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Show THE SiLVtrl-LEAD ORE DUTY. V i'ari-i laipeeii Solely for tlio llenefit i i t oioi a.lo i.e. ul ri oiluceis. A dalv of l.', cents per pound of lead coMiaii.ed in stiver -lc.nl ores imported from iiexico was imposed by tho iio-Ivinley iio-Ivinley tatiu solely in tho interest of a tew lead pniilucere of Colorado, Utah and Montana, who believed that it would materially incrcaso the price of lead hero and thus swell their dividends. The duty was opposed by the smelters of leail in Kansas, Missouri and Illinois on tho ground that.it would so injnre their business as to compel them to shut down their smelters or romovo them to Mexico. In reviewing tho history of tho lead industry in 1X01, Mr. R. P. Uothwell says: "For a short time, indeed, toward the end of lS'JO, the price of lead was advanced by the McKinley bill, and the smelting charges on dry silver ores were also advanced quite heavily, owing to a temporary scarcity of lead tlu.xing ores, but a iiiiuii liberal interpretation of the bill by tho treasury department' again allowed the .Mexican ore to euter. The price of lead thenceforward declined, though the smelting charges did not. au.l a-a final outcome it must be apparent ap-parent to every o.io that the McKinley bill has !:!! an injur'.' rather than a I- r.- lit to thy ! id. and especially to tha silver, mines of the west." This saov s that the lead miners, who had tho duty imposed, have got no benefit bene-fit from it. Of Uie effect of the duty on our silver and lead smelting industry, Mr. Uothwell Uoth-well says: "Previous to ISliO only a few unimportant smelting works existed in Mexico, the product of which was very small, but when the American market was closed to the Mexican miners, who could not afford to pay tho heavy freight charges to Enropcon the low grade ores nothing was left for them to do but to e-tablish a. smelling industry of their own. The .opportunity was promptly sci;:ed, not only by them, but also by some of the larger American smelters who found themselves deprived of a portion por-tion of their supplies. They, too, went over to Mexico and started up smelting works, which are now partly in operation opera-tion and will lie entirely so early this, year." Xow that the McKinley bill has built up the smelting industry of Mexico the Mexican government has imposed a pro hibitton export duty on high grade silvei and ores, as tho following dispatch from LI Paso, Tex., shows: "For the last two days no silver oro has been imported from Mexico into this I country, though seventy carloads of ore I "ie."..! hi ihe yards of t lie Mexican n- trni railway, hi Juarez (Paso del Xorte) Vlii- is io.se or-rio-1,!.), iia-le is a new order i'i - t s- ut cm rogj iiie ti'-.i.siiry department depart-ment ol" Mexico placing a heavy duty on ail high grade ores exported into this country. It is for the protection of smelting companies forced lo establish plants in Mexico on account of the embargo em-bargo placed on Mexican ore containing lead by the rulers of the L'nited States treasury. -Heretofore the only tax paid by the Mexican government on .ore shipped to this country was regular state tax, but. according to the new order, ore running more than ninety ounces to the ton must pay a duty of !4.40 on every islno of ore in excess of the ninety ounces. The ore must bo assayed at a .Mexican mint and tho duty paid before ! it can pass to this side, and in addition I the s'nipper must pay a stamp tax on Of all the injurious results of tho McKinley Mc-Kinley bill this" is probably the most ' .disastrous. |