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Show Protest Against Metal Tariff Cuts J. R. Villars, wellknown western mining man and present operator of the 0 K mine west of Milford, hist week had The News print a quantity of circular letters protesting protest-ing the proposed tariff-lowering powers provided for in legislation now before the United States senate. Local mining men and others throughout the western United States will use these letters let-ters in forwarding protests to their respective senators and it is believed that much good can be accomplished ac-complished thereby. The letter is a clear and comprehensive com-prehensive statement of the situation situa-tion that will confront every mining min-ing community should this legislation legisla-tion be enacted, and we are reprinting re-printing below parts of the letter as follows: "The mine operators of the west, together with their employes, associates as-sociates and dependents, are greatly great-ly alarmed at the efforts of the administration and certain members mem-bers of congress and the cabinet to effect a drastic reduction in tariff rates on imports from foreign countries into the United States. Farmers, as well as certain business busi-ness men and industrialists, would be affected a great deal and many of them also are alarmed. "The general public does not believe that any treaty, reciprocal or otherwise, can be made legal without the approval of the required re-quired two-thirds majority of the senate after such treaty nas Deen negotiated and submitted to the senate. "If the proposed tariff reductions reduc-tions are as drastic a indicated in the newspapers they may be, and as such are applied to our metals imports, our after-the-war mining will be well nigh a thing of the past. Especially would this be true of copper, lead and zinc, which makes up such a large part of the metal production of our western states. "Miners in the metal mines of the west are paid from $7.50 to $8.00 per day in a large part of the mining ' districts. This wage is a great deal higher than the Mexicans and South Americans receive for the same class of work. Also, these foreigners do not have the benefits of our social security, workmen's compensation and other means of protection. And yet the wages of these foreigners are so low that the metals they produce can be laid down in our eastern manufacturing cities at a much lower cost, than the same metals shipped from our western states. "If the tariffs on metals are reduced, re-duced, as seems to be contemplated, contemplat-ed, the odds will be so much against our living and labor standards stand-ards and costs that a large portion por-tion of our mines will have to close down, and countless thousands of our laborers now employed at good wages in our mines, mills, smelters, smelt-ers, railroads and other allied and dependent industries will be thrown out of work. "The alternative would be to I lower our wages so our production costs would not exceed those of the foreign countries making the metal shipments to us, and ofj course, any lowering of wages J paid to our laborers would be bitterly opposed by our laboring people and their unions. And yet, if the administration, the state department de-partment and congress have their way in cutting down the tariff rates on metals imports, it will mean either closing down our mines or in lowering wages to correspond to those paid in these low-wage foreign countries. Otherwise, Other-wise, we would not have an even break in our own metal markets." .v |