New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1872-05-02
THE STEEE QUESTION.
MIR. COOPER's REJOINDER.

DIR: MY auStuCc lioli HOmO WIN 'NP"A 'A.N
hardness Of this reply to your letter addressed TO me IN
THE NEw-YoRK TRIBUNE and Boston Post of the lith
April. Let me admonsh you at the start II yon sDan
condescend this letter, that insolence ana
arrogance and a vain assumption OF superiority n0
by any possibility mistaken for argument Py we
iudicious reader. sorry for your sake that VIVA!
you are pleased to call my "clear and vigorous sNe
has so disturbed the serenity of your temper as W
produce q lamentable confusion OF IDEAS resulting
IN CHASTITY attempt to be witty al ny oNPe"s'
hut in which You have only scceeuou III
making yourself Supremacy ridiculous. am neither
Hercules Ihuric nor, unleSs you oohSloor !ouse
Tho emhodiment of Free Trade aud "Revenuc Reform,
are YOU the willy serpent described ms having eep into
orr Eden nor Eden confined TO Pittsburgh, nat III
eludes the whole the fair heritage with which GOu
has blessed this nation You ask me if Pittsburgh IS
Eden and add that you always took It for the other
rlace May ask you, return, If you formed that
opinion some years ago, when, in company with large
delegation Of prominent gentlemen. you visited our City
on tour OF inspection Of our manufacturing establish
ments and parook OF our hospitality at banquet gwen
by the citizens TO their distinguished guessl Sheffield
has evidently, substantial attractions for you than
Pittsburgh and from Your tortuous winding and wisfu
glances in that direction your is httngy illus
trated in the following familiar docscrol
"You wire in and you wire Out,
whether the SNAKE that made hat trace
WIS going East, or coming iaCe.'
You labor very hard and at considerable length TO eX
trlCalc AOulStl from Tue tN Va
ing the National Board Of Trade, one Of their EXeeu'
tive Council by courtesy. before the House of RepeSen
taives Committee on Commerce ana at the same time
violating the very spirit OF their Tam resolutions IL
was In that capacity nnd other that yOu appeared
oefore the Committee az on the rbjact Of free ships
In our foreign commerce NOn tel us lyon apuOGTed
60 the Committee for your zeal, and thcieupOn IL
vited by the chairman and other members TO - in
your way" Every one hut yourself VIII under
stand by This that Mr. sheAabarger who is very polite
gentleman, only me ut 20 indulge very glrruons
speaker upon subject leimatey before bis Commit
tee. and not upon one winch properly DeohSGo To- ie
ueve you privileged that occasion TO talk upon
any and every subject because you now cam 10 nave
represented nobody but yourself, lOu VIII SACa c
II decline accept o such an eNplanatOA You DOldy
which arraen you Is untrue" Let upon what
Information based my charges and think You must
TO Hamilton A. Hin, esq. Secretary of the National
Board OF Trade for information as to your status on me
you. ana ! place his statement against yours,
comment Under date 25h March, Mr. Hill says; In
nccOrdamce with the vote Of the Board the Executive
Council prepared memorial upon the question free
ships in our foreign commerce.. copy OF which in
close. and presented II TO The Committees on Commerce
In Congress, VITA snch statements IN cXpLaon or sup
lac Council not being IN attendance me Council invited
Ing Committee the part or the House Of
Representatives and To speak IN support OF the memo
ra all this stated TO the Committee. In reply to
some ICmar of MI Ncgcy, Mr. Atkinson iold the Com
attention il taev did not wish to hear him; Out The Com
EXAGGERATED CALCULATIONS.
I now proceed TO peiut ont blunder of such vast |
magnitude or, if not bunder, then deception of such
huge proportions. which yOu paraded before the Com
mittee that its exposure In either docs not s
fuse your check with blush Of shame your supply OF
hrass for homo umpon is largely IN excess of the
sma quantity # imported steel which yOu 50 ardeny |
desire 10 place upon The Tree list The following graphic
account from year letter the usual English flavor
Indeed tie burden Of your song Is always the same
related The allegations made to ne by n English
nieHsn tl1 cay member o. me pm VIZ nv m W. ~
tout - i an a ; evan, ned lie c,pr t Of CHARACTERIZATION
"a Mississippi he told HAT he wished TO GEL ~ through
Congress 6y be rsh; be eIssg to ISSs qgTc nf
heavy freight lis psn TO cad n out sections and h-'e
co s. e, mt less msie here even there facilities
I Ps s,Ih and great crryng ssh barge
s e7pea' to CARY cln aO gn from C,o and ST. Louis
Sewoeass at u and z cents rr hq'AfEt and esn 1si
os be rae very Profitable cent, saving Of g 90
Or ,91 s 81 'ti mama made he cscat On nat # ce were
sue Ind hat ii no ore sa en- os Cc year and ia &
% sasscs Of The G1ci Se. You row that th, little
Of ber esnno tunb less than guy Inet lepi Yer
Urg dedicated would er'e 10 pes9n them Lae ~en
an order that your engaged the ctare
CHR @ hat cannot protected BY whose cOmpOu,a the
esniard Of waves is determined"
The mOdesy of this Ango-Amcrican proposition, to
,e permitted to import steel bagos in sections free
If duty to navigate the Mississippi for the Transports
ou Of grain surpasses belief Your calculation, unfor-
tunately for you and your English friend, did not 20
mite far enough and l will endcayOr to supply the
omission To transport 1000 bushels OF grain per barge
On each trip Of 600 barges, making ten lS each year
would require freightage OF 2gOO0CO nlaheIs,
which is very Respectable stroke OF business Du nv
friend Young. Chief Of the Bureau OF Stal.scs'
spOls the whole scheme by she wing that our enre eh-
PORTS Of cereals, including wheat rye lh0ln corn 0t
aud barley for the last two years averaged Only ap1ut
n 800 600 bushels per annuln about onchtth Of The
1aantity necessary to accomplish 49, your a1d-
lbe purpose Of saving TO our western gram
Growers SfOODOOOO transportation, the saving,
which is 10 form fund.- ample for me pension ana sur
ort of All the gteel-makers tho United States but
maj Is moi the worst IL. We shall have 10 divide the
IA millions Of exports OF gram by nVe aE 80 rs 10 I
1l1cago New-Yofk Boston, and other maritime ports,
Oreansthus reducing this grand conception the ac
ourate Mr. Atkinson to It5n FER cent Of ms d PRE-
sttempt 10 escape by claiming that you intended 10 IN
ude other heavy freight. You dd no such thug, Tor
yOu saw the saving this item" OF grain would
held tie large pension fund for our American steel
makers. lt is one OF your SPRINGS 10 eaten ""Vu-
cock " in other words dcluson and snare 10 ae-
seiye farmers with false ideas OF your great REGARD IoI
their interests.
To my mind it is simply incredible that the intei-
renee of Committee On Commerce should be dehD-
srtey insued by such tissue OF nonsense as tns and
I thnk the National Board Of Trade may wen afford TO
dispense with your services hereafter ana he Congress
Committee should excuse you from the labor OF In
structinR them the SUBJECTS OF Free Trade, ocean
Steamers anything else. NOn ASK Inc II dare 10 say
that the tariff that makes hEh WAGES. nave ssi4
nothing OF the But you answer for me as though
h d. and challenge me To prove that the tOoEmakeIs
an others IN whose work steel IS raw material are
rotecfed hy the exclusion 81 f0reign product Of nkc
borocer 10 their own" To al this reply that while
.ieel as have shown, admitted at an average duty OF
@ 'seto9 by an average Import duty, Of
TO- viii refer You to as good Trade authority as
Mr DAVID a, Wells, yonr coaduto AMI nls-leaPl
You know perfectly wen that expressly excepted
Bessemcr and other steel rails from my estimates ana
Cour oh ,cue Ju regard to them transparent dodge