The joint salt monopoly furnished it 1867, $5.02 per ton. In 1866, for every ton of coal consumed in manufacture of fine salt, 36. bushels of salt was produced. In 1866 the Company paid under its contracts for manufacturing fine salt 19 cents, and coarse salt 8 cents per bushel. The average production of each fine salt block in 1862 and 1866 which was operated was 1862 232 bushels, 1866 233 bushels. General average 233 bushels. In 1866 only 214 fine salt blocks were put in operation, leaving 102 idle, each one in operation making on the average 25,447 bush. With coal at $5 per ton it was found on the average that the coal to manufacture each bushel of salt cost about 13 cents. The salt boiler who does all the work was paid for boiling three cents per bushel, and it was reckoned that one cent per bushel would pay all repairs. Each coarse cover produces on average each year 50 bushels, each workman can take care of 100 covers, and in 1866 his wages was fourteen shillings per day. The Superintendent of the Onondaga Salt Company returns as the cost to that company of the manufacture of fine and coarse salt per barrel in year 1866, viz. : For rents to original lessee,. .55 .45 $1.55 From the Report of the Commissioners of the Land office (Con. Doc. No. 27) and the Superintendent of the salt springs (Con. Doc. No. 19) the further following facts appear: That the whole number of acres of land owned by the State, 1174.87 Of this there is leased for fine salt block about ... 54. 754.88 There is of private land occupied by coarse salt covers,... 173.30 Of the remaining land except that occupied by the State buildings and works most of it is low marsh land. But the best wells are found on it about the mouth of Onondaga Creek and near the pumphouse, in the third ward of Syracuse. The number of fine salt blocks on State land,. 216 100 12,000,000 to 15,000,000 That there were at time of report fifteen wells in use and they were digging another which has since been finished and proven to be one of the best wells. The average production of these fifteen wells is about 1,400 gal. lons per minute, 900 of which averages 66 deg. salometer or 163 per cent salt; remaining 500, average 54 deg. salometer or 13 per cent salt. The water averages from 52 deg. to 74 deg. salometer. Annual capacity to furnish water to make about 9,000,000 bushels. Average cost of production per barrel to the State, three cents, three and one-quarter mills. It will be noticed, that on stating the aggregate expenses (Doc. 27, page 31), there is a mistake of $100,000, arising from error in adding. Making average yearly net income, $19,373.75. The following table shows the sources from which receipts came and the objects for which expenditures were made: ONONDAGA SALT SPRINGS. In addition to these, there has been received from sales of land' $165,168.74, and there has been expended for land and damages, $178,698.02; for particular statement (see. Doc. No. 27, pages 9 to 21), that the cost and value of wells, pump houses, reservoirs, con duits, offices and erections of the State (see Doc. No. 27, page 5), is $311,710. This is an abstract statement of the facts proven before the committee, and some estimates of the Superintendent of the Onondaga Salt Company. The facts will not be disputed, at least by the Salt Company or manufacturers, as they furnished all but those from the State records. As to their estimates, we shall have something to say. The undersigned has been thus particular to state these facts, because of the great disagreement among the committee with regard to the subject referred to them, so that, although he may not be able to find out any remedy, he may yet furnish the facts from which the Convention may the better determine upon the question. His excuse for so particular a statement in relation to the Onondaga Salt Company, is that its history is the history of the entire salt manufacture ever since it was organized, and because the undersigned believes that the operation of the monopoly created by its organization and maintained by it ever since, has been detrimental to the interests of the people of the whole State, although it has been very: profitable to all persons interested in the manufacture of salt, and hence to all interests connected therewith. From these facts thus established, the undersigned has deduced the following tables, which he believes to be correct. It will be observed, that in the calculation as to the cost of manufacture of salt, both coarse and fine, the amount allowed for rent differs in the tables of the undersigned from the statement of the Superintendent of the Salt Company. The difference arises in this: The undersigned calculates his tables from the actual rent paid by the Onondaga Salt Company, as returned by them, viz.: on $1,618,640.00, for coarse salt property, and $1,777,613.76 for fine salt property, while the calculation of the Superintendent is made on his valuation of the present value of said property, viz.: $2,195,469.00 on coarse salt property, and $2,303,500.00 for fine salt property. The undersigned submits that, if the Salt Company wish to make a return o the actual cost, they should base it on what they actually pay, and that it is not just, by monopoly, to increase the price of salt, and because of this increase in price to increase the valuation of the property, and then calculate the rental on this increased appraised value, as a part of the cost of production, to account for the increased price produced by monopoly. With these suggestions, he submits the tables, viz: TABLE No. 1, Showing the average production of fine salt blocks during year 1866, and cost of work and coal to manufacture the same: 214 blocks were operated, producing the average... During 1862 and 1866 the average production of each block daily was 233 bus. If, therefore, it was operated 210 days, or continuously during the season, each block would produce 106 would produce.... 25,477 bus. 48,930 5,180,320 " which is the entire production of 1866. Hence to produce all in 1866 only required 106 blocks; balance of 206 blocks useless. If the blocks are operated as in 1866, producing 25,447 bushels. in season, the allowance for repairs on block worth average $5,000, will be ... Allowance for superintendence. If the blocks were operated continuously through season, producing 48,930 bushels, allowance for repairs would. be Allowance for superintendence $254 47 318 09 489 30 611 62 ... This shows that 19 cents pays liberally for manufacture, repairs and superintendence, and in addition to this the owner gets 12 1-2 per cent. on valuation. |