as upon that proposition the whole structure of effective regulative legislation must rest. We should at once take the first steps by a law aimed at what we certainly know to be unreasonable practices directly restrictive of freedom of commerce upon which the fundamental question can be raised, and by a law conferring upon the Government a general supervisory power as above outlined.

Another step in legislation which I earnestly recommend, and which will, if enacted, greatly hasten a solution of the problem, is that an act be passed as soon as possible to speed the final decision of cases now pending and others that may be raised under the Anti-Trust Law. I refer to an act to enable the AttorneyGeneral to secure the original hearing by a full bench of the circuit judges in the circuit wherein is pending any suit brought by the United States under the Anti-Trust Law which the AttorneyGeneral certifies to the court to involve questions of great public importance, and giving an appeal from their decision directly to the Supreme Court of the United States in such cases, and also giving an appeal directly to the Supreme Court in all pending cases in which the United States is a party which have been heard and are as yet unappealed.

There are a number of cases now provided by statute where appeals may be made directly to the Supreme Court from the district and circuit courts, namely, in cases in which the jurisdiction of the court is in issue, from final sentences and decrees in prize cases, in cases of conviction of a capital or otherwise infamous crime, in cases that involve the construction or application of the Constitution of the United States, in cases in which the constitutionality of any law of the United States, or the validity or construction of any treaty is drawn in question, and in cases in which the constitution or law of a state is claimed to be in contravention of the Constitution of the United States.

The class of cases that I suggest should be brought within this rule, it seems to me, is of as great importance as any of those referred to. The suggested provision requiring a full bench of the circuit judges would insure the cases receiving as full consideration before presentation to the Supreme Court as if heard by the United States circuit court of appeals.

It is too much to say that with these gaps closed the scheme of governmental regulation will be complete; but it is clear that without some similar legislation it would continue to be inadequate. And such legislation will make a long, first stride in advance.

Very respectfully yours,

P. C. KNOX,

Attorney-General.

XIII

THE TIN-PLATE INDUSTRY1

I

Y tin-plate is meant a sheet of iron or steel varying in thickness from 22 to 30 wire gauge coated with tin. In the language of the trade, plates before they are covered with tin are referred to as "black plates." These plates are made in several sizes, but the standard is a plate 14x 20 inches and when coated with tin is placed in a box containing 225 sheets.2 These boxes weigh 108 lbs. Besides the regular commercial tin-plate is another commodity made by the mills which is called "terne plate." A terne plate is an iron or steel sheet covered with an alloy of lead and tin, generally two-thirds lead and one-third tin. The terne plate is used very largely for roofing and cornice purposes.

The method of manufacturing tin and terne plates is rather simple so far as the process is concerned, but a great deal of skill is required to turn out good plates. The process begins with the rolling of thin sheets from billets of steel especially prepared for the industry. When the required thickness has been reached the plates are sheared to a size and made ready for pickling. A plate is pickled when placed in a bath of sulphuric acid and water. This process clears the sheets of scales. When taken out of the pickling bath the plates are rinsed free of the acid and packed in pans with layers of sawdust between the plates. The pans are then carefully sealed and put in an annealing furnace, where they are allowed to remain for ten hours. The heat of the furnace is gradually reduced and the plates allowed to cool slowly. A second rolling is now neces

1 From the Yale Review, November, 1898, and August, 1899.

2 Called by the trade IC, 14 x 20, and weighing 50 lbs. or less per 100 sq. ft. Other grades are IX, weighing between 50 and 621⁄2 lbs.; and IXX, weighing 63 lbs. per 100 sq. ft.

sary. This is done by passing them through three sets of cold steel rollers. Another sulphuric acid bath and annealing are undertaken and the plates are ready for tinning. In the tinning department the plates are first coated with grease, then dipped into the tinning pot, taken out and placed in a bath of molten tin. The plates are brushed, again greased and passed through melted tin for a third time. The plates are now allowed to cool, carefully wiped free of grease, assorted and packed in boxes according to quality. This is the process of tin-plate manufacture.1

The tin used in the process comes from several sources. The best of these is found in Australia and the Straits Settlements. The latter furnish the most desirable tin, known as Banca tin. This is regarded as the purest, and is in consequence more sought after by the manufacturers of tin-plate. The Cornwall mines were discovered about 55 B.C. and for twelve centuries were the one source of this mineral. In 1240 tin was found in Bohemia. Five hundred years later, in 1760, the Banca mines were opened. In the following century Australia became a producer of block tin on a large scale. From 1872 tin has been found in commercial quantities in New South Wales, Queensland, and Tasmania. The United States have not been so fortunate, although many attempts have been made from time to time to find tin. Tin was discovered in California as early as 1840, but there was no mining done until 1868. Only for a short time were the mines operated; they were then closed down, and remained so until 1888. In this year an American company bought the property with the intention of operating, but it was sold to an English syndicate before two years had passed.2 Something like $800,000 were spent, but no special results were secured. The total product of the mine was 269,000 lbs. of tin valued at $56,000.3 The Harney Peak mine is the story of another futile attempt to get tin in commercial quantities. The Harney Peak, as it is familiarly called, is situated near Custer City, S. D. A great deal of money has been spent in the development of this mine, but it is doubtful if

1 Senate Ex. Doc., 52 Cong., I Sess., Vol. 6, No. 102, p. 11. J. D. Weeks in TinPlate Industry, Pittsburg, 1892. 3 Mineral Industry, Vol. I, p. 542.

2 Senate Ex. Doc., 52 Cong., 1 Sess., Vol. 6, No. 102, p. 45.

more than ten tons of metal have been taken out of the ground.1 The English capitalists were also heavily interested in this attempt. In Alabama, North Carolina, and Virginia tinbearing rock has been found. In no sense can the United States be regarded as a tin-producing country.2

The cost of mining tin varies with locality, kind of labor employed, and character of the ore. The average cost of breaking and selecting ores in the Cornish mines is from 4s. to 8s., per ton of ore; the depreciation of machinery is estimated at 2d. The total mining charges average £12 to the ton of tin, the dressing costs £9, and management, expense of buildings, and wear and tear on machinery carry the amount to £35 per ton of tin. This statement of cost is not altogether accurate, but is probably very near the truth. Banca mines have the advantage of cheap labor. The price paid there for experienced labor is £1 per month. The workmen average twelve hundredweight of metallic tin per year.3 The yield of the Cornwall mines is about 20 per cent of the tin ore or 45 lbs. of tin to the ton of ore.

Before the ore is ready for reduction to pig tin, the sulphur and arsenic must be driven off by roasting the ore. This requires from twelve to eighteen hours. The consumption of fuel for refining is thirty to thirty-five hundredweight per ton of metallic tin. The tin of the Banca mines is almost pure, so that it has a decided advantage in cost of production. Although England is so near to the Cornish mines the price of block tin in London is about the same as in New York. The prices given on March 4, 1898, at New York, per long ton of 2240 lbs., was $310.44. At London Straits tin (Banca) was sold for $311.10. It will be seen from this statement that the manufacturers of tin-plate in England have no particular advantage over the American producers so far as the raw material is concerned. It might be

1 Supra, Ibid.

2 The total tin production of the world in 1895 was estimated at 186,786,880 lbs. Of this amount the United States imported 54,252,045 lbs., or 29 per cent, at a valuation of $7,405,619. See U. S. Geological Survey, 1895; Mineral Industry, Vol. I, 3 Tin and Terne Plate, J. D. Weeks, p. 13.

P. 457.

The prices given above are taken from the Monthly Summary of Finance and Commerce of the U. S., Feb. 1, 1898, pp. 1207, 1218. The price in New York was 14.35c. per pound, and £64 16s. 3d. per ton in London.