Baton-Rouge gazette. [volume] (Baton-Rouge, La.) 1819-1856, 1852-11-06
The Iron Interests Or tine Unite d
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Ths anexsd interesting article from The
| Boston Journal deserves to be universally y
read. The iron interest OF the United
States may bs truly termed maternal bne,
as well OH account OF lie very general pfu.
due.ioh III the t,niversality OF its con.
sumption. Il Is also national wnft, tbs
ability to supply which exists within our.
selves and would be itost happily demon.
stfated were The tariff 50 modified 40 to
afford reasonable encouragement to tile
domestic industry Of the country. Ja .5s
Theirs are few minerals more widely
dIIused, aud none Of greater value, than
iron. Tie ote Of this metal II found IN
almost evsry State, Though Pennsylvania
| ia emphatically the greatest fort.proaaoing
State of the Union. Other States. how.
ever, contain the ore In tio less nbuhdanoe.
II hAs been estiinsted that in Clio twelve
4 hundred square miles are uiidsfaid Will,
iron, which tract IL calculated 10 contain
4 ,psO, 600, 900 tons. In Maryland. Ten.
nessee, Missouri, Kenineky Virginia and
other States, the orb ID fuunJ lii abundance.
And yet, with all the lavish bounty Of na.
ture In this respect, we annually import
| no. far from $1O0O0,0oO worth Of iroh
Id The pig or manufactured by rolling d
| Great Britain ii the greatest on.pro.
Idueing country Of the world. her annual
production being estimated ht $1,000
ions. Five years ago the United States
produced the same amount. La 1850. se-
cerding 10 he censtis returns, only bs4,-
l755 tols were made. This decline III
productions ID In u great measure attribute.
bic to the reduction ofduty under the frees
trade tariff Of is46. The eheapnsss ef
foreign iron In our markets sets nj defiance
the competition Of our own iron and man.
uIacufsrs. Some idea may bs formed of
the great loss whieh has resulted from The
abandonment Of tho policy of protecting
our ewn producers by and examination oi
the statistics Of the iron manufacture oi
Pennsylvania. There are 3o4 blast furila.
oes and bloenteries III the State, with d
capacity for making 6tOua0 tons per an.
mum. In 1860 they made but about 900.
900 tons The ntimbpr Of lorges and
rolling mills In the State Is 900, with a
capacity for making 224,66o tons per on.
Num- Their actual product for 1s47 was
2O2.727 tons In ls4D the productioil
had fallen Of to 136, 1868 tons. The cap.
tal Invested In the above mills amounts
to not far from $40. 900 900, and the do.
tstiotation must bs VI least GU per cent
Probably not half so many lsborers are
now employed In the mannfscturs a. were
employed IN 1s47. These facts show the
extent Of the existing depression in slt
iron businers Of the country.
1t IL doubtless d matter OF surprise with
many how 1t II that 10 heavy and yet com
parativey eheap an nrclc as iron can b.
produced In Great Britain aud sold IN thi'
country. after paying duty, freight, nnt
commissions, at h less price than 1t can b.
afforded from our own mills The answe
Is obvious. We have tho skill. the fuel
The faculties for reaching market, apt
every other requisite for the production o
iron which 10 10 be found abroad, excep
cheap iabor. Labor enters largely int
tile pfoeess Of iron making, and lalorer
Gnu be obtained by the iron anastsrs G
Scotland at from twenty.four to thifty.si:
cents day. In England from thirty.tw
to forty.eight cents per day is pad. i
this country the wages Of common labor
crs is from seventy-fve cents TO one dol
lar per dny, the average being about eight,
cents day. Here Is . difference Of plotl
one hundred per cent, In favor ofthe Brit
isl, nanufac.urcr. enabling him 70 pfodue
iron At a cost Of only about ten dollar
per ton which cannot be manufacture
here for perhaps twice that sum. s..
II follows that, without judicious prt
lection or great reduction in the wsge
Of the laborer, the iron interest, like man
other branches Of manufacture, must cor
tnue depressed. The desired proteetio
was accorded 10 lhe iron business by I'll
tariff Of 1s42---a tariff which was on
platically q Wing measure. and whic
h, was repealed by the Democracy. The Ia
ter purity is einpliaticaly responsible 4
the existing depression with the manufa,
lures. Here, then, we have broad lin
separating the two parties, aud q distint
and important issue 10 the present canvas
The wings aim to encourage the iron IL
terest aud every braoch Of domestic indn
I try; the Democrats seek by free trade |
throw our markets open 10 the compel
ton Of the world, thus breaking dow
sur manufacturing industry or reducin
the wages of the aborer TO % par with n
starvation price ,in Europe. Those WI
con,end that there Is no important isst
between the two great parties will do W
to ponder upon these facts n8 ID s3'sa
IE83@es tS q. ..a-..-s4g ils3El8