The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-09-15

cOrrespOndingly. Our railroads imported
In the last three years over 100000 net
tons OF steel rails, enough to build 5000
miles of railroad. This fact alone con-
clusively proves that American rails are
as high as foreign rails with freight
tariff added, for our railroads would not
have imported a pound if they could
have got the rails cheaper here, all as
sertiOn to the contrary is mere childish
twaddle. Men don't go 5000 miles to get
something, to be had cheaper at home
Now what is true of the steel
industry OF OHIO is true of this
industry in all the states, and Of
the pig iron and iron rolling mill
industry, and in fact of all the high pro-
tected industries. 1t would be better
for farmers to pension the employees in
many of them and stop them. The farm
ers andpeOple in the other unprotected in
dustries have to pay them any way, why
not do 1T directly out of the public treas.
uryP On the pretense of these wages
enough is wrung from them by the mil
liOnalre communists of the protected in
dustries to pay these wages ten fold. Re-
dnce the tariff one half, import these
products, have cheap goods, out of the
duty pension the employees, have an
overlooking treasury left, and let the
millionaire communists earn their
bread, or tramp like the millions whom
their robbery caused to tramp in wears
gone by. The problem is simple one.
The census of 1880 shows that wages in
the protected industries range from to
20 per cent of the value of the products,
average Is per cent. Now given a for
aign product foreign value 81 90, duty
Toe, price here 81, 10; same product made
here, price $1,75, wages 16 per cent.
equals 28e; duty sufficient to pay wages
and leave 45c in treasury, or reduced
one half, sufficient to pay wages and
leave 919c in treasury.
The duty on the steel rails imported
in 1882 at $25 per ton, was so officially
reported, S24 per cent; now given pro.
duct $1,OO, duty 82l1 cts. price here 81
824, home product $1,824, wages ~
per cent. equals 1879 cts; duty pays wa
ges, and leaves nearly six times the wa
ges in the treasury. These five steel
mills of Ohio, with a capital of one and
one quarter millions, and thrice water
ed at that, made profit of 1916 pr cent.
nearly pa millions, more than forty
times as much as the wool growers
could make out of equal capital, if they
put on kid gloves and carried on their
industry with hired superintendent,
fOremen and labOrers.
To realize the enOTmity of this COM
munistic spOliatiOn of labor by capital,
examine the census of 1880. The pro-
ductiOn in 1880 of Bessemer steel rails
in Ohio, as said above, was only 66,48O
net tons, but the total product in the
union was 741,475 tons. During its
short existence, up TO Jan. 1st, 1888, this
industry produced 6,797,654 net tons, a
cool robbery of labor of over $3.50, 100000,
and such has been the development of
this colossal robbery, that in 1882 the
4 Qp0 O0O
in one year of over $33,OOO,O00. And for
whose benefit?
The census bureau was actually asha-
med to give the statistics of the Besse-
mer steel works separately, but massed
them with the open hearth works, in
one table. The combined production in
1880 was:
iossemer other products, tons ..i4s42I
Open hearth other products, tons .......... $4,000
On which the tariff would have, if i'm
ported, brought into the treasury, $29-
225, 155. Now, these combined indus.
tries, think of it farmers and wool grow
ers, employed only 1928 hands, inclu-
ling boys over 16 years old, and 621 chill
lren under 16 years old. And these
works, all told, in the Union, were only
)O III lO Optu ubdIbu anu ~
3essemer. The Bessemer being2 in Ohio,
in Missouri, in Illinois, 2 in New
York, and 10 in Pennsylvania. Think
)f it farmers, 20 establishments divide
The spOils of the colossal Bessemer steel.
IF which about 5000 employees get bare
Dittancel
You might as we'll legalize highway
robbery and midnight burglary, and |
yravely prescribe the per cent to be stO
en. And then, when this fTightful in |
lustry assumed immense proportions,
point with pride" to the rapid progress
lnder the fostering care of prOtec- |
,iOnp And when it had utterly impOV-
,rished the people, so that the accumu-
aUed plumber of the thieves could find |
10 sale, exclaim with the imbecile For |
lker, Behold the blessings of prOtec- |
ion, they sell their plunder cheaperV'
And as with this steel industry, so
With the iron rolling mills, the pig |
ron industry, the blOOmeries and for |
yes, and the crucible steel industry, and |
Ill high protected industries, the rob- |
Iery differs only in degree.
Is it wonder that milliOnaires have |
JpruDg up like mushrooms, that cOrpOr-
lti0ns passed beyond control, that every
hing Is corrupt and venal, that the |
country became impoverished and bank |
-upt, and that millions of starving la
Dorers became wandering tramps2
The panic of 1873 is no mystery. 1t
was not produced like the depression in
1857, by the collapse of a rotten banking
system. 1t was simply the inevitable
of the tariff robbery. By
,he robbery of years the people became
and finally had not where
with to buy the protected products, and
ihe protected industries having no mar
zet closed their works and turned out
heir men.
And what did the protected industries
10 to effect a return to prOsperityP Moth
ngl They were, as they always are, a
milestone around the neck of prosperity.
Like victorious army that had plum
Tered the people of everything. Like
,he burglar who stole the labOrer's all, |
hey remained passive until their vic
inns. hy renewed labor and production,
retrieved their losses and were again
able to buy; when their works resume
and the robbery begins again, to end
sgain with another panic sooner or Ia
,er.
In one thing they excel the pIunder-
ng soldier and midnight burglar, for |
,he latter at least would not, after his |
yiptim rptriaVa1 his lOgapa and IVA q q oain /