New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-08-20
Iron and the Tariff.
ondence Of The n. Y. Tnbuns.

.
NEw-YoRK, Tuesday, Aug. IL 1852.
A few days ago | fell in company with
gentleman from Maryland, who In the course 81 our
convsrsation informed tina! the mineral wealth of
his State was very great that of the first quail
ity abundant and easily accessible while Btumin'
Gus Coal, suitable for the reduction of the Ores existed
In equal abundance and accessibility remarked that
II seemed to me matter much to be regretted that
while Nature had done so much for US, should, for
the of proper Tariff be unable to avail ourselves
of her gifts.
His answer was "No, Sir, you are mistaken; we
need no better Tariff. The present duty on Railroad
Iron Is say 90 per cent, ad valorem Now add to tina.
Freight Insurance, Commissions and difference in OK.
change, together with mercantile charges ADD ysu will
add nearly 80 per cent more deduct from that 10 per
cent as the difference Ia favor OF foreign labor aud the
result will be that you will have nearly quite 40 per
cent In favor OF cur manuacturers-an advantage
quite sufficient to recon pense them.
The r. asOn why Railroad Iron has been imported
so largely this few years ago all England ran mad
CD railway speculaons Hundreds OF roads were
spoken Of wmle very few Of them have been built and
a vast number never will be commenced Iron manu-
tacturers were carried away by the mania, and made
large quantities Of Railroad Iron, which has left of
course, on their hands This accumulation sought a
market at reduced prices, and even at loss and
railroad companies have been heavy purchasers By
son of the favorable terms on which their cens nds
could be- supplied"
Although felt sure tia. my friend must be la error,
yet my want of accurate Information the su5ec. pre-.
vented my answering his plausible argument and
therefore have written lay before you for an ex
posuTe fits tilacy. Yours, &c, d.
Remarks.
Suppose we begin by conceding the truth
ofthis Malylander's statement of the cause
Of the depression of the Iron interest in
this country, how does that Justify his con-
clusion! Let Us see.
When the Tariff Of 40 was supplanted
by that of '4G, ron-making in thi, country
was exceedingly active and prosperous, and
40 continued for some months thereafter
The production of Iron in the United
States had been more than doubled under
the Tariff of '42-the works were all in
full blast, making money and paying good
wages, when the present Tariff took effect,
since which many of them have stopped,
the wages of Iron makers have been sadly
cut down, and the American product Of
Iron has diminished. Why so?
Because a gLut in the Ton.mGrket of
England, caused by an over production of
Rdll~ay Bars, has GlLed our market Nth
British Iron sold at prices ruinously lo,c,'
answers the Marylander.- Very good, Sir
Now, you want our Iron-makers to reft
and reopen their works, and drive on as
they did under the Tariff of 1912.
But if they were to do it, uhat rOuld be
their safeguard against another ruinous
glutting Of our markets NTH British Iron
at ruinOus prices Remember that it
costs very large sum to put into operation
such extensive Iron-works as can make
Rails at profit under any circumstances
and who will risk that heavy outlay on an
undertaking which may be disastrously ar
rested at any time by circumstances en-
tirely beyond his control! Here and
there an individual, under peculiar tempta-
lions, may do it but the far greater num-
Der will prudently decline so hazardous an
investment. And thus, though Iron has
risen considerably this season, there is yet
very little rolling of Railway Bars in this
Having elucidated that point, we as
sure d. that the Marylander's computa-
ton Of the difference of actual cost in IA
vor OF American as against British Iron is
enormously wrong. The great mass of
the Railroad Iron used in this country is
bought in this City or in London; the
price at which it can be delivered here
every contract; and it is sheer ig-
nOrance or knavery to talk of British Rail
road Iron costing 80 per cent. more (be-
side the duty) in this country than Ameri-
can does. We doubt that British Bars or