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Show I MM REACHED J ON MINES DICTATOR Government to Control the Rare Metal Production, and Possibly Smelters, fecial to The Tribune. WASHINGTON', April 29. Tho administration admin-istration has, at least for the time being, abandoned Ita plan of securing passage of a bill creating the office of mineral administrator, ad-ministrator, and giving him supervision over all mineral production in the United States, and In lieu of this is now urging the passage of a different bill, which proposes to encourago tho production, conserve the supply, regulate the distribution, distri-bution, anil fix the price of the rarer ores, metals and minerals necessary for war purposes. The original bill created the office of mineral administrator, with powers similar simi-lar to those exercised by Mr. Hoover over food and by Dr. Garfield over fuel, but a canvass of senators from the west disclosed dis-closed that they would not accept such legislation, and a compromise has been reached. The bill affecting raro metals, or more properly the uncommon metals, applies to antimony, arsenic, ball clay, bismuth, bromine, cerium, chalk, chromium, chro-mium, cobalt, corundum, emery, fluorspar, ferro-sflicon, fuller's earth, graphite, grinding pebbles, iridium, koalln, mag-neslte, mag-neslte, manganese, mercury, mica, molybdenum, molyb-denum, osmium, sea salt, platinum, palladium, pal-ladium, paper clay, potassium, pyrites, radium, sulphur, thorium, tiu, titanium, tungsten, uranium, vanadium, zirconium, and of other rare or unusual elements the supply of which may, In the Judgment of the president, be inadequate fur war and industrial needs. Instead of a mineral administrator. It Is proposed that this bill shall be enforced by tho secretary of the Interior, acting under direction of the president, and ho 1b authorized to organize whatever force Is necessary, and to make appointments regardless of tho civil service. The socretary of the interior Is authorized author-ized to license the mining, distribution, manufacture and storage of any of the metals embraced in the bill, and through the license system to keep control of this branch fit tho mining industry. Hoarding or accumulation of undue quantities quan-tities of any of these metals Is prohibited, and due penalties are provided for violations viola-tions of the secretary's regulations. The president Is given the right to requisition requisi-tion , these necessary metals, etc., when required for tho successful prosecution of tho war, and Just compensation to the owners is to be paid. Section 11 of the bill authorizes tho i -president to buy and sell, and to make contracts for the minerals enumerated above for a period not exceeding two years. This paragraph Is designed to give aseura nco to private capital that if It makes Investments for the development qf new mineral properties it will have a reasonable market lor a period of at least two years, some such provision being thought advisable because of the uncertainty uncer-tainty tis to how long the war will continue. con-tinue. One of the main purposes of this bill Is to induce the opening of new mines, and the committee on mines and mining concluded that some such guarantee is j necessary. Under another section of tho bill the president is given power to take, over and operate any mine, smelter or plant which 1 is idle, or is insufficiently developed. In reporting the bill, the committee said it is not Intended to use this power except as a last resort, but in cases where a mine an not be opera tod on account of litigation, or where there might be a refusal re-fusal to develop a property, government operation might become necessary. 'The primary purpose of this bill," said tho committee on mines, "Is to stimulate the production of mining by private capital capi-tal wherever it is possible to do so." " Coupled with the power to take over any mine or smelter Is a provfslon in the bill for the restoration of such property prop-erty to Its owners as soon as the war emergency is over, and just compensation Is to bo paid any owner whose property Is taken over by the government. One of the most important sections of the bill, section 14, grants power to establish es-tablish a guaranteed price for minerals enumerated. This is done, according to the committee, "to insure reasonable profit to the producer, and in that way stimulato production." The bill fixes the time of such guaranteed prices for two years. This section also provides that duties may be levied upon the import of necessaries sufficient to bring the price of the Imported article to the same- level as any guaranteed minimum prices which may be established. "It is believed." continued the report of the committee, it is necessary to guar-I guar-I antee theso prices In order to stimulate production. It is also believed that the power to fix prices is necessary, in order effectively to secure reasonable prices between be-tween the producer and consumer." Other sections of the bill are designed to prevent speculation and -profiteering, ajid provide a general system of checks by which the government can keep informed in-formed on the mining industry. An appropriation ap-propriation of $50,000,000 is made to provide pro-vide the government with working capital capi-tal with which to go into the market and , buy and sell these mineral products. |