealed book to most Americans, and
even enthusiastic prospectors and engi-
neers have hesitated to penetrate this
land of ancient Spanish romance and
hidden treasures of which there are so
many legends. The difficulty of ex-
plora ton, the physical hardships that
would have to be overcome were more
attractive than otherwise to the Column
bia College man. With him he asso-
ciated Edmund J. Evans, a Pittsburg
man, who viii share with him in the
honor of being one of the two tin kings
of the country-and with tin at $675 to
$3.50 a ton and coal at Sc ton ii can
readily be seen that being a tin king
is better than being a coal king, es-
peeiaIly as the supply of coal kings is
much larger than the possible output
of tin operators
Mr.. Ruttmanns story is difficult to
tell. He is modest, unassuming and
Of the natural type of Americans who
do things without caring whether peo-
pie know II or not. With his asso-
ciate he has acquired control Of a large
section of mining territory in the state
of Durango. and in the state of zaca-
tecas, which is just south of Durango.
There are about twenty mines which
are rich in copper, silver and lead in
the territory, but of all of them Mr..
Ruttmann attaches more importance
to the tin mine. His reason is in a
way sentimental. There is only one
other tin mine in the Western Hemis-
phere that is commercially profitable.
That mine is in Bolivia, South America.
, Its ore assays for very much less than
the Mexican discovery. which yields
from 20 to 40 per cent. metallic tin right
along, and is producing some speci-
mems that run up to so per cent The
lowest percentage so, FAR obtained Is
90 and the famous Cornwall mines only
show about l per cent 1t is q ques-
ton with mining engineers whether this
tin mine will not be the greatest in the
world, as it is now the greatest in the
Americas.
The effect commercially will be to
give Americans supremacy in the tin
market. This countrys manufacturers
are now dependent on foreign sources
of supply. except for some small guam
titles that come from Alaska. There
is no import duty on the commodity
so that except for the longer haul on.
the railroads the discovery is of as
much Importance to the tin plate indus
try as If the mine had been discovered
within the confines of the United
States.
At present the tin used by American
manufacturers is imported from Eng
land, Australia and the Dutch East
Indies The permanence of supply, the
possibility of corners" and the in
creasing demand for tinware have all
contributed to worry the tin plate
manufacturers. The discovery of an
adequate supply of the most valuable
Of the n-preeipus metals within rea-
sonable reach and controlled by Amer-t
leans will do much to relieve THAI
anxiety, especially as the discovery