Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1886-10-02
The Great Question of the
Times.

press for seventy-fve years, since lo-
11-and we taking deep interest in
public affairs-has given us viyed
recollection of many of the trying
scenes through which the people OF
this country have passed, and having
witnessed the effects of the several
attempts to interfere, by politicians,
with>the tariff and the currency, we
can corscientiously declare, that IN
every case where such attempts have
been successfully made, trouble and
disaster have come upon the business
and prosperity of the nation, to the
ruin of thousands and the injury OF
all classes. No country can be pros
porous whose people are without en-
ployment, and the protection OF our
home industries is as necessary to
that end here as is the food we eat to
the sustenance of human life. In
late speech in Maine, Mr. Blaine has
made this SO apparent in single
item, that no one who S not wlllfully
blind to patriotism can for moment
hesitate to believe. At meeting at
Pennington, at which 5000 persons
were present, Mr.. Blaine said
The palpable issue is whether we
shall vote to sustain the protective
tariff now in force or vote to reduce
it and put it in the direction OF ulti-
mate free trade in the country.
There are few things less interesting
than to 90 through an entire tariff
and discuss item by item. There
fore I shall ask your attention to
single article. In 1869 there were
about SO 900 miles of railroad in the
United States Not long before there
had come the intelligence that En-
gland was beginning to use steel rails.
Some of our people, anxious to get
them, paid at the factory in England
e22, gold coin, or $11O per ton
When they added the duties, the first
steel rails that were laid in this coun-
try on an average cost about Sl60 to
$40 per ton. This went on until
1870. Manufacturers of this coun-
try then said to the government: IF
you give us q protective duty we can
make steel rails in this country"
Against a united protest of the free
: trade element Congress imposed q
duty of $28 per ton in gold on steel
rails. I had the honor of sharing in
the legislation. What was the re-
suit? In fifteen years from that date
the manufacturers of the United
States had turned out 100000
tons of steel rails-enough for 10O,-
900 miles ofrailway. That SO rapid
ly reduced the price that in this very
last year steel rails sold down to
within fifty cents of the duty alone of
1870, so that rails were furnished at
the shop at $3.50 ton where they
had originally cost $3.50 to S170 a
ton, and while we were doing this we
increased the steel product of other
kinds, every form of steel that was
needed, until within the same period
we produced in this country 15,000,-
900 tons of ingot and other steel, as
shown by the official statistics, TO-
100000 tons of steel rails and Is, 900,
900 tons of ingot and other steel. If
the cost of that be averaged, it will
be found to be about $50 ton. We
started at very high price and kept
on decreasing, so that the average
was about $50. Therefore, that pro
duct sold in this country for $780,
100000, and the 100000 tons of
ingot and other steel. at the same
price, sold for $750,000,00O, SO that
the steel product from July 1870,
to July, 1885, amounted at the sell
ing price in this country to $1,250,
100000.
What did labor get out of that ?
They say that these steel manufac-
turers made great sum. No doubt
they did. They went into an exper-
iment which took enormous capital
and they had to make great plant.
Put it at the very outside, and they
made for themselves $250,000,000
They left therefore, 81, 000,0 100000
to be distributed to the strong arms
and the brawny hands of the skilled
labor which made that steel. Ire
mendous applause. ] Was is not bet
ter to have that steel made here, and
keep that $1,000,OO0,000 at home
Voices" Yes, yes" and applause. ]
And the other $3.50, 10000 too? We
never would have bought that
25,O00,000 tons of steel at $50 if
England had been left with the mo-
nopoly of this market, as she had
when that high duty was put on.
She never would have reduced the
price. 1t was competition in this
country that did it, So, that not
only was $1,000, 100000 paid out to
the labor of the country, but the rail-