The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1879-05-22
THE TARIFF,
SENSATION AMONG IRON MEN.
An Interesting Paper Read Before the Pittsburgh
Convention by Chicago Merchant
The True InWardness OF the De-
preston OF that Branch
OF Industry.

Pittsburgh, Pa, May GA paper was
read at the Iron and Steel Convention
his afternoon, which had the effect of a
bomb-shell, and which the officers at
tempted to suppress subsequently, but
which the reporters obtained. Mr.. 0.
w. Potter, of Chicago, showed clearly
that the tariff should no longer be a
scape goat for the ills of depression, but
that mutual distrust, sales below the cost
of production and fraudulent business
transactions, by reputable manufacturers
was the principal fault
He said between the producer of ore
and the maker of pig metal there is such
distrust and anxiety as to whether the
four months note of the pig iron maker
will be paid at maturity that the ore man
grows gray.headed before the maturity
of the first note, and had bankruptcy
settlement to make at the maturity Of
the last. This enabled the furnace man
to sell his iron low, because he knew he
would not pay for his ore, The Besse.
mer and the other iron steel men sold
their product because they did not ex.
pect to pay for pig iron, and the mer-
chants sold their goods low because they
did not expect to pay the producer, and
with our elaborate system Of credits,
where none were deserved, we brought
ourselves disaster and ruin enough to
satisfy the most fastedious in this partic.
ular line. We have had our war among
ourselves we have ruined each other
reCklessly and UNANIMOUSLY; we have
sunk the capital intrusted to our care un.
til none but an honest man could look
one of his creditors or stockholders in
the face.
But we have presented for our consid-
Grafton country that has lost our mar.
ket and is in desperate condition
therefrom. We have had Congress for
the past seven years favorable to our pro.
teCtive system, and we ourselves by our
own stupidity have put in the hands of
the enemies of that Congress an argu.
ment for a change in that tariff that can
ruin every one of us in five years, and
this association will only be. needed as
the pail bearers at the burial of worth
less corpse, if we continue in our present
suicidal and infamous policy.
To illustrate: In the matter of duty
on steel rails we had representatives at
Washington during the discussion Of the
Wood Tariff Bill, insisting on our duty
of $2S per ton being maintained or de-
struction awaited all Bessemer Works
financially, and you of Pennsylvania
were selling steel rails at $40 per ton and
under, delivered at Boston, New York,
Philadelphia and Baltimore. and telling
us of the West you were satisfied with
such prices. Now, gentlemen, one of
two things is true, you should get over
$40 per ton for steel rails at the sea.
board, or you do not want a $28 tariff on
them, but if you will look around you at
the ruin you brought down upon nearly
every branch of this industry by your
acts you will see that you were wrong
aud not the tariff, and had this tariff
been partially distributed between the
ore.miners, ore-owners, the pig'metal
men and their laborers and shareholders,
the votes to send Representatives to
Congress who would stand by what this
Association knows this country demands