The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-02-01
IN DEFENSE OF LEAD.

tack made upon .she lead industry by
the House of Representatives in pass
ing a revision Of the metal schedule
without giving any hearing TO those
! interested, or 10 those who knew about
pcrted of them. If those interested in
the production of lead do not make
their case known, il viii not he rep.
resented at all
The production Of lead. as We have
shown hcresotore, rests on AN entirely
business Of the country. VIC produce
lead here because Of the tariff; without
IT. Mexican lead produced by peou la
bor would FIJI our market. Nothing
Of the kind is true with respect 30 the
iron aud steel business OF the coun-
try. That is on broad. solid basis,
in defiance OF all the iron aud steel
business of the world. We produce
more steel than any her two nations.
and we are able 80 produce il cheaper
and 10 go into all fields of endeavor
throughout the world and take con.
tracts away from English, German,
Belgian, or French competition.
We can do nothing Of the kind with
lead Every one knows this, and she
political partisan programme of the
Democratic House is as ignorant as it
is viclous. What lead we produce is
produced because We are protected
from the Mexican peon labor on the one
hand, and the Canadian bounty.pro-
duced lead on the other. IT She House
had given an opportunity for hear
ing on this question, there would have
been no doubt but the tariff on lead
and zinc would have been allowed TO
remain where il is. II is only because
of lack of information and partisan
folly that the bill revising the metal
schedules was so framed as 10 yoke
iron and steel with lead and zinc when
these products res. on an entirely diff
fereut basis.
But the Smoot organ here thinks that
those interested in .'he production OF
hdh DhE uul w NdN an ihIue dHdlhSl
the taking away Of the tariff on lead
and zinc. This is a notion that is pc.
culiar to that paper. and throughout
il seems to have the idea that politi-
cal partrsanship should rule. and tha..
any one interested in the production
OF lead shonld keep quiet when the
lead tariff is under consideration. 1t
is so ignorant and stupid on the oucs-
zion. that it bases the proposition pri.
marily upon party politics, and then
undertakes 10 nag those who produce
lead, and say that they have no right
to oppose the reduction of the lead
tariff lis idea in this is quite in ac-
cord with its usual puerle and vim.
dictive style of argument
In the meantime, the lead producers
Of Utah will attend TO their own in
,crests IN this matter, and will hv no
means consent TO the proposition that
because they produce lead. they must
not he heard upon the question OF re-
tanning the .arjG on that metal.
IT is quite true. as we have point ed
out. that probably the House viii be
beating the air in vain on this question,
since the Senate is not likely To agree
to the removal of two-thirds Of the
duty on lead and zinc; but, even If the
Senate should so agree 10 the destruc-
tion of the important American indus.
tries of lead and zinc production, the
President stands back of all with the
announcement that he will not agree
to the revision Of tarilf schedules with.
ont report from .thc tariff board as
TO the practical effect of such revision.
and the bearing that it will have upon
American industries. President Taft
can be depended upon TO stand between
the protection Of American industries
and their destruction as contemplated
by the House. VIC do not believe,
however. that the House would have
voted as it did on the questions of
lead and zinc. excert under the vicious
operation Of the party lash. for there
arc enough Democrats in the House
from Colorado, Missouri. aud other lead
and zine producing States. TO defeat
any reduction of tho tariff on these
products, if .hey could have got fsir
and square vote on the items affecting
them
Thus. while We DO not anticipate any
immediate danger from the il.consid.
cred raid of the House upon the Ameri-
can industries of producing lead aud
zinc. we rciect utterly the ilea that
those who are engaged in tho produc-
tion OF these metals should not bo heard
when the question OF affecting their
industry arises: and we reject also
the idea tina, comes from the Smcot
organ, that one must necessarily agree
! TO the reduction in the tariff on lead
and zine II he is in favor Of reducing
/ the tariff on iron aud steel. Since
/ these arc utterly unrelated subjects
/ their basic foundations resting upon
unrelated principles, aud The conncc
! tion between tho two sought 30 he es
1 tablished by ..bc Smoot organ is pre-
cisclv of the same vicious character