The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1917-10-25
Bunker Hill Answers Complaint of the
American Smelling & Refining Company

y
tefest IN the Selby smelter by the Her
cules Mining company in the same
year, 1t is alleged that Immediately
after the acquisition of these interests
baruch conveyed them to the Ameri-
can Smelters Securities company and
that the latter, about the same time
acquired the Everett smelter from the
Federal Mining" & Smelling company
smelling contracts We're then entered
into by plaintiff with Bunker Hill and
Federal, the answer alleging that pur-
chase of the three smelling plants
mentioned enabled plaintiff to gain
control of all the lead smelling plants
in the United States which were in
position to compete for purchase of
Occur d'Alene ores excepting a small
plant situated near Pittsburg, Pa, a
plant in Utah owned by the United
States Smelling company, and a small
plant situated at or near Salida, Colo,
cwned by the Ohio & Colorado com
pany.
History of Controversy.
According to the answer the con-
troversy that resulted in final dis
agreement arose in 1906, and as a re-
suit of negotiations at that time, il
was finally agreed that the contract
would permit the mining company to
ship to outside smelling companies
any product carrying rs per cent in
lead and more, and any product car
rying 80 per cent in lead and less, sub
Ject to the privilege of the Tacoma
company to purchase the product at
the best going market rates. At times
subsequent to this, the defendant
shipped it's product described above
both to the Tacoma company and to
other smelters. This agreement was
made to cover the period to June I,
1910, and thereafter the mining COM
pany was to receive such better prices
as the-plaintiff or other smelling COM
panies might thereafter have in force
in the Occur d'Alene district. Upon
the latter date the defendant insisted
that it. was entitled to better terms
thereafter and, after much bargaining
vember 10, 1910, that the first five
year period should be extended until
June l, 1915, and that the defendant
corporation should receive IS cents
per ton, in addition to the terms pro-
vided for in the contract, for SO much
of it's product as carried between 80
and rs per cent in lead, but it was eX-
pressly provided that the agreement
should only apply to that product
Subsequently, shipments were made to
the Tacoma company, from June l,
1910 to June /, 1915, and the answer
alleges that the market price of lead
during that period was such as to
yield to the smelling company from its
percentage of the New York prices re-
tanned under the provisions of the con-
tract a total of approximately 81, 1O0,-
900 over and above the amount paid to
the defendant.
Smelling Situation in Occur d'Alenes.
The answer then recounts, in detail,
the condition of the smelling situation
in the Occur d'Alene district in 1911.
1t records the fact that the Internal
tonal Smelling and Refining company
erected a lead smelling plant in Utah
during that year and in the following
year entered into Swear contracts
with Hecla, Marsh, Ontario and other
Independent companies in the dis
trict, the terms of these contracts pro-
viding for full New York prices for
lead and treatment and transporta-
tion charge of SIS per ton. When
these contracts were made by the in
dependent smelling company, the
plaintiff held the following contracts
with Occur d'Alene companies: FEEDER
al Mining & Smelling company, run
ming until 1880, with settlement price
at 80 per cent of the New York price
of lead up to $40 and half of the ex-
cess, with freight and treatment rate
of approximately $16 Bunker Hill d
Sullivan, for ores, shines and concen-
trates carrying lead between 80 and
rs per cent with same settlement
terms as Federal; Stewart Mining
company, for all it's product, with sim
liar settlement terms; and Hercules