"The Lead Industry is a War Industry"

A meeting between four lead corporations was held on May 11, 1942. Representatives from St. Joseph Lead Co., American Smelting and Refining Co., National Lead Co., and United Smelting Refining and Mining Co discussed tariff regulations with Mexico and Bolivia in relation to ongoing World War II in Europe.

Essentially, this report on the executive committee meeting is a summary of reasons to protect the domestic lead industry. The companies emhpasizes lead's key role in times of war:

"The lead industry is a war industry...To continue to fill a war function satisfactorily the lead industry must operate, so far as possible, in a steady manner...keeping the properties in first-class operating condition without fear of inability to operate after the war."

Of course, the industry makes sure to emphasize their indispensability even after wars are over; the lead industry's importance to the American economy is highlighted over and over.

All these reasons culminate in a plea to limit the importation of lead into the U.S., where the primary countries of concern are Canada, Mexico, and Bolivia.

The report admits that Canada has superior lead supplies which are unusually rich: "There is nothing like it anywhere else in the world." Mexico and Bolivia are described as having "high-grade ores containing large amounts of precious metals, at labor scales much lower than the United States."

These statements show that the corporations are essentially concerned with protecting themselves, since the lead that would be imported seems to be of equal, if not better, quality than that produced by them. Thus, unlike when lead is accused of causing occupational ilnesses and the corporations' main argument is the metal's beneficial qualities and uses, it is clear here that the industry cares more about self-preservation than any so called "advantages" of lead.