Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-01-02
Exceptional Testimony.

The Free Trade organs are making much
Of the presumed opinions Of two or three
Rhode Island men who are quoted as say
ing that the Protective tariff duties are
injurious to wooden manufactures. The
N. Y. Times publishes letter from Peace
dale, r. l., which it prints under the fol-
lowing headlines:
Ruined by Protection Rhode Island
Wooden Mills Driven to the Wall-Flourish-
ing Industries Killed by Oppressive Tariff
Laws-Labor Suffering Equally with Capital :"
The letter declares that the Peacedale mills
have been run at a loss for the last four years !;
that other mills in the neighborhood have
been obliged to stop because they could NOT
be run at profit, and that s'years ago there
were far more wooden mills in Rhode Island
than there are to-day. Every little stream in
the State had its mill. All the small mills
have gone out of existence. The tariff on
coarse wool killed them. Only the sites of
most Of these mills remain. The buildings
have gone up in smoke-a happy result for
the owners, it is generally considered, as the
buildings were of no value, except from a
fire insurance standpoint" Two causes are
assigned by Mr.. Hazard, one of the Peace
dale company, for the failure of his firm to
make money during the last four years:
When wooden manufacturing was in its
infancy here the machinery used was of
foreign make. Now most of it was American,
but the amount was not large enough to sup
ply the demand, and at times it was neces-
sary to buy the foreign article. The tariff
compelled the American manufacturer to pay
more for it than it could be bought for in
other countries and the tariff also made him
nay too high price for American machinery,
but it was mainly the tariff on wool tina,
caused the trouble"
In reply to this peculiar range of talk.
so unlike the general testimony of manu-
facturers, so improbable in itself, it is only
necessary to repeat the familiar truth.
that exceptions prove the rule, that in
every flock there is at least one strange,
il not black, sheep, that among reformers
there are always some cranks. The real
facts about these peculiar Rhode Island
wooden manufacturers are brought out in
a communication by Mr.. 4. l.. White
formerly the editor of the Providence
Press, gentleman of intelligence and
responsibility, now the Washington cor
respondent of the Philadelphia Press
Mr.. White says:
II is true that the number of wooden mill.
in Rhode Island is not as great as it wa,
years ago, it is also true that there are moi
as many cotton mills, but the number of set,
of WOODEN machinery now in operation in the
State is greater than it ever was before and
is increasing yearly, and the same is true OF
the number of cotton spindles. The fac
that American manufacturers of wooleI
machinery are unable to supply the demant
for it, proves the falsity of the assertion tina
the wooden interests of Rhode Island ar,
"ruined by Protection"
The Hazards, the owners of the Peacedale
Mill, have been earnest Free Traders fo
many years. Rowland G. Hazard is a promi
nent member of the Free Trade organization
of this country, and by pen and speech ha,
persistently advocated this doctrine ne i!
a Cleveland Mugwump, but they have stoo,
almost alone among Rhode Island manu-
facturers, the most of whom, even those en-
gagged in making WOODEN goods, are prosper
Gus and are staunch defenders of the prnci
pies of Protection. If the correspondent o
the New York Times had asked Mr.. Hazaro
what he thought about a reduction of thu
duty on soda he might have got some very
instructive information. The Messrs
Hazard are largely interested in the manu-
facture of soda by the Solve process a
Syracuse, n. r., and have been very anxious
lately to prevent Congress from reducing th'
duty on that article.