Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1882-09-14

1anraster fntelliGenre.
THURSDAY EVENING. SEPT. IA. 1854.
The Cresson Band or Brethren.
Tue pig iron manufacturers turned out
to be the most obstreperous section of
the Cresson convention Of iron and steel
men /; and for very natural reasons.
They are making on the average less
money than either the bar iron or the
steel manufacturers those who have
well-made and well-situated furnaces
have a very profitable business, but
most of the iron furnaces in this
section of, the country are badly
placed and poorly equipped and as a
consequence those Who run them are not
content with theirprofts. The Bessemef
steel manufacturers, having started a
new industry with large capital, possess
ing monopoly and enjoying a close cor
poration, are very amiable and exceed
ingly we'll satisfied. They did not make
any trouble at Cresson at all. They agreed
to let the other fellows cut down the
duty on steel rails to cent a pound, the
same as on bar iron and no doubt they
would have been equally complacent if
the bar iron manufacturers had been
willing to reduce the duty on
manufactured iron, taking steel along
with it. The notorious fact is,
that the Bessemer manufacturers can
conduct their business at a large profit
at much less duty upon foreign rails
than q cent a pound. II would suit
them we'll to have the duty on pig iron
reduced and on foreign ores. They are
in a position to 90 farther than any iron
men in the reduction of duties all
around. They made no fight upon any
other interest at Cresson, being well
content with the situation as it is and
equally content with any variation in it
that the iron men wanted. The latter
had no chance to fight with them he.
cause they would not fight. They ac-
ceeded to the demand to common level
of duty on iron and steel rails, and were
just as lovely as they could Ike. But for
the bilious pig iron people the Cresson
convention would have been picture of
unanimity, barring little disturbance
made by the iron ore miners. When
the excitement upon these topics was
getting little high the matters were
referred to a committee, which got up
little compromise that patched up a
truce between the belligerents. Pig
iron was given . dollar ton more duty,
being raised from seven to eight dollars
a ton, and iron ore got a sop in an in
crease from twenty per cent. ad valorem
to eighty cents ton specific duty. Then
committees were appointed to appear
before the tariff commission and the
would-be legislators adjourned.
1t is not TO be forgotten that this con-
vention did not make the tariff it sug-
gested. The proceedings at a superficial
glance appear as though they were those
of real Legislature. No doubt the del
egates thought themselves very conpe-
tent to do the work of making a tariff,
and considered it a great mistake that
they were not real legislators. The rest
of the country will differ with them in
opinion, and the honest truth no doubt
is that no set of men could be less COM
petent to make the duties on iron and
steel products than the men who manu-
facture them. They did wisely in
not inviting the tariff commission to
attend their deliberations, where it's
members would clearly have seen how
closely their views were bounded by the
horizon of their self.interest and how
little capacity and inclination they
showed to consider the general interest
of the country before their OWL. They
were wise i'm putting themselves in CON-
municatiOn with the tariff commission
through committees who could at least
60 cooked and primed and ready to
unanimously aim at their bulls eye even
though with crooked gun. They may
hit the commission with it, but it is safe
to say that they willnot reach the public
affirmation of the correctness of the
claim of the Cress0n convention for a
maintenance of the present rates of duty
on iron and steel and much less for the
increase of any of them. ,.
1t was very silly in the convention to
cOncede to the demand of the pig iron
delegates for an increase of duty, know
ing as they did that the blast furnaces
in the country, which are well planted
and built, can continue to make pig iron
at a less duty than is now imposed upon
the foreign product. A tariff is not a
justifable one which seeks to protect
manufacturers who are working in 10.
calities and with appliances that nat
urally handicap them. Such manufac-
turers need to transfer their industries
to more favorable localities, and to make
their facilities equal to the cheapest re-
suit. 1t is not to the interest of the
country to protect from foreign competi.
tion those who cannot or will not pro
tect themselves from home competition.
The time is coming when the interest of
the iron industries in the sections of the
country where iron can be made cheapest
will demand free trade in iron and
then the interest of the whole country
will unite in this demand. 1t is safe to
conclude, wherever iron manufacturers,