| Show FREIGHT RATES HURT MINING pessimism is not a part of our stock in a all go sing trade for come what may we are the tim jiin to live our allotted spar span up to in 1 front the government calls us to the prance france and most of us will ii live V e throng through 11 t aba great adventure also but the advance vance a ble b formed freight rates last week has atmosphere around the mining industry which is proving difficult to dissipate a fact mining seems to have sustained for I 1 attack of gas we shall not say german he unless it originated in washington and measures be resorted to soon there going to be a serious break in the stream of metals which has poured needs nee the west to supply the count rys war at this writing it requires a special telescope to discern the silver lining to the cloud mine owners shippers and lessees lessels are a unit in declaring that they are in a difficult position and find it virtually impossible to operate under prevailing prices of metals and increasing cost of production this can lead to but one conclusion the closing down of the small producers small individually but totaling a vast tonnage in the aggregate and with the big mines tottering for present conditions are undermining their foundations also mining corporations cannot be expected to ship ores at a loss and operate by assessment of their stockholders stoc kh especially when it is considered that other great industries notably farming and cotton growing are taken care of and accorded every protection mining is as essentially a war industry as any of them there is a tendency to criticize the smelt ing companies for the advance in treatment charges this seems scarcely just for it is not a matter of choice with them but of necessity caused by the governments arbitrary fixing of freight rates the scarcity of labor and the constantly increasing price of materials supplies and wages an official of one salt lake valley smelter states that the company in the past three years has made nine distinct advances in wages aggregating 55 per cent to the workmen he says that there has been an increase of per cent in operating expenses between april of 1915 and april 1918 and that only improved processes and increased tonnage have enabled the plant to run so far that year despite the advances in wages and cost of materials but that the smelter positively cannot carry the increased burden any longer unless it b be e shared in part by the mine producers and the latter for the most part are ill no condition to share the burden under present conditions mining and smelting smelling sm elting are so 80 closely interwoven that one cannot exist without phout the other and the only relief would seem to be for the government to reconsider consider its freight rates and metal prices the he arbitrary methods of price fixing re bently antly employed have savored strongly of taxation without representation we lve look for legislation in the near future to correct act this apparent discrimination I 1 however transcending all small troubles ps of various sections of the country is the fact that a america erica will win the present war as it has as all others in which it has engaged a the mining lining industry will back it to the limit mit |
