The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1873-10-30
from the Industrial Bulletin.I
The Iron Trade.

1t has been generally assumed by the
advocates of Free Trade, that a reduction
of duties must always enure to the ad-
vantage of consumers by effecting a cor
responding reduction in the price of i'm
ported commodities This involves the
assumption that the importer of foreign
wares sells them at the lowest possible
price, if relieved from payment of the
duty upon them. The eagerness of man
ufacturers and importers of foreign goods
to effect the repeal of Tariff laws. is not
quite reconcilable with the theories above
stated, and they can hardly be credited
with the disinterested expenditure of
large sums of money to influence legsla-
ton, which would reduce the price of
the commodities they have to sell.
The theory that the duty is added in
all cases to the price, and that Tariff is
tax, was announced with great conf
dence by David A. Wells, who has been
zealously aiding the English traders in
their efforts to abolish this form of taxa
ton for the benefit of the American peo-
Pile He inspired the long line of math-
ematical idiots who have figured out to a
cent the annual burden imposed upon
the country, by the duties upon iron,
cotton, woolens, salt, etc, but the stupid
ity did not originate with him, for it is as
old as the debates on the first Tariff bill
Intrinsically absurd, this theory has been
repeatedly refuted by experiment. and it
has been shown that domestic competi-
ton, developed by Protection, obliges the
foreign manufactures to pay the duties
out of his own pocket, which accounts
for his extreme anxiety to get rid of
them. The reduction of the duty on
iron, which took effect on the 31st day of
December, 1870, did not cheaper iron to
consumers, and its only effect was to en-
able English ironmasters to add two dol
lars profit upon every ton they have
since sold in the American market.
Through this partial triumph of Free
Trade, the Treasury of the United States
has incurred loss of 81 100000, and our
foreign rivals can add this sum to their
large capital, which, when the favorable
opportunity arrives, is always used as a
most efficient implement of warfare
against the industries of this country
Though the reduction of the duty on
iron made iron much dearer, our Western
farmers, who want cheap iron, are pass
ing resolutions in favor of Free Trade.
A glance at the iron trade of Great Bri-
tain would satisfy them that English
iron masters are not laboring out of dis
interested love for mankind, and hunger
ing for the opportunity to supply the
world with cheap iron. On the contrary,
it seems that the foreign producer could
reduce his prices more largely than the
amount of the duty, and make a large
profit. He has not done it, for the rea-
son that he has not needed to do it, and
he would have been able to pocket the
entire duty, had Congress given him the
opportunity, by repeating it.
The London Times, in an article on the
English iron trade says that "the statis-
tics of the year 1873 tell their own tale.
In the first half of 1872, when our trade
had already slackened, we still found a
sale in America for 444 900 tons of iron.
In the same period OF 1873, we sent only
22S, ,OO0-as nearly as possible one-half of
the year previous. But the price we OBJ
| tanned for the entire amount was reduced
only by one-third. We had charged in
| 1872 about 80 ton for iron in America
in 1873 we charged el2, and the result is
that Americans can produce their iron
more cheaply at home"
The Times enters into no statistics oil
cost OF the English product in 1873, and
we cannot believe that it exceeded by 30
per cent. the cost OF that Of 1872. The
Times does not allege that the trade oi
1878, if comparatively small, was not
comparatively profitable. That it was
very largely profitable, appears from the
notices OF dividends paid by English iron
manufacturing companies, published in
trade journals. which showed that they
divided profits of from forty to sixty PEI