Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1869-03-19
VIc1nns LEn1sIATInN

I
ii we're or vast Importance N the nation ques
tiuns oflocal AMI " gcbcral interest, involving
the disposal Of lands aud of money, SURPRISING
In thcir vOlucs shc expenditures Of any nation on
the face Of the globe, iu like period Of time.
Whilst admitting both the patriotism mud tb,
honesty Of many perhaps the majority 10 thai
| Congress yet Il is nndcniable that many o
their enaetmynts have manifested unserupulou'
proaiPscy. Tue vast appropriations Of land
aud ol money, made ror railroads and Tor othei
purposes aud last though MT least. the prohib
itory Copper Tariff, recently passed for the ben
| eft Of Senator Cn ANpLER, aud other large hold
ers Of waiercd stock in the Lake Superior Cop
per Mines, displays an amount o { vicious legis
lalion truly disgraceful.
Whilst the attention VI the nation atlargs wa,
diverted from measures Of a secondary character
to such as would tend 10 promote national har
mouy aud prosperity, these men quietly intro
dueed their bills Ofa special character 10 pro-
mote thOir own selfish designs, and obtain theiI
passage almost without being challenged h
majority IN Congress either misapprcheudinp
their character, or winking at their injustice
Much Of this has been done under the spcciou'
pretext Of guarding the interests Of Home Indus
try, Of which the Copper Tariff Bill furnishes one
o many cases nj poiut. The true character oi
that measure will be seen by The odious and un.
just character made apparent by the following
| from the Chicago Tribune Of Feb. 2jthi
This Copper Tariff bill taxes copper in the ore
sndin the pig, in manufactured articles, and
in the form VI blue vtrim Il not only increas
rs the tax but doubles aud treblos il In some
| Instances reaching the extreme case of prohibi-
ton. SO high was the already existing tax,
| that importatiOns OF copper had nearly ceased
| except In tn form Of certain ores frun South
| Amer co. These ores contain about IS per cent
| OF pure copper la the form Of carbnnates. They
are imported by the copper miuers Of the United
! States iOT smelling purposes. The Lake Supe-
rior copper is 50 nearly pure that il requires no
smelling the copper Of Maryland, Vermont,
New Jersey. North Carolina, Tennessee, Cali'or-
MIA and Nevada requires to be smcltcd, and for
this purpose these carbonate ores from Chill ure
| used as hux. There being but very little cop
per imported, except in the form of these oros
the Increase ot the tax is necessarily directed,
against the homo industry and humc capital in
Vested in tho American mines. which cannot
smclt their copper without the aid ut caTbOnates.
The copper product of the Uuited States last
year was % 900, 900 pounds, Of which the Lake
Superior district supplied II COO 900, or two
u
the American miners had nuthing 10 dread from
foreign copper on the contrary, the American
exports Of the article were equal 81 our imports.
California copper, smeltcd by the aid OF -
Chlian ores, was exported to Great Britain, anu
successfully competed there with the English
smclted copper. Tho American copper mines
were incrrasinS their business NnHually, but
the Lake Superior interest wanted monopoly.
The difference between tho workings OF the two
systcns Of copper production Is this (. The mines
producing copper requiring To be smeted arC
owned by those who work them, aud who have
invested their money In them. When the mine
is worth one million Gt dollars, there IN a mil
lion of dollars actually invested. Consequently
u years busiUess, Welding fifteen or twenty per
cent profit, is satisfactory. In the Lake Superi
or region the mines are owned by companies
For each 500 900 Of capital invested tn ro Is
stock to the amount of 10000 900. A profit nf
twenty per cont on the actual capital employed
is only two per cent on the stock held in Boston
and New York aud stock Welding but two per
cent IL not salihlc. Accordingly, the Lake Su-
periur Copper Companies went 10 Washington
aud, under the false protonce Of seeking pro-
lection for the poor miners, have passed bill
taxing the other mines out Of the Aay, and thus
securing monopoly Of the copper production
OF the United States.
Mr.. Ferry, OF Connecticut, thus stated the
number and character OF the remOnstrauts
against this bill, whose whole industry was to
be destroyed by Il;
" We have before us, adverse 10 this bill, the
petition of the Baltimore Copper Company, with
a capite of 81 900 900 we have peti iun Of ship
builders flhr United States wehave petition
of ship-owDers ofthe United States we have a
petition Of three California mining companics !;
we have the petition of Moore d Co., of the Key
stone copper mine another of the copper mines
Of Nevada another OF the Mineral Hill mine of
Maryland; of the Cnrnwcll orc bank uf Pcnnsyl-
ania nf ha mi nf "A. MI
Of the Waterbury Copper and Brass Company
OF Connecticut"
Mr. Morrill,, Of Vermont, declared that the hill
destroyed the last chance ufever rasuming ship
building Ia the United States. II destroyed also
our commerce in the carbonate Ores for which
we exchanged our domestic products II pre-
vcutcd the mining or copper in all parts Of the
United States, except by the Lake Superior
companies, and IL was equally destructive of the
capital and labor engage in all brass making
establishments. Yet. with beautiful consistep-
cy, no voted tor the bill.
The Cincinnati GdIstts Of Feb. 2Sth, also de-
nounces the measure in the following emphatic
terms;
Congress, with vigorous determination, put
through the little copper tarin bill, yesterday,
over the vetn. Jnhnsnn'S opposition strength
ems their resolution. lie is the great moral aud
political oouuter-irrjMnt, II he opposes, Con
kIoda ulaVnNNhs ~ ut pitIhhth N''uSEcSS hNhNs
its course, however uncertain befire. Pro,ec,
tiou has become fuaticism, as slaveholding
was. Anything In the name Ot protection goes
through, although IL may kill ten times the in-
dustry that |, protects, IL ANY one qusIiuns II
he arousos AS fierce spirit as ir he had bias
phemed Aud So We are heaping letters upon
our Industry. Tho tariff IN pr'tect copper min
ing crushcs much more extended industry in
copper manufacturing The tariff On rough iron
excludes American iron machinery from the
West Indian, Central aud Sauth American mar
kets, aud restricts the growth OF iron machn-
cry at homo, The protection on wuOl excludes
our wonlen manufactures from all outside mar
kets, beside neutrali1ing the protection on wool
en- cloths at hume, Th, protection on coal adds
one third tn the Gust of driving power for all
New England aud the seNho IrJ generally. Cur
protection ot ship-buildng' materials and ship
supplies turns over oar ship building aud carry
| ing trade t0 Curcign countries. Aud 80 We gu
ON building up a Chinese wall around our COM
merce and heaping letters on our industry
| One of these days the whole system will toppl,
| down by its uwn weight.
| In conclusion we unheSitatingly affirm tha
the copper tariff bill is an act of vicious legisla.
ton bccausei
|. II selects single article for unequal pro
lection.
?. 1t imposes prohibitory duty, thereby re
ducing the revenue.
). IL taxes other American labor and capita
| out uf existence.
1t is intended to give real value to waterc,
stock.
S. II gives the finishing blow to American
| ship-buildmg.
g. It's wrong Cundameuially, because the on
ly legitimate end at a tariff is revenue.
Washington Gossip.
The latest ramor is that Gen. Sheridan vii
be assigned tna military division, with head
quarters at 81, Louis, instead of going to New
Orleans, as originally intended Gen. Long