The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-05-14
THE SENATE'S LEAD DEBATE.

ne DEBATE IN the senate oil INe
| United States of the lead schedules in
the tariff bill on last Saturday, were
distressing in the ignorance of the
whole subject that was displayed. and
the spirit that was manifested, The
statements of practical men, mining
men. smelling men, we're discounted on
The plea chat they are interested par
ties. But when these statements were
thrown out, it quickly appeared that
there was nobody left who knew any
thing about the questions that were
raised. Senator Bristow of Kansas
read Il rot from The statement Of Mr..
Edward Brush, representing the Amerl-
can Smelling and Refining Company.
before the House Ways and Means
Committee. on the cost of smelling lead.
| If any one in the world knows that
cost, certainly that company knows IT.
| But his statements were secuted.
! though all took occasion 10 admit Mr..
! Brush S honesty and good faith. That
is, the Senators expressed their abso
! lutte confidence in Mr. Brush S knowl.
edge and honesty, but refused to be-
| licve that he was telling the truth on
| a question of fact, which none of them
selves was able to answer.
| Smoot as usual, was busy. but as
usual was inconsequent and lncompe-
! tent, and failed to convince the Sena-
| tors that his statement was correct
! that "'the average price, | should Judge,
for smelling ore, taking ores III all
| kinds Of industries, is something be
| tween $10 and $l1 Il ton. Mr. Brush
had put il at $3.50. 1t depends
on how much we are penalizod for sui
phur, how much we arc pcnalizod for
zinc, and what amount Of silica the
ore may carry. All these things come
! into the consideration of the cost of
smelting.'
True euough, they do, But the mar.
gin that Smoot gave as TO ''thc cost
Of smelling ores, taking ores IN all
kinds Of industries (whatevcr that
| may mcan) is altogether too narrow.
! The question was as TO the cost of
smelling lead ores: and as every one
! knows. there is n wide variety in such
ores, with corresponding difference IN
! the cost of smelling. And what the
! Soma tors really wanted to get at was
the cost Of smelling lead ores IN this
country, compared with the cost OF
smelling ores in Mexico or Canada, but
| chiefly in Mexico; and on this point,
which many of the Senators urged as
tho true protective line, there was an
| astonishing dcarth Of information, as
there generally is in both houses of
Congress whenever it comes to the
real core of any question Of fact and
practical information.
| But we are at loss to comprehend
| why it is that the Senate should re-
| fuse tho knowledge which practical
men alone can give. We do not under
stand why the Senators should content
themselves with reading from the re-
port of the Investigations OF the House
since they seem so i'll content with tho
information contained in them. If,
| for instance, they wanted moro expert
! informa tion about the cost Of lead min
| ing dHu lcdu Snclilne, why 'iu t"'H
not call in some intelligent mining
men, and get from the smelling men
the real smeltcr figures, and have them
compiled!
We do not think that the Senate IS
in the least justified in calling in ques-
tion the statements of practical mining
men and smelling men. The excuse for
such suspicious is that these men are
interested, OF course they are inter
cstod. And they know what they are
talking about. But as the very alm
purpose, and argument in the protec-
tion campaign is 10 protect the inter
csts Of these men, the best way, the
only way, in fact, to protect those in.
tcrcsts is TO have these practical men
tell what these interests are. Thus
only can Congress proceed intclligeutly
in its aim of protecting these Ameri-
can interests. which is the very aim
ithey profess.