The Evening critic., 1883-02-07
HEWITT ON THE TARIEF.
Sensible Views From Practicable
SfaudpOfut.


Standpoint.
In the House OF Representatives yesterday
the following letter from Congressman A. s.
Hewitt, giving some practical views OF tariff
questions was read
NEW YORK, Feb 3, 1888.
Hon. 8. S. Coz, HoaSeW Representatives, Wash.
DEAR SIN: Your favor of the 4th instant is
received. From come furtlve Inquiries that
have come to my notice infer that an attempt
Will be made In the House to assall the posi-.
tion which took before the Tarlfr Commits
sion In favor of free iron ore and free scrap
iron, on the ground that am looking out for
my own personal interests In advocating the
removal OF duties upon these articles.
1 observe that In the Senate two Senator'S,
who ought to have known better, lu view OF
what distinctly stated to the Tariff Commits
sion as TO my personal interests, made this
charge against me, and they have not since
had tho manliness to retract 1t. Let me say,
then, that II there be any man In this country
who would be injured by the removal Of duty
from iron ore or scrapiron am that man.
lam very largely engaged In mining iron
ore in various parts of the United States, but
more particularly In New Jersey, whore am
interested in mines. OF magnetic iron orc
nearer to the seaboard than any other In the
country. am therefore more directly in COM
petition with foreign Iron ore than any one
else, and the removal OF the duty would injure
me II IL would lniure anybody, hut the fact is
that no foreign iron ore is sold here at less
than SO a ton, while am selling mine, equally
The removal OF the duty Will not therefore
AFFECT the price OF my ore as there Is margin
~ PER rrce eo sba IN y ys haye marun Of 81
ton. The reason why foreign ore comes In Is
because VIC do not produce enough ore low III
phosphorus for the manufacture OF pig-iron,
required for the Bessemer steel process. Last
year, because the country did not produce
this ore, and did not produce enough Besse-
mer pig we imported over six hundred thou.
snnd tons OF foreign ore and nearly an equal
quantity Of foreign plg.iron.
If the ore had been free, the plgiron which
aN1 hanY IN nptt nd
here out OF foreign ore, which would have
given large additional opening for American
labor and would not have reduced the output
Of American ore one ton. 1t Is plain, there
fore. that free ore would be a benefit to the
whole country as we'll as to the iron industry
in which am engaged.
So In regard to scrap Iron, Its free introduc.
tion is opposed on the ground that II Will In
terfere with the manufacture of pig-iron.
If this be so would be greatly injured as l
am a large producer OF pig-iron, but, as n
matter of fact, cheap scrap and plg-lron are
friends and not enemies. They can be most
| advantageously and cheaply worked In com.
bination with each other, and the cheaper the
scrap can be had the better price the buyer
| can afford to pay for pig.iron. and the larger
VIII De the demand wnel tlie BUSINESS nhS 15 al'
| iusted itself to the more favorable conditions
thus produced.
am aware that the iron masters, as a body,
do not agree with me In my views, but they,
| and gentlemen who represent them in Con-
grcss, are making mistake. They think that
we are suffering from foreign competition,
|
| Is due solely to domestic competition. Locali
| ties, In whicn iron cannot be made cheaply,
| are yielding to the superior advantages OF
| other regions In this country where the condi-
| tions Of production are more favorable. No
| addition to the tarin can prevent this competi-
| tion or interfere with the Inevitable result of
| driving Inferior concerns out OF eSlstence.
The process is disagrceable, but 1t ls neces.
| sary and healthy.
cheap food, cheap fuel and cheap iron are
the essential elements of growth and pros.
| perlty In any nation, and without them no
nation can be great and free. Tho interest OF
the American iron master, therefore, Is not to
devise methods by which Iron may be made
dear, but to find out how 1t may be made
cheap and II there be anywhere an unneces.
sary lmpediment 10 economy and reduction OF
cost, 1t should be promptly removed. The
duties on Iron ore and scrap iron are purely
obstructive and unnecessary fmpediments to
the cheapenlns Of the cost of Iron, and they
should be at once abolished.
| do not think that have any right to advo-
| cate my personal interest on the fioor of Con-
gress except SO far as they are colnSldent with
| people. represent district teeming with
Industries, the basis and raw material of
which is iron In some form or other. My con.
| stituents want cheap Iron, therefore, and Ia
| this respect their Interests are In harmony
with the wants of the whole people. The OK
| perience which l have gained as an iron.
master should therefore be devoted to point
| Ing out how iron may be made cheap. If the
people think that there is an honest effort on
The part of the Iron interest TO respond to Just
demands and to advocate obvious reforms
they will not bo disposed to press for roduc-
tions of duty which would involve embarrass-
ment to the business or In cutting down of tho
wages of labor. The people understand that
the iron business cannot exist In this country
with wages at their present level without
countervailing duties sufficient to make up for
| the difference In the wages paid hero and
abroad. But they Will object, and very
| properly, to theimposltion of duties which are
simply prohibitory, and which have no effeci
| whatever in putting up the wages OF labor, but
simply add TO the cost of iron to the consumer
| and produce n loss to the community, for
which there is no compensation whatever.
therefore urge upon the representatives OF
the Iron interests upon the floor OF the House
| not to seek to raise duties, but diligently tC
find out every item which can be made free
or upon which duty .may be reduced without
Injury to the business, and not to he deceived
by the outcry which proceeds from iron mas
ters who have works located In unfavorablt
positions, and whose final. extinction from
domestic competition is only question o
time. have had to abandon such works my
self, and expect to abandon more OF them
and should be ashamed, as an iron mas
ter and as Representative, to ask thu
people of this country to idemnify m,
against my folly, or against the inevitable
and healthy progress OF the age. Slncerel,
yours, ABRAM s. HEWITT.
Our Army and Navy.