Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1888-08-10

tu0 pIlCO pau W tUG ldDOIGEs Ii Jul
Dor insists upon free trade tin plates then to be
consistent it must also advocate repeal of
all duties upon iron and steel.
If our neighbor had read the extract
from the Mills bill carefully. the above
paragraph would doubtless have been
omitted. The words we have italicised
fully quiet his apprehensions of the VIM
DICTATOR having to include in its advoca-
cy of the Mills bill, the free admission of
sheet iron and steel. The article desig-
mated under the Mills bill must be ''com-
mercially known" as tin plate, terpe
plate Or taggers tin. The articles of
which he breads the free importation are
not commercially known" as any of the
three. A custom house officer is not like
ly to pass free,a sturgeon, for fish that is
commercially known" as a herring.
We don't care particularly to argue the
value of property in a neighboring coun-
ty which is in the market, or we should
comment on the Rockbridge tin mine, but
we will say this much that it is an estab-
lished fact that not pound of tin is pro-
6uced in the United States, nor is there
sheet of tin plate made. That is an estab-
lishment of fact that our neighbor con-
cedes to be correct. How the non-pro-
duction of tin plate came about it thus
explains
Prior to the year 1875, tin plate, under a
decision of the Treasury department., was adj
mitted under duty of Is per cent adj valorem
practically free. In 1875 specific duty of
IL cents per pound was imposed. Following
that, tin plate manufacture commenced at
three or four localities in this country, The
result was that home competition had the
usual effect. In 1878 the best quality of tin
plate commanded $14.75 per box. By 1878
the price had fallen to 1928. In 1873 the
second quality of tin sold for $14.50, and in
1918. The moment the English manufac-
turer discovered that we intended to enter
the market where two-thirds of his product
was sold, that moment he cut down his prices
so as to crush out his infant competitor. In
this he succeeded, so that to-day not pound
of tin plate is produced in this country. If
the Mills bill should become law (and thank
heaven it will not) it would not be a year
before tin plates would rapidly advance. AS
soon as the fear of all competition were re-
moved, England would be sole master of
the situation, and exact her own prices.
Now here's pretty howdy do! Here is
an ''infant industry" under the protection
of the great Protection party of the coun-
try, that party in power for twentY-three
years right straight along, and yet not one
effort made to save it from competition
that finally ate it up. Indeed for thirteen
years up to 1875, it appears that the he-
publican party gave the English COMPETE
tor the advantage of coming into the
! country practically free' to fight the in
fant-a rather bad showing for the Party
, of Protection for Industries. But our CO.
| temporary is really making too bad an.ex-
hibit for its own party. The actual fact
is that there never was sheet of Ameri-
can tin made. We have seen what was
| called by that name, and it is no more like
A tin than mule is like horse, and it could
not be sold as tin plate in any country un.
der the sun. 1t was never a competition
of imported tin, and just struggled along
and died OUT. 1t just can't be mad de ii. this
country and that is tie tie end of it; we haven
got the material to make it. The tin Of
| England didn It come down so as to com
pete with American tin (Which really wal
no competitor at ally but for other causes
the fall of the gold in which it was pai(
for, for one thing, the fall being alon,
equal to So so on the box between 1878 an(
1878; the difference between the flusl
times Of 1928 and the hard times that fol.
lowed the panic of that year; the advance
and improvement in the manufacture
and other causes. But the manufacture
of so-called "tin" in this country did no
affect it at all. The specific duty of anl
LILO cents pound simply chiseled the ta1
payers of the Union out of $57O0,OOO a
year, and that was all it did do.
And so our readers will see that the pro
position of Hon. Jacob Yost was exactly
what we described it to be-a proposition
to tax the people of this countrywide use(
tin-the canneries, the farmers, the work
ingmen. every man and woman who buy
this commonest article of household ust
by the poor-Twelve Millions of Dollars tt
protect tin plate Industry" which doe
been proved to have been disco 7ered; ant
this tax to go on perpetually awaiting th'
panning out of supposed deposits in which
capitalists have invested, and then to con
tinue forever whether they pan out or rot
For this we have the Virginian's authori
tY which says sit would not alter the cas-
in the least whether tin is produced
in this country or not"
Competing with this proposition which
is one of sort which will ruin thu
cause of Protection if it is ever ruined--th
Democracy in the Mills bill say to tn,
people of the country, here is tin plat
free! Here is field for the American manu-
facturer to get his material free and worl
it up and sell it all over the world. 1t say
to the consumer, you shall no longer h
called on to pay tax of $5,70O,0OO whicl
aids no American industry and whicl
goes to the Treasury to lie idle, and NOR
than that, you shall not pay the $12, 1000, 90
to which Mr.. Y ost wanted to raise the tax
And what is more, the Democracy viii
! carry out its pledges.
At the risk of being wearisome we hav
discussed this matter at great length an
tried to give extracts enough from GU
neighbours arguments to carry their inten
to our own readers. We do so because tn
position taken by our congressman an
contemporary is fair sample of that agains
which the people of the country are pre-
testing. and in opposition to which the
will make their nrotast heard at the haIlo