Wednesday; September 10, 1902
THE SUMPTER MINER
K'
BOTTLED UP BY.
SMELTER TRUST
Coeur d'Alene Miners Power
less to Cope With the
Combination.
Tho mine owners of the Coeur d'Alene
held a conference in Spokane last week
to devise some means of securing some
relief from the exactions of the Smelter
Trust which was heralded as a great
philanthropic move in tho Interest of
miners, when organized a year or so ago.
Regarding this matter, the Spokesman
Review says:
The fight between the mineowners of
the Coeur d'Alene and the smelter trust
has reached a crisis, and the minenwn
era have refused to ship any more ore to
the trust until a satisfactory settlement
is readied. On Monday the Coeur d'
Alene mines, except the Bunker Hill &
Sullivan, suspended shipments V the
trust, although their contracts will not
expire for six months.
The miueowners demand two things.
The first and most important is decreas
ed charges for freight and treatment on
their ores. For years the costs of smelt
ing' have been steadily reduced by the
application of more scientific methods,
and the facilities which are afforded by
combining the ores of widely different
fields.
Despite these reductions, however, the
smelting trust has doggedly refused to
make any cuts in the charges for han
dling the immense tonnage of the dis
trict. T aggravate the situation, it is
believed to have made combinations with
the railways, whereby freight rates are
held up, and it is generally conceded
that the trust is getting profits out of the
tariffs charged for freights. The mine
owners have at last revolted'aguinst this
situation.
-In addition they are demanding an In
creased tonnage. For months they have
been forced by tho trust to restrict their
output, on the ground that there was a
surplus of lead in the country, and that
it was necessary to restrict production
until the surplus could be worked off.
Up to the first of last July, the mines
were restricted to a two-thirds produc
tion. Then, in response to the urgent
demands of the mineowners, the output
was increased to about eighty er cent
of the normal production. The price,
however, was fixed, as before, at H
cents a pound.
Meanwhile, the Guggenheim, who
control the smelting trust, have been
interesting themselves personally on a
heavy scale in the lead mines of the Mis
souri-Kansas fields, which are turning
out big tonnage. The mineowners here
feel that they are being restricted in
output so that the market for Missouri
lead will be bolstered up at their ex
pense. Against this condition they nre
rebelling. They now demand an output
at their normal rate of production, aud
the reduction in rates which will enable
them to work at a 'profit which they
consider commensurate with their rank
as the producers of 45 per cent ol all the
argentiferous lead produced iu the Unit
ed States. ua
The Bunker llill.de Sullivan company
it riot represented, in the conference to
day, as it lias practically its own. imelter
at Tacoma.
The following day the Spokesman-Review
stated : The fight of the Coeur d'
Alene lead miners with the smelting
trust is still unsettled, and if a settle
raewt was any nearer in sight last even
ing than it was before the conference of
the saiaeownera, whleh commenced yea
terday, none of the officials were willing
to say so. Their attitude, however, was
pacific, and they were anxious to avoid
appearfngin the light of antagonising
the' big trust.
The smelting trust, or as it is legally
known, the American Smelting A Refin
ing company, is now so powerfully en
trenched that a fight with it is a serious
matter and the mineowners realise it.
They would much prefer to make ar
rangements with the trust satisfactory to
both sides, rather than resort to the
erection of independent smolters.
Although the smelting trust was or
ganised less than three years ago, it has
the smelting industry almost conrpletely
buttoned up. Its principal plants are at
Denver, Omaha, Kansas ( ity, Kast Hel
ena aud Salt I.ake, with refineries at
Perth Amboy, N. J., and it is affiliated
with the United States Reduction com
pany, whirh operates the cyanide mills
treating the Colorado gold ores. It is in
magnificent condition forvconnmicsmelt
ing and it has long time contracts with
tho mineowners of Colorado and Utah,
which still further fortify it. Lately, too,
the smelting trust has been making long
time contracts with large consumers of
pig lead, with the idea of heading off the
Coeur d'Alene mineowners if they should
try building independent smelters. The
situation would then be that the trust
would have contracts to supbly the larg
est consumers and the new smelters
would be seriously handicaped in dis
posing o( their product.
Tho trust has a capital of $100,000,000,
and it pays dividends of seven per cent
annually. Its plants have a cash value
of less than 17,500,000, according to the
claims of the attorney general of Colo
rado, who is fighting the trust. Accord
ingly its yearly dividends utmost equal
the cost of the plants.
A curious illustration of tho monopoly
which it holds is given by the condition
of the British Columbia lead miners.
The trust in its efforts to restrict produc
tion has absolutely refused to smelt lead
ores from British Columbia. The present
price of lead in this country is 4g cents,
although the trust only tays 3J cents
a Mjund for lead. There is a duty of
lyi cents a jxniiul on lead ore. Deduct
ing the duty would leavo two cents a
pound as the price which British Colum
bia mineowners ought to got for their
lead if they could ship it to thiscountry.
However, they can not ship it in, und
must sell in Europe for (1.30 a hundred
pounds, which is the price based on the
London quotation. Tiiey would get fifty
per cent mora for their lead, after pay
ing duty, if they could ship it into the
United States, but the trust will not ac
cept it.
Don't Guess s
AT IT
Control from
Cincinnati.
JiBv
your trip, as we are in position to give you some val
uable information and assistance. $,$19 miles of track
over which is operated some of the. finest trains in the
world. For particulars regarding freight and passenger
rates call on or address,
J. C. LINDSEY,
t. r. 4 s. A.
142 Thirst .,
Will Rtesea the Huroaiaa.
F. J. Hard, secretary of the Oregon
Mining and Stock exchange, at Portland,
who has been in the city for the past
two days, is en route to tho Cable Cove
district, where he will reopen the Hu
ronian, a promising property adjoining
the Ibox. Mr. Hard is jointly interest
ed In the mine with Thomas Bessler, of
this city, one of tho champion rock drill
ers of the district, and it is understood
the proposition will be worked on an
extensive scale, the showing made being
excellent. Herald.
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Timber and Homestead Filing.
Timber and homestead filings, as well
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Best brands ot cigars at Hoffman's
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Wouldn't that jar yer? What? Giant
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Mining deeds for sale at this office.
Use Giant powder, fuse and caps.
but if you are going east write us for
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PORTLAND, OrU.
mmam
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T. tMNSFIElD,
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124 Third Street, Portland, Ore.
mm.
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IA