Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1888-09-25
rrw HAVEN MANUFACTURERS

| to the president of the concern, Major
| Cowles, for an interview to learn his views
on the tariff question end if he sustained the
| position taken by Mr.. Cannon, whom Cowles
| & Co. contract with to furnish the lamps
| sold by the concern as one of the branches of
| their mammoth and constantly growing bus
| mess Major Cowles, SO long the head of
| the concern, has for over forty years manu-
| featured coach and carriage lamps and no
I man in the country is better fitted to discuss
the tariff question as related to his individ-
ual business as q manufacturer. The News
articles from Mr.. Cannon set forth that lamps
could be made great deal cheaper in this
country If there were no tariff on the i'm
ported materials enteridg into the manufac-
ture of the lamps, and that such a tax re-
moved, America could command the English
| markets for lamps of this kind. Major
Cowles willingly acesded to an interview and
4 it is evident from what he says that he does
not ''see" the question at all Sin those
| lamps" as Artemas Ward used to say.
Mr.. Cow1es said: "No, am not unwilling
4 to be interviewed, inasmuch as c. Cowles &
Co.'s name has been publicly used by one of
our contractors; but am unwilling to be
1 drawn into any newspaper controversy, as IL
A is very distasteful to me. Referring to the
Morning News of the 21st and 22d insts., Mr..
Cannon is made to say that he has been "a
dyed in the wool Republican Now have
the highest authority for saying that he has
not been Republican for many years"
Chow about his claim that on tin there Ia
tax Of cent or cent and half on a
poundP'
"WelI, I will assume for the argument
there is. A pound Of tin, we will say, costs
one year with another, say 90 cents, a
pound of lead cents. One pound of each
makes two pounds of solder, costing 1875
! cents a pound. A pair of four-dollar
cents worth of solder. Call it, if you please,
twice that amount; then deduct 80 per cent
for the rebate ION the 40 per cent. duty paid
allowed by law, provided the lamps are ex-
ported and what formidable matter it is.
It reminds me of the story of the fiddler who
charged country party 30 for furnishing the
music for one night. When told his charge
was excessive he replied with lisp, sit costs
cussed sight for rosum." Here comes an
/ importer of tin; ask him. He says there is
no duty on tin. Then he must have meant
tin plate. The duty on tin plate is one cent
| pound, and two sheets costing less than 90
cents and weighing three pounds, would be
| used in the construction OF a pair of lamps
costing say "a. Therefore the three
cents duty would help Mr.. Cannon
| Just SO much if removed. If the lamp Is ex-
ported, deduct 80 per cent. rebate and he
l would save the enormous sum of 7-10 of a
| mill on a 81 lamp. There's richness for you.
Now, again, the brass used in lamps is more
| important, but It happens that we produce
our own copper, from which brass is 80
largely made; therefore, it ia not to be con-
sidered in the question at all.
How about the glass, then, the only other
thing Mr.. Cannon named3
There is very little difference in the cost i
of glass used in the cheaper grade of lamps
between the imported and domestic
The plate glass used in the best grade of
lamps is all imported, but only strips or
scraps are generally used. am informed by
dealer that the duty on plate glass is 216
cents foot on the smaller sizes, suitable for
use in lamps. A square foot of glass ia suffi-
cient for q pair of medium sized lamps so
that the duty, if removed, would be about
the same as on the tin plate. With free raw
material, he (Mr. Cannon) claims he could
compete with the markets of the world, and
not be obliged to reduce the wages of his
men, all on the extremely insignificant saw
ings above named-less than one cent on
pair of $500 lamps, provided the lamps
| are exported, and rebate collected.
Bear in mind that the cost of labor on lamps
| is much more than that of the material In
1 asmuch as Mr.. Cannon has not sold lamp
| for many years and Is not supposed to know
where they are marketed or our methods of
| doing business, it would appear that he is
| jumping to conclusions.
Mr.. Cannon refers to losing Canadian trade:
bow about thatl
We were offered large order from one of
| our Montreal customers provided we could
| meet the English price. We passed over the
| samples to our contractor, naming the price
| they must be produced for to get the order.
| He decided that rather than reduce the wages
| of his men, whom he says he pays from $12
| to $24 week, he could not fill the order and
| of course we lost the order and his men the
1 work. We found no fault with his decision,
however.
What was the real reason in your opinion
1 that you could not get the orderi
It was because Mr.. Cannon pays twice as
much and more than the English manufac-
| turer for the same work, which we are glad
of so long as we can successfully compete
with them.
II You cannot compete with the English
manufacturers now, what would be the re-
| suit If the 35 per cent. duty was removedi
Why we would in my opinion lose so per
cent. of our trade in q twelve month.
Mr.. Cowles, I understand you have
investigated this matter in Birmingham and
Sheffield, England.
Yes, have been through those cities and
the manufacturing districts twice, and have
| acquainted myself with the facts, having had
letters to several of the leading manufac-
1 turers. 1 was not able to find one of the
average mechanics receiving over seven dol
/ lars o week Some very skillful ones receiv-
ed more. There il no comparing, it is only
1 contrasting the condition of our wags-work-
| ers with those on the other side. I remem-
| Der of seeing four couples married in the ca
thedral in Manchester in one batch
=. -. si1pe sass a.. couple land and
/ see wore linen cuff or collar (who pre-
i sumo did not drink beer). The rest had fan
1 mel shirts and we'll worn corduroy trousers,
/ while the women had on I think in every case
| q sight in this country. The secretary of the
| Scovill company in Waterbury told me that
/ while in Italy two or three years ago he saw
/ some barefooted girls carrying bricks up
ladder and inquired of the landlord how
much they received per day. He answered.
There is the employer; ask him. He re-
l sponded, ooh, building is very brisk now and
pay them in your money IA cents q day, but
usually about II cents
But il not the purchasing power of money
more in England1
Yes, Carroll d. Wright says in his six
tenth annual report of the Massachusetts,
4 Bureau of Labor statistics that the necessi-
1 ties cost on an average II 29-1e0 per cent.
1 more here than in Great Britain.
Do any of the English workmen live in
their own housesf
never heard of an English workman own
| ing home. however humble. In the small
4 town of Waliingford, Coma, there are 376
4 waRe-workers who own their own homes.
i Few men who have been in our employment
I for O number of years and have been eco
4 nomical, temperate and prudent in their
1 management but have their own modest
homes. Some of them have mortgages on
i them. Let such remember when free traders
Il tell them that If their wages are lowered they
viii buy just as much, that low wages do not
pay as many debts.
One word more to sum up. Our workmen
1 In the States receive, I think it is generally
1 admitted 100 per cent. more than on the
other side. Allow the purchasing power of
| money to be, as stated, II 29-10O more over
there than here, how are we to successfully
| compete with foreign pauper labor, without
protection, unless we reduce the wages of our
4 workmena have shown the fallacy of the
| so-called advantage claimed in what is called
| raw material admitted free of duty. do not,
| however, object to the introduction of any
raw material, so-called, free; that Is, not pro-
duced in this country. We could compete on
some articles by our labor saving and pat
ented machinery in an open..market, but there
are thousands of articles which are largely
Il i-