Daily Republican., 1883-08-16
The Tia Question Again.

The Tia Question Again.
Nobody will deny that the canning
industry is large and growing and
naturally we should look with favor
upon anything that builds up an indus
try that gives employment to a large
number of people, and: more than that
contributes to a cheap and wholesome ar
ticle Of food, but when tina. industry is
established at the expense Of another
and greater industry, then it becomes
Aquestion whether that industry which
contributes the greatest benefit to the
greatest number should not receive the
more adequate protection Now in this
matter of tin importation it is unfor-
tunate that we are so dependent upon
Great Britain for that valuable metal,
gradually becoming more valuable by
the increase of fruit raising and the
consumption of canned fruits and meats
1t is very important that canned fruits
and meats should be cheap, and though
we would encourage their consumption,
especially that of fruit, we still would
pause long enough to say that the time
is not in the far past when we got along
about as well without 10 much of it.
The old stand-bys Of living after all are
bread, beef, pork, corn, vegetables'
with fruit raised and preserved in the
old way. Canned fruitsa after all are but
luxuries and our good housekeepers gen.
orally made out to put up enough in
stone and glass jars to last the whole
year round. 1t is a question whether
earthen and glass jars though they cost
a little more at the outset are not cheap
or liz the long run for home use than tin
cans. Earthen and glass jars can be
used year after year, until broken by
carelessness or accident, but tin cans
are like some OF our garden ANIMALS that
bloom but once and that only for the
short fraction of day. They are used
but once and then tossed into an alley
or the open lot to become an intolerabe
nuisance.
Still we would not saga wor d deroga-
tory to cheap tin for canning and roof
ing and for the manufacture of kitchen
culinary utensils, if we had not to pur'
chase these articles cheap at the great
risk of losing more in some other indus
try than what we save in tin.
Let us look at the question in IA.
tional manner. The importation Of
tin for single year only amounted to
$4,000, 900 pounds. At ten cents pound
this would only amount to s., 1000
This is the SUMMING up Of the whole
thing, as tin is the only thing required
in the manufacture of tin ware not pro-
duced in this country. Now let us
look at the other side of the ledger
Charged against the United States are
100000 tons Of limestone l,5oO,0OO
tons of coal which would amoun' to
81, 500, 900 at three dollars q ton : 800, 600
tons Of pig iron, 5000, 900 pounds of
lead, l0,o00,0oO pounds of tallow. These
would amount to several times the
value of the tin we pay for, and yet |.
we were to follow the teachings of the
every Evening, we would continue
this vast industry in the hands OF the
British manufacturers for the sake OF
getting cheap tin. The recent revision
of the tariff abolishes the fifteen per
cent. duty on the tin and terne plates
which in reality were nearly 70 pei
cent. iron and steel, and admits tin al
an equable rate of duty that will pro
,tect a larger industry in this country,
though it may probably result in raising
the price of tin ware Twenty million
dollars in gold have been paid tt
Great Britain for these so-called tin and
terne plates which only contain pei
cent. of tin, 1t will be seen from this
that while we have been paying he'
one million for tin, we have been pay
ing her nineteen million for iron an'
steel shipped under the name OF til
and which are produced in abundance
in this country, Intelligent readers
will have no difficulty IN seeing through
the free trade argument Of our eve'NinI
contemporary whose every aSpiratio,
seems to be 10 see how loyal it cal
be to the interests of Great Britain
in preference to the interests Of its owl
country which it opposes.