New-York tribune., 1879-05-08


had been reached Pig iron at SIS per Ton IS cheaper
than 1t ever was in this country since colonial days
far cheaper than It ever was under y
nominal tariff. And why, should not thls
have been the casef lis production IN
1888 was 100000 TONS while in 1877 II
WAS 2.314 600 tons-the production under protec-
tiOn being about three and quarter tunes what IL
was under a nominal tariff. In face OF these iactS'
il is idle to talk of tar fl puudering hose who I'M
pose them. IL the tariff was swept away. we might
have cheap iron and steel for little while, uhtli
American competition was etfcctualiy stamped
out and then up would 20 the prices. We WOuid
have 10 pay high rates for our goods, While we
would have less money TO purchase them wiih anu
at the same time our aborers would be reduced 10
bCgCary.
Home manufactures have this also in their favor:
they are suited to The wants the tastes and the shes
of our people This is matter Of moment. Amer
lean goods of iron and steel are not only cheaper
than foreign goods would be, but they are more
tasteful IN design and better in workmanship ney
are our own. They are not forced upon us. Ana
the very fact that other nations are learning now
excellent they are is proof that protection OF Amer
lean industries has been direct Oeneht 10
the world. But for protection they never
would have been manufactured and the iOr-
eign iron and steel producers, in the qulet ENJOY
ment OF a monopoly, would have dropped INTO TOu-
tine and made no attempts at Improvement.
RESULTS OF FOSTERING HOME INDUSTRIES.
The building up of our home industries has been
q direct benefit TO the railroads of the country.
And perhaps it would not be wide of the mark to
assert that considerable portion of the unexam-
pied railroad prosperity which blessed the country
for a number of years was the direct and indirect
fruits of protection more particularly of iron and
Steel The railroads obtained an increased
tonnage by transporting the raw materials
going TO the production of these articles,
as coal, iron ore. limestone, etc. The centres OF
manufacture and production are also centres OF
consumption. The railroads obtain increased ton
mage in Transporting the food and clothing used by
IL. lNNrnn
matter of travel manufactures increase thenumber
OF passengers visitors and purchasers. Every IN
crease of this kind is a direct source of revenue.
There is, however, still another way IN which the
protection OF iron and steel has reacted favorably
on the railroads Steel rails are now sold at $lO per
ton less than iron rails We're sold for IN
1860 Steel rails were sold at %1G5 per ton IN
1868; in December, 1877, they were sold at SlO
per ton while the average price Tor the current
year does not exceed $14. Quantity for quantity
steel rails outlast iron ones from 10 to 20 times.
The low price Of steel rails has enabled our roads to
be reaid with them and the result has been great
saving in wear and tear The operating expenses
being reduced rates for freight have been re-
duced also. The report of the Chicago and North
western Railway Company for 1878 shows that
while the movement of freight has increased over
the preccdipp wear 2Sj2oo per cent there was re-
ductiou i'm freight rates of 753IO0 per cent In
1S7G77 the rare per ton per mile was leolOO cents,
while IN 1S77l7S il fell to 112'O0 cents ~ iH!l-
'72 the rate was Z6lOO cents, while IN lSlZ-f3 IL
fell 10 23IOO cents. recent report OF the ChcaSo
Milwaukee and ST. Paul Railroad shows that 1IOm
1868 to 1878. series of fourteen years. there has
been q progressive reduction IN the average price
Der ton per mile received for freights. In lsG1
the price was 4n10O cents; while III 1873 " mao
fallen to 1sOOO CENTS that Is, the present rte Is less
than "A per cent of what the rate IN 1850 vs..
The report Of the Hannibal and ~. Joseph hall-
road Company for 1878 shows that the rate per ton
per nile was l295lOOO cents This IS a mte1ai ahI ahI
progressive reduction over previous NttIs. All
these fictS-aad they might be multiplied many
times Ovcr-shOw that during the last hNe OF SIX
wears there has been a progressive reduction IN
freight charges and this reduction is due primarily
TO the substitution of durable steel Tas lol ron
rails not 50 durable, and at q figure much below
what was at one time thOaght yerY reasonable
price for the inferior article Ihe effects OF these
great reductions in rates OF Transportation
are as self-egident as they are adVantageouS
to every class of our people. IL ls unne-
ccSsarv to more than glance at the benehts
winch the whole people, but more especially the
farmers of the West and Southwest, have received
from the growth and extension of the domesuG
manufactures of iron and steel. lhe cheapehlus OF
the rates of freight is a direct benefit to them
Every cent saved on the cost OF tranSpOrtauon Is
cent in the pockets Of the farmer But tins Is by no
means all. All kinds of tools and implements are
now cheaper than they ever were before. me
farmer can to-day buy the most approved ploughs,
harrOWs, Tdkes, shOyels, Whcel-reS, springs,
etc, etc, at a much lover h&ure thah
few wears ago he could have purchased
tbe most infericr article for. This directly
tends to the Improvement of agriculture. GOOD
tools do not make good workman, but an inferior
workman may be able TO turn out better WoIk WIN
GOOD tools than a. good workman could turn out
with inferior tools. Fencing Is large item IN the
farmers expenses. BY the substitution OF durable
and tasteful fences # iron wire for toe unSighty
and pershabe board fences. tins item Is reduced to
a very low point. Modern machinery has reduced
the bulk of hay and straw by compression, ana
after they are "con3ensed" they are bound up
with iron and steel wire or bands. lu this way the
cost OF production is reduced, while handling IS
Tnd lust here let me cite an extract from an ad-
miraolc article in the May number OF Ih6 IHdahc
UOnHb, showing 10 what extent the use o. steel
wire aud se,fbuding has been carried IN the 1ar-
Vestiug of grain:
"1gq DEVELOPMENT OF the sefbind ng reaper is one Of
the narves OF tie age Iwas brought into use in 1874
"neT ~ 'ylI p g go ;o tons; in 1875 $500 tons ia
1877. 300 tons; IL 1873, 1900 tons" This last
ufcd in This country 1860 And the writer points
out without the and OF chincry, II would nave been
one-quar,er ird Of the 3G0,0OO,OOo bushels OF
wheat produced last year
THE BENEFITs OF PROJECTION.
Now, these stupcndOus TeSults-maTyellOus as the
creation of Aladdin's wonderful lamp-are tracea-
ble to our judicious patent laws in alliance with
iudicous tariff system. Skilled labor has taken the
place Of poorly paid and yet, to the farmer costly
unskilled labor in the harvest fields. The demand
for vast and increasing amount of manufactured
ron and steel furnishes employment to increased
numbers of our artisans and labOrers the year
round; and while choaDenng to the farmer the cost
OF producing and marketing his product, yet yields
hlrn larger profit; and, better than all, gives the
blessing of cheaper food to our own people, as well
as to the millions across the sea. ,
If these considerations show anything, they
demonstrate that a protective tariff mas been a
direct benefit TO the people OF tins conntry-not IN
one state out all States; not IN ono section. but
in a. sectiOns. 1t is easy TO cry TO the farmers OF
the West aud Southwest: The tarih piuuders
Won. II there was no duty on iron and steel you
would have your farming utensils cheaper than yOu
now get them" ] have shown that the price OF
iron and steel never was as low under nom
iDaI tariff as under a protective tariff. But
II this does not satisfy the farmers, let