Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1886-09-23
: roran W.T. ron REA1NH.


rails the wofkingmen OF that product got !
one Thousand million dollars in wages.
Here Is the statement as reported in the
Tribune;
Against q united protest Of the free trade
element Congress imposed a duty OF @2s
por ton In gold on staei rails. l had the
honor Of sharing In the Legislation. What
was the result In 10 years from that date
the manufacturers Of the United States had
turned out 1O,0OO,000 tons OF steel rails;
enough for 100000 miles OF railway. That
20 rapidly reduced the price that In this
very last year steel rails sold down to
Within 50 cents OF tho duty alone Of 1870,
no that rails were furnished at the shop ct
t2s. 80 a ton where they had originally cost
$iG0 to &t70 u ton; and while we were
doing this we increased the steel product
OF other kinds, evnry form OF steel that was
nodded, until within the came period we
produced In this country Is 900, 900 tons OF
ingOt and other steel, rs shown by the |
official statistics, 10000 900 tons OF steel
rails and 10, 100000 tons of lngot and other l
steel. II tho cost OF that be averaged It
will be found to be about $50 ton. We
started at very high price and kept |
decreasing, 80 that the avsiage was about
600. Therefore that product sold In this |
country for $500, 900 900, and the 10000, 900 |
tons OF ingot and other steel Mt tho same
price sold for $3.50 900 900, 80 that tho steel
product from July, 1870, to July, 1885, |
amounted at the selling price In this eoun- |
try to 81 ,250, 600, 600.
What did labor get out OF that2 They say
that these steel manufacturers made u great
sum. No doubt they did. They went into
mn experiment which took enormous capt.
tai, and they had to mako great plant.
Put II Mt the very outside, aud they made
for themselves 1850, 900 900. They loft,
therefore, 81 900 900, 900 TO be- distributed TO
sha ~. aud tho hfglfVlu hflnH4 ni
the skilled labor which made that steel.
regret that l must dissolve such
charming hmirage." But Mr.. Blaine
ordinarily his own imagination carried
him away. Here are official statistics Of
the wages paid for producing steel in the
United States in 1880 taken from the
census report.
TOTAL HANDS RMrLOyRD AND wAGEs PAID IN THE
PRODUCTION OF sTRRI., sTsRL RAIiS, &c IN 1850.
Handle Wages
Product. employed. paid.
Bessemer and open-heartii
steel .lN,so Si,sa'Sas
or .,snp and miscellaneous t,sc as,ssss
Forges and bloomaijes..,,.... 2,9a9 si5,s5
Total. ......,....,...,........l 1890 ss,7si,.
This comprises all the hnnds employed
and all the wages paid out in producing
steel in 1880, including every species of
rough steel, rails, blooms, &c. Now, il 1
take the actual figures of Mr.. Blaine,
namely, that in the Is years from 1870 to
1886, the country bought the steel pro-
duotion and paid 81 ,250, 900 600 for it,
and that the division was $3.50, 900, QUO
profit to the manufacturers and
81, 000, 00O, 900 to the workingmen, the
proposition is scientifically absurd, as the
workingmen could not have got above say
50, 000, 900 annually for wages, or abOnt
1876, 0O0, 900 during the 10 years.
But ! shall be confronted with the
assertion that the material TINT went into
the production of steel and steel rails
must be called labor. Well, lot us see
how that would work. Tho material OF
every description, which Of course in
cludes pig iron, scrap iron, chemicals,
&C., used in 1880, to produce all steel
made ut home, was valued ut S50, 0l3 sol
Now, suppose we say that half of tina
was paid out in labor, or sNy, S25, 900 ,00l
year. The account would stand thus
Paid for labor on raw material
$25,O00,GQO year for 10 years. 1875, 0yOl
Paid 1b years wages Tor making steel
at average Of $4,000 UCO, ......,..... l35,NO,W
Total. ..........................s $50, O,O
Compare this with MIR. Blaine's prepo
ferrous statement of 81, 000, DOC, 900.
Of course practical men cannot for
moment suppose that the cost of labor 0
the material that went in the making {
steel rails was so per cent. was willin
to assume such o valuation pro form
only to show how reckless Mr.. Blaine
statement was, even if we do allow so pr
cent for wages on the materials thi
enter into the making of steel. BIZ
since Mr.. Blaine has estimated this Of
Tscs.iiCylHants IF. profits. m steel an "rtir
10 the manufacture of iGiis whicii'la eya
now protested ltB per ecn' will give
few statistics rom the census which we
turnished by the nlonopolist manufactu
ers themselves
PROFIT IN 1870 OF THE BEssRMER STEEL RAJ
AND orES-nEARTH STEEL WORKS OF 4
UNITED STATES.
Total value OF product. 4. ....,-..., S15,sU5,.
Cost Of all material. .fShSe6,J2s
PAID Tor Wagea ,.'-ss,... 4,ab't5i9-~ 4l,'57,'
Profit. ....................... .Sli,Oi7, (
Amount Of capital, real and pursnua,
invested In Jhs business ...,,. .S90,NS,!
Net profit about IL pGr { nj.
This very year the steel rail products
of the United States is l 700, 900 tons. T.
cost of steel rails abroad is in the neig
horhoOd of E3 l5H., or about SlS SO /
duty is $l7, and the price for home-ma
rails il from 1884 to 1886 ton. Anyho
after Is years of nm unheRrd-of monopol
and when this infant industry produc
nearly as mHny steel rails as England al
this is the second greatest steel rail pr
ducing country in the world, this count
pays bonus of some S2S, 900 900
81, 900 900 to the manufacturers of stt
rails.
And now, rs to the oft-repeRted asHI
ton that this country-Rnd, of couri
through protection--has reduced (
price of steel rails from e22 or &llt
ton in England III 1863 to G3 los. tc
What are the real facts Up 10 1869
BesseDer had q patent on his steel ~
cess, and, like my other article pntente
ne might have charged any price for
when, in 1870, the patent ran out, ST
rails were down to El0 or ell ton.
Was ut that time that the clever tar
iuggle was engineered and $2S duty /
ton was imposed. Before that the dU
was d5 per cent, RRd, rs according to n
Blaine, the price was S1lO, tho dr
would have boon $40 60 but the st
rail people, finding tine patent runni
ont anu that rails would go down Gin Fl
they wore then about el2 tom en-
neerod the T2I -per-ton specific du
which is exactly as per cent, on $50.
1912, after the Franco German war, |
demand for rails was so great that
price actually wont III England to I
Hnd even GIG ton. But il WINS of "
short duration. steel rails got chou
and cheaper, not on account of
1877 protection, but because Bnlgi1
Germany and France wont into prodnc
steel railE England actually beeomin
large purchaser of stcol rails made
Belgium, Germany, and Frdco
whnt have thC steel rail mixers done
the United States Why II compat
| believe that wnR the number associl
together and made u close corporation
paying 80 much money per tou produ
into jack pot. And in 1877 8 the Vut
steel rhil rolling mills Of st. IIouis stop
working, discharged the hands, and q
yearly stipend for mol working nj all. /
yet this steel rGii mOnopolv--th gil
tic olighr9hy--is held up rs having d
something very wonderful for the CO
try Let me proceed on Mr.. Blaine's
Insertion admitting that the manu-
toreEs OF steel and steel rails have N
$3.50, ON, OO6 during n years from
TO 1885. The whole capital invested
the steel industry III 1850 was NJ folio
In Beeseuser ana opon-heartn works .saqs
IN crucible pteel works iD6s
IN iOTgee and hlo0merieS ,. J8g
Votal- ss....t4.st., 1900
Now, that was Ill tie inyestmen
1880 as given By the census, Yet
Blaine says Put it at the very out
and thnr lthn rnnnrtnn 81, rnrrN ...-..i.