The American Metal Co. has 70,000 shares of capital stock, of which 34,644 shares were owned by the Metallgesellschaft, one of the German “Trio,” 18,620 shares belong to Germans who have become naturalized American citizens and have had the management, and the remaining 16,736 belonged to Henry L. Merton & Co., of London, a firm that is in process of liquidation. The Alien Property Custodian took over the 34,644 shares referred to above and sold them at public auction. The control of the company is vested in three voting trustees selected by agreement between the Alien Property Custodian and the American shareholders.
Vogelstein & Co. at one time linked groups 5, 7, 8, and 10, chiefly through selling contracts. Vogelstein & Co. owned the International Metals Selling Co., formerly marketing the production of the United States Smelting, Mining & Refining Co., but this connection is now broken. A contract for sale of the entire output of the American Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co. was held by L. Vogelstein & Co., partly owned by Aron Hirsch & Sohn, another member of the great German metal combine. L. Vogelstein & Co. (Inc). was seized by the Alien Property Custodian and was controlled by five directors, two of whom were appointees of the Custodian.[136] The operative control of the Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mining & Concentrating Co. is vested in Americans, but Vogelstein & Co. sells the output. Groups 5 and 8 are probably linked to some extent by large stockholders in common, Clark & Coolidge of Boston.
[136] L. Vogelstein is reported to have sold his interests to the American Metal Co. and subsequently, early in 1920, to have acquired a fifth interest in that company.
As a result of the activities of the Alien Property Custodian, the ownership and control of substantially all the mines and reduction works in the United States are vested in American citizens. Further information regarding the activities of German interests in the American metal trade is given in the chapter on copper, [pages 232]-[235].
[Table 54] lists the important lead smelting and refining plants of the United States at the present time.
Table 54.—Silver-lead Smelters in the United States
| Financial Group No. | Operating company | Location | Number of furnaces | Annual capacity (tons of charge) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | American Smelters Securities Co. | Selby, Calif. | 3 | 210,000 |
| 1 | American Smelting & Refining Co. | Denver, Colo. | 7 | 510,000 |
| 1 | American Smelting & Refining Co. | Pueblo, Colo. | 7 | 380,000 |
| 1 | American Smelting & Refining Co. | Durango, Colo. | 4 | 210,000 |
| 1 | American Smelting & Refining Co. | Leadville, Colo. | 10 | 510,000 |
| 1 | American Smelting & Refining Co. | Murray, Idaho | 8 | 657,000 |
| 1 | American Smelting & Refining Co. | East Helena, Mont. | 4 | 306,000 |
| 1 | American Smelting & Refining Co. | Omaha, Neb.[137] | 2 | 82,000 |
| 1 | American Smelting & Refining Co. | Perth Amboy, N. J.[137] | 4 | 170,000 |
| 1 | Con. Kansas City Smelting & Refining Co. | El Paso, Texas | 6 | 380,000 |
| 10 | Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mining & Concentrating Co. | Kellogg, Idaho | 3 | 600,000 |
| 7 | Ohio & Colorado Smelting Co. | Salida, Colo. | 3 | 200,000 |
| 5 | U. S. Smelting, Refining & Mining Co. | Midvale, Utah | 7 | 530,000 |
| 6 | Northport Smelting & Refining Co. | Northport, Wash. | 2 | 216,000 |
| 6 | Pennsylvania Smelting Co. | Carnegie, Pa. | 2 | 60,000 |
| 4 | International Smelting Co. | Tooele, Utah | 5 | 500,000 |
| Total | 77 | 5,521,000 |
[137] Refinery also.
The following [Table 55] shows the relative importance of the various financial groups controlling the production of lead in the United States.
Table 55.—Financial Groups Controlling the Production of Lead in the United States