Tonopah daily bonanza. [volume] (Tonopah, Nev.) 1906-1929, 1912-05-27
THE GERMAN POTASH SITUATION.

American consumers and dealers in potash
have been obliged to bow to the will of the Ger
man government and pay the price fixed arbitrar-
lily by the official German Kali Syndicate since
the imperial German potash law went into effect
two years ago but they have not lost interest in
the success or failure of the economic plan to
which they much opposed. They know
that the price of potash has gone up and that
many new mines have been opened up to get al
share of the allotment which involves an eco
monte waste that bears hard consumers
American buyers forced to give up their
contracts with the Asehersleben and Sollestedt
mines controlled by the Schmidemann interests to
avoid payment of the excess production tax, the
club devised by the German government to beat
them into submission The ostensbe purpose OF
the potash law to conserve the potash re-
sources Of Germany and to put the business on
sound footing The authorities hoped to be able
to discourage the opening up and exploiting OF
new potash mines, but this part of the plan
has failed
The quota of potash awarded to each mine
depends in part on the equipment and number
of shafts or mine entries in operation In the
struggle for increased allowances, much capital
has been sunk in unnecessary improvements Inc
Aschersioben mine operates two SHAFTS ana
the Sollestedt mine shaft which are suHlclent
for far greater production than the ~law per-
mits them In order to get larger snare the
former mine will sink two more shafts when,
with the complementary equipment Will cost
4O00OOO marks though this expenditure is abso-
lutely needless and the same is true OF the Soil
stedt mine Other mines are doing the same thng
and the wasteful locking up of capital IN TINS way
is becoming serious matter.
Two years ago the number of potash mines in
operation Jumped from 30 to 6S. Now 81 mines
are in operation and when the shafts being
sunk are in working order the number will be
increased to 49, three-fourths of which are not
needed as far as ability to produce all the potash
the world can consume at present prices is con-
cerned The capacity of thirty of the shafts now
in operation is equal to the worlds demands
This wasteful competition has greatly in
creased the cost of producing potash salts says
the New York Commercial but the temptation af
forded by artifcially high prices is too great to
be resisted, and small mines keep coming into the
field to get share of the profits In trade circles
it is estimated that if the best mines were per
mitted to work to their capacity, standard murae
of potash could be sold for 800 ton less, anC
the small mines, if they would shut down, coulC
be paid for doing more than they now carr
for their owners. while the big mines would, at
ter substituting the small ones, make larger profits
than they restricted output, witt
muriate at $50 ton in New York
As additional mines come into operation anC
secure share of the total output under the law
the waste of effort and the cost Of production
keep Increasing and TO satisfy the small con
Germs the Kali Syndicate has 10 mark up th
price, NHFH ttt lflh WIS bVtN tue HtNt lhllN
naturally got the lion share in a competitive
market at range of prices that yielded goo,
profit TO them but that were low enough 10 keeJ
most Of the small mines out Of business. This III,
not please the owners Of the small mines and tn
workmen they employed. Votes count in German,
just as here. aud the labor vote had much 4
do with securing the passage 81 law that !
proving wasteful IN practice.
Germany must settle this question withou
foreign interference II potash mines srr dcyrl
oped 10 this country anywhere else that ea
compete with German fuines ~ the present arti
fetal level the loss If trade will compel
shangr u the law SOME German mines, u T.
alone can faFn oai potash salts ~ sRlt 'he eur
rent prices and sit make large profits IN
potash law violates al recognized principles o
political economy. and the possibility Of makin