The border vidette., 1931-05-16
ARIZONA FACES a CRISIS. SAYS
GOvERNORsHUNT

|
| address of Governor George
w. P. Hunt to the Copper Tariff
Conference, House Chambers.
State House, Phoenix, Arizona,
May 11th, 1881
Fellow Citizens:
| Today Arizona faces crisis.
The prod uction of copper ores.
an activity that raised Arizona
to the rank of the foremost state
in the mining of this metal, has
diminished in an alarming de
gree. Many mines have entire
" ceased production; others
have very materially decreased
their output. Tbs millions of
dollars that flowed into our state
in exchange for copper has ceas
ed to flow toward Us. The miner
sits in idleness, not knowing
which way to turn for his daily
bread. The prospector and pio
neer have deserted the hills. as
there is no demand for q copper
mine even though one is found.
Our mining towns are declining
and the inhabitants have no
means of relief.
With these distressing coudi
tions existing within our borders,
am not mistaken when l say,
Arizona faces q crisis. | do not
overlook the present Industrial
depression that grips the nation
in its fearful grasp. | believe,
however, that there is one i'm
portant factor contributing to
the depression in Arizona which
the nation at large is not obliged
to cope.
I refer to the unrestrained and
unrestricted importation of for
eign copper into the United
States in competition with the
domestic production of Arizona
and the other copper producing
states. If the general free en-
try of foreign crops and manu-
factures in competition with our
domestic products existed ma
ttionally, then indeed the condi
tion Of the people of the United
States would be filed to the
brim with woe.
/ Such is not the case in the ma.
ton generally, as q high tariff
wall effectively shuts out world
wide competition with our i'm
portant crops and products in
our domestic market and pre-
vents the dumping of foreign
overproduction on our already
overburdened markets.
The Congress has been ex
ceedingly liberal in its inclusion
of the great bulk of home pro
duced goods under the generous
mantle of the protective tariff.
However, raw domestic copper
and copper ores do not share
this beneficial inclusion in the
existing tariff act and hence our
local copper products are sub
iected to all the vicissitudes of
keen and bitter competition with
the world producers of copper.
10 their support of protection
to domestic industries by means
of q tariff, the American people
have recognized the value of
the man above the dollar. In
their tariff acts they have said
that America has a standard of
living and opportunity that must
be maintained in the interests of
humanity; that the introduction
of cheap foreign wares, produc.
ed by labor ground down to a
mere pittance for its service. will
not be permitted in the high
class American market.
The people and the industries
of the United States are consum
ing more copper than is produced
by the American mines. This
difference between our domestic
production and consumption
comes from foreign imports and
from the efforts of q class of
foreign laborers whose living
conditions and lack of opportuni
ty for advancement would not be
tolerated in America.
1t is my firm conviction that
an ade quate tariff on foreign
copper ores imported into the
United States would insure the
domestic market to American
! produced copper and would
forthwith revive copper produc.
ton in the copper producing
states of which Arizona is the
leading one.
This pressing industrial prob
lem 10 our state requires for its