New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1844-04-16
THE TRIBUNE
Mr.. Appleton and the Black Tariff.


ouence, should permit your lucubratons on my
defence of the Tariff of 1912 to pass without
notice. However irksome the task, have no
alternative.
In the first place, am obliged to you for the
publication of my letter, which was confess
written with no such expectation. That, at least
/ consider gen,lemanly.' propose then to
follow such of your remarks as seem TO cai! Tor
notice in the order in which you present them.
In your communication Of Monday, the 10Th
ult:. YOU quote paragraph from the Boston
Morning Post, in reference TO my statement OF
the profits of the Lowell Companies, as dis''i-
genuous as it includes only the two years !e12
and lS43, mot ten years, as IN your text now
disingenuous viii you or the Morning posf
tell me ! send you the original article in h u,
Daily Advertiser of 9th February, which -, %Hi
thank you 10 publish, and point out lis ois'n-
genuousness. .,
1t was an answer to Mr. McDufiies statement
that the cotton manufacturers we're making
IS per cent per annum. As TO what 1t says 'i
"high salaries" and mixing more thaR they dGTe
dinids il is such stuff as dreams are made oil
Because such crudties are thought unworthy %
notice or contradiction, they furnish miserable
ground. work on which to found assertions OF fact
There has been no reduction OF salaries.
On critical examination during the period OF
oreatest depression, it was found in all cases.
Relieve. that these concerns were managed with
the greatest possible economy. AS TO DIVIDENDS,
the tendency always is to divide too much, and
know of no case in which dividend has been
withheld through fear In general, the reserves
are barely sufficient to cover the wear and tear Oh
machinery. In taking all the Lowell cotton
mills, take the highest possible standard. There
are no bad investments there AS you Suggest.
The stock of every company is something over
par-and is there any other fair mode OF est
mating the profits Of the business, but by an ave
rage Of such concerns
The nearest approach to truth in the paragraph
of your oracle of the Morning Post, Is the ave
rage profit of well conducted manufacturing e'-
Adjustments, which he states at about ten per
cent, which is not far from the truth III some lev
cases. find the average of all the cotton ml,ls
in Lowell, for the last seven years, between =
and 9 per cent. per annum. But how does thus
SUPPORT your allegation that they are pocketlng
thirty per cent? Would any man go into any
trade or business, involving so much risk aud
care, without reasonable prospect of a return OF
nine or ten per cent per annum In England,
the business of manufacturing is thought bad,
when it will not give return OF III per cent. net
profit
You next come to more serious matter. You
say, ono man, whose personal interests are III
volved in a question before Congress, should per
NIT himself to be concerned IN leglslahng upon
itn Indeed Then no farmer should vote on
question that he thinks will benefit agriculture;
no merchant for the benefit of commerce. Legs.
lation is to be performed by those who know least
and care least, upon the subject on which they
are acting. To be consistent with this theory, 40
vote should be permitted tending to the elevation
of party, from which the voterhopcd or expected
office. or emoument, or personal advantage o!
any kind. The established rule is better, which
excludes man from voting on question IN
which he has an interest separate and distinct
from the community.
In voting for the Tariff Of 1912, thought
then. and think now, that was promoting the
interest of every individual in the United States,
yourselves among the number; and with your
permission, | venture the opinion, that l Was
then, and am now, in as good "sltualion 10
form an impartial opinion" as yourselves.
Your second article is touching JeremIafc
upon the sufferings of the poor, inflicted by the
Lords of Lowell, in the enormous price oil their
GOODS" The dreadful aggregate OF twelve mi.
lions of dollars wrung from them by the Iai.ii
on the coarscr cotton fabrics From the ch'i-
dren of toll, the poor widow with her ch'ldren'
the wretched inmates OF garrets and cellars. " Is
that no grievance? then no exiortion, no pillagc,
NO secret larceny, nor violent robbery is as gric-
vance" -
Heaven bless us what are we coming to? II
this is not poetry run mad, the genuine Ercies
vein,' should be glad 10 know what IS. Mark,
how plain tale shall put all this down. Inc
grievance complained Of is the advance on printed
calicoes and coarse cottons, under the Iarlii oil
1912. Why, gentlemen, 1t seems to Inc you
blow hot and cold in less time than the rustic IN
the fable, who thereby SO disguised the poor satyr
If / am not much mistaken, 1t Is but Il very short
time since you said that this Tariff had ruined
the manufacturers as well as the rest OF the world.
II had 30 stimulated the production oil goods,
especially printed calicoes that in consequence
of the excessive production, the prices had fallen
80 ruinously low as to cause several failures In
connection with which you referred, mot very
deGcatcly) to the misiortunes o! distinguished
Rhode Island Senator Was II not the Evening
Post which said this Now forsooth, these goods
have advanced four cents the yard, levying SIX
millions upon miserable shiverlng wretcheS.
There is about as much truth in one statement
ga the other Printed calicoes were sold very
low in the Spring OF 1913, and there has been u
considerable advance, but not one half what you
state i, to be. have the best authority for say
inc that the advance on Merrimack prints does
not average over one cent upon the yard, upon
the lowest sales of 1912 or lS43 The best crlic-
non is the standard and uniform article OF dark
blues, constituting one fourth of their manul''c-
ture none of which have been sold at a greater
advance than cent yard, and very small
quantity at that.
Your quotation OF the advance OF Appleton
sheetings is correct being two cents the yard,
from 81 to 81 cents. But ut the former price 1t
was losing business. and this company made
no dividend for three successive scmi-annual
periods, their whole dividend for the las, two years
having been but six per cent.
These heavy goods follow the price OF cotton
the advance on which from 6 to 81 cents, has
been equal to about II cents on the yard OF
cloth. They are now dropping with the decline
Of cotton.
But have not cotton manufactures advanced IN
England for there lies the gst of your argu'
ment, if there is any gist IN 1t. You seem very
familiar with Manchester price currents; | refer
non 10 that of Du Eay & Co., Of LIST March