The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1921-10-21
NORTH STATE PROBLEMS
Interim Commission Sees Many Things and No
Southern Minnesota will in Time Wake Up TO
Importance of North Section:
Editorial in Pioneer Press)

1mented by special tax on the &C.
cupation of mining iron ere.
amounting to six per cent of the
net profits of each venture.
In return for all these taxes
the state has not done one thing
looking towards the development
of the iron industry. 1t has not
put down single drill hole, has
not explored an acre even of its
own millions of acres of land, has
not made any effort towards the
conservation of these resources
and has not given any encourage
ment, aid or comfort to corpora
tions or individuals who have de-
sired to do these things.
The assumption by the political
statesmen that the possession of
an iron mine means untold wealth
has been chiefly responsible for
this lack of attention to ore min
ing. We have been snugly salts
fed that the industry in this state
would continue as long as the ore
lasted and that there was no dan
ger of competition elsewhere to
endanger our superiority. The
Legislative tourists, however, must
have discovered that this is far
from the truth. While the ore
grades on the Mesabi were high
no other available field could COM
pete with it, but now that the
grade is on the average getting
lower there is active competition
from the northern Michigan and
Wisconsin deposits, much nearer
to the ultimate market and bear
ing a smaller proportionate tax
burden and freight charges than
do the Minnesota mines. Already
our ores are kept from the Allan
tic seaboard furnaces by the cheap
er foreign ores, chiefly from
Brazil and Cuba, and Labrador
has immense undeveloped deposits
easy of access AS a result of
this situation it is becoming hard
er and harder each year to find a
market for the Minnesota product.
and part of the present depression
n the mining districts of the state
S due to this fact.
The only operator that is more
or less carefree is the Oliver Iron
Mining company, subsidiary of the
United States Steel corporation,
commonly known as the trust" by
outsiders, and the Corporation"
by insiders. This company owns
or leases some of the richest de-
posits on the Mesabi and YER
million ranges, owns the two great
ore carrying railroad lines to the
head of the lakes, owns the
steamers which carry the ore to
Lake Erie ports, owns the docks
there and the railroads which car
ry the ore from Cleveland to the
Pittsburgh district. 1t also owns
all of it's own furnaces and sells
none of the ore it mines in the
open market as ore but deals in
the finished products. Because of
this it has an immense advantage
over all competitors and unless
conditions change materially, is in
a fair way to obtain a monopoly
on the old range by the simple
process of sitting. back and waiting.
until the Independents one by one
drop their leases and seek more
advantageous fields in which to
operate. In other words, present
indications point to inevitable con-
quest of the Minnesota iron dis
tricts by the so-called "trust" due
chiefly to economic causes. The
trust" is the only operator who
can afford to continually pay
heavy taxes on ore reserves held
for future use and who can col.
lect toll all along the line from
the mine to the finished product.
Legislation may restrict the activi-
ties of "the corporation" and may
induce it to seek cheaper, fields in
which to mine, but it cannot put
it out of business in Minnesota.
This, however, is not true of the
independents and today the long
line of abandoned independent
mines on the Guyana and Mesabi
ranges are telling example of
this fact No doubt they will
come back in case of a return of
normal conditions, but even if they
do the competition of the newer
deposits nearer to market is bound
to have an adverse effect.
Under the present system of
taxation exploration work has prac-
tically ceased on all the ranges.
The pioneers upon whom the dis
covery of new deposits largely de-
ponds are actually afraid to find
new ore bodies for fear that they
will be at once put on the tax
luis. ouSh e0habiOh tuiSht IOt NC
burdensome if the iron could be
it will be several years before any
ing conditions, for such reserves.
The legislative commission must
have found that while the tax
system of the state and munich
palities may not be prohibitory as
far as the operation of active
mines is concerned, it certainly is
far from an encouragement to
prospectors or the owners of re-
serves. Although the occupation
tax is in it's first year and no
revenue will be collected until
1922, it must be evident that this
added burden is not at all con-
ducive to development. Perhaps
tho most raofinaa hlo ofEaof Il hoe