St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1911-02-18
THE POTASH CONTROVERSY
German Claims Presented at Wash
ington Are contradicted by
American interests.

Washington, D. c., Jan.-The cotton
growing states are particularly inter-
ested In the potash controversy be-
tween the State Department and Ber-
lin, since the future price of fertilizer
is directly affected by the outcome.
German interests have just made rep
resentation to Secretary Knox similar
in effect to those assertions made by
circular letter to the miners through
out the South claiming that the Ger
man potash law, which places pen
atty on mines selling heavily to Amer
leans at lower price than has for
merly ruled, is merely a part OF the
general conservation policy of Ger
many.
According to Ochsimus, a leading
German geologist, there are about
$4,000 square miles of potash in one
section of Germany, each Of these
containing some 100000 tons of
pure potash. This same authority
states that the annual output from
these mines is about 100000 tons each,
and he figures that if the annual out
put should jump to 100000 tons an
nually, it would still require 621, 600
years to exhaust the supply.
Another of Germany's assertions is
that the law does not discriminate
American potash buyers committee
submitted to congress points out that,
under the law as recently passed by
Germany, the mines of the potash
trust in that country were allowed
proportion of output sufficient to SUPP
ply the world, while the independents
mines that had made contracts to supI
ply the United States at a reducea
price were limited to one-fourth al
their actual sales already made to vi
In addition penalty Of $22 per I'd
was imposed for overproduction. Ths
the penalty falls exclusively upn
shipments to this country and iua-
rectly upon the consumer.
An effort is apparently being nlde
to create the impression that this on
troversy is really contest bet,sen
the policy of the German government
and an American trust. The fat Is
that there is no such complete and
powerful trust in the United tates
as this German potash syncate.
This syndicate actually monoolizes
the entire potash supply of theForld,
save for the two mines thatbroke
away from the trust and sold tanner
lean buyers. In this countr there
are about 20 different fertilizg manu-
facturers using potash, and T these
about rs per cent are indepedent of
| any trust utilization.
Another claim made by fisherman
committee at the White HoJ was TO
the effect that the America buyers
knew that law would be rssed pro-
viding for government taxasend pen
altles to be assessed, and that eney
made these contracts With Ihis knowl-
| edge in mind. The American conilnie-
tee states positively that this inIof ma
| ton was brought to them altes ene
contracts were made, and USED do
club in an attempt to force Inen ~
give up the contracts already en.eieo
into, which would hava reauceo tue
nrice Of fertilizer mai ially in this
| country.
An official high in tip goVeinnnen.
here is authority for me statement
that the cost of this c6troVersy nus'
necessarily fall upon the consumer,
and that it should, tYre1ore, De see
tied nuicklv whilast the American
eomnanies having Hnalty have met
the prices made by p German trust
that pays no penale this has Deen
done at loss, and mould they with
draw from the fell because OF this.
the price of fertilM In this country
would be dtctateS by the German
monopoly untramr lled In Berlin.