Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1909-02-18

cents per hundred on the former and
81 per hundred on the latter. This is
ample protection. and in case of an
attempt to overdo the price ia this
country by speculation, it would at
times let some metal in from abroad
for the relief of the market. This
same policy should govern with re-
gard to lead The duty on pig lead
is p cents per pound. This should be
reduced to cent per pound, because
the total cost of smelling a ton of pig
lead does not exceed IS per ton, or %
cents per hundred pounds. With a
duty of double the total smelling cost,
is it not easily seen that the protection
is ample?
Pig lead today is quoted in Lon
don at about s. So per hundred pounds,
and although the market here has de-
clined recently from $3.50 per hundred
it is still quoted at 81 per hundred
pounds. Why should lead be so much
lower in London than in this country -?
The reason is because the output in
this country is controlled by one or
two concerns, principally by one con
Germ, and very naturally they will get
As close to the foreign price with duty
added as they can. The concern | re-
fer To has $4,000 900 of common stock
all Of which is water and on which it
is endedvOring to pay per cent divi-
bends. 1t manages to do this partly
by manipu ating the metal market,
putting the price down during dull
times in which to buy ore, and then
during better times putting the market
way up ami unloading it on the public,
thus taking not only manufacturer 5
profit, but a huge speculative profit;
working the miners who produce the
ore on one side during one season and
the public, who consume the goods,
on the other side during the other
season. All this they are enabled to
do by the tariff duty.
Tariff Used as Bunco.
THE lead sold in London is largely
produced in Australia, Canada and
other places where labor is paid fully
as high as it is by the concern in this
country.
1T is certainly time for the Ameri-
can public to wake up to the fact that
it is being continually 'buncoed' by
concerns using the tariff as their
shield in their operations, The same
is the case in the iron and steel indus
try, and it won't do to poke fun at
Mr.. Carnegie for his views on this
subject to-day, because he is sound in
his views, and correct in saying that
conditions now do not warrant the
protective duties that were required tC
introduce and build these industries.
I'VE have seen the spectacle during
the last two years of pig iron in this
country going from above $22 per
ton to 81 per ton; whereas during the
same period the markets for pig iron
in Europe did not vary 50 per ton.
The Steel Corporation and its allied
friends in the industry are compelling
the railroads to pay $28 per ton for
rails and have done so for some
years, whereas Mr.. Carnegie sold
rails shortly prior to his selling out,
at about $40 per ton. We hear a
great deal about the consolidation of
industries into new companies for
the purpose of reducing expense of
operation and to cheaper the price
of the output of the public, but we
know what the result usually is.
They probably economic on their
management all right, but take ad-
vantage of their power to boost the
prices of their products materially
above the prices previously current
when the business was subject to the
natural competition of the concerns
which they combined.
Il notice references to the Smelt-
ers Trust By this, of course, is
ment d trust or combination existing
among the smelters of zinc ore. The
fact is, there is no such a crust or
combination, and never has been in
the zinc-smelting industry. There is
probably no other considerable in
duotry in this country that has been
operated and is to-day operated by
the separate concerns entirely indie
pendent of and thoroughly in compe-
tition with each other as is the case
in the zinc-smelting industry"
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