OCR Text |
Show As noted in the Mining Column, the general revenue bill, now before Congress, contaius a clause which places a tax upon copper producers, equivalent, it is estimated by mining men, to about ten per cent i5n the total net business of the copper mining industry. The measure places copper mining and smelting in the clais of "munitions of war," a classification which, while astounding enough in itself, ii discriminating in that ic specifically mentions copper, without considering other metals that could be also classed as such, even though it requires a somewhat educated imagination to so consider them. While it is a fact that copper, in common with other metals, is used in the manufacture of war munitions, to a oertain extent, it ii unjust to tax the entire product and to classify the entire industry in the "war munitions" schedule, instead of only that proportion of metals actually used for munition purposes. In effect the clause is a direct discrimination against the copper-producing States, and looks very much like class legislation, j In view of the heavy freight rates and high cost of labor and pro-' duction, the proposed clause lays a heavy penalty upon an industry! which has been largely instrumental in the development and making of the great West and which, in times of financial distress, has rendered valuable asaistauc to the country at large. I |