Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1870-01-12
Meeting of Iron Manufacturers.


Pursuant to call, a meeting of iron man
ufacturers and others was held at An
drews & Hitchcock's office, in Youngs-
town, on Friday evening, Dec. 31st. 1869,
for the purpose of considering the recent
movements in Congress looking to a re-
duction of the tariff on iron.
Thomas Struthers was appointed Pres
ident of the meeting, John Stambaugh,
Jr., Vice President, and Joseph G. But
Ter, Jr., Secretary.
On motion, Chauncey Fl. Andrews, A.
B. Cornell, and John Stambaugh, Jr.,
were appointed a committee to draft res
olutions expressing the of the
meeting.
The following resolutions were offered
by the committee, and unanimously
adopted:
WHEREAS, The Special Commissioned of
the Revenue, in his recent report to Congress
has stated that the average cost of making
pig iron in thisc ountry, including liberal in
terest upon the capital employed, is from
twenty-fOur to twenty-six dollars per
ton, that excessive profits are now made in
that manufacture, hat "the price of pig iron
has been unnecessarily during the
past year 70 an average of from eight to ten
dollars per ton. and hat n majority of con-
sumers and workers of pig iron not them
selves engaged in its manufacture, sustain
him in the recommendation to reduce the
tarih to three dollars per ton. Now, there
fore,
ResolUed. That we, as manufacturers, here
by declare that the foregoing statements, so
far as they apply to the cost of making pig
iron, and the profits arising therefrom inthis
region, are utterly untrue, and from our
knowledge ofthe business in other parts of
the country, we believe them to be no more
applicable to any of the important iron dis
tricts, or the average Of them all than TO our
own.
ResolUed, That this meeting, in
part of consumers and workers OF pig iron,
not engaged in its manufacture, of Operators
and labOrers in rolling mills n furnaces,
and of citizens engaged in other pursuits,
make this distinct n inequivocal state
ment, that We are unanimously opposed to
any reduction in the t%ariffupon iron, believ-
ing 1t would be Immediately disastrous to
the interests ofmany OF us, and eventually
ReSolUed, That the attraction OF capital to
the iron manufacture, caused by the pros
porous condition Of that business for a few
years past, has reduced the profits to an
amount which barely represents reasonable
interest on capital employed, while the ad-
ditionai product of n a erected within
the past year, must still further affect the
market in the same direction, and thus
bring about gradually and without serious
disturbance that result which the Commits
eIOhoA uSfAhb OIe great uesihSLdtumi VIZ,
cheap iron.
RssolUed, That any forced reduction in the
price Of iron by reduction in the tariff Will
necessarily compel those e~ngagedin the bus
siness to reduce the expenses OF manufaetu-
ring, and this reduction can only be affected
by reducing the wages of laborerS in our fur
naces and mines, thus in~augurating suchdi-
rect conflict with labor as We have ever stiy-
en- 10 avoid.
Resolved, That unexpectedly but earnest
ly request our representative in Congress, in
NTfnuw nF tho FnnRarfnnan ~ thu CTuhfart mt
only to us but 20 our city, now the third in
the State in its contributions TO Internal
Revenue, to this Mahoning Valley, already
become n ofthe most important manufac-
turing districts of the State, as well as ofits
Importance TO the general interests of the
country, to oppose by his vote. his voice, his
influence, n all suitable ways any reduc-
ton of the tariff on pig iron.
1t was on motion agreed that the Sec
rotary be instructed t. furnish Repre-
sentative Garfield with a properly au-
thenticated copy of the proceedings of
the meeting, and also to furnish copies
for publication to the Youngstown, Miles,
Warren and Cleveland papers, to the
Pittsburgh Commercial and such other
parties rs may be deemed advisable.
On motion, Jos. H. Brown and Thorn
as Struthers were appointed a committee
to visit Washington City on the reassem-
bling of Congress.
On.motion adjourned.
Jos. G.. BUTLER, Jr., Secretary.