Evening journal., 1888-09-25
Mhnt i snw NfntcrlnI.
New York Press.

New YORK lfcss.
Mr. G. B. Hanford sends the Press an
interesting tariff talk on raw M aterial.
we hear a great deal in these days of
tariff agitation about raw material, and
the benefits to be derived by having its
use unrestricted by taxes or custom
charges
Now, what is raw material2 Let us
examine the question a little, and for the
sake Of example take our, the paper max.
ing industry.
Say, for instance, that we are to
make a quantity Of paper at five cents a
pound Our three leading kinds Of stock
are chemical fiber, rags and ground wood
and represent three.ifths of the cost Of
the paper These are the leading items in
the manufacture Of our sheet Of paper
and are called paper makers raw mat
erial, but are theyl Let us see.
Chemical fiber is a manufactured arti-
Gle, in the manufacture Of which millions
of dollars are invested iii the United
States and 1t is selling to-day at $75 per
ton. 1t takes two cords Of wood to make
ton Of tiber, and this quantity Of wood is
worth fifty cents per cord on the stump
all the rest is labor, viz $74. minus the
value Of the raw material in the chemi-
mineral or vegetable, is worth less than
the wood Consequently we have in.
our fibre 81 raw material and $73 Of
labor
Ground wood furnishes MS an even
more marked Illustration, for from it's
market value of $35 per ton we have
practically nothing TO deduct but the
value of the wood before labor is put on
~, oh as. u
we all know bring practically nothing
when the housewife tries to sell them To
the junkman Hence or charge Of
three fifths in the cost Of raw material
in our five cent paper shIinks till we
practically have nothing left. What are
comprised i'm the remaining two fifths
costs of our sheet Of paperY Labor pure
and simple takes seventy FIVE points, or
threeeighths Of it.
Fuel is a good sized item aud If we
burn coal only 10 or 50 cents per ton rep
resents its value ut the mine, and even
this small sum includes some labor;
thence we find little here TO add TO our
list Of raw materials; office. selling and
travelling expenses cannot be called raw
material, neither can freight and truck
ing. Our alum, clay, starch rosin soda,
ash, bleach, lime and vitrol have little
value till the manufactures Of each arti-
Gle sets up his factory and manipulates
the crude material, or has 1t dug from
the earth Little here to add to our list
we find ourselves nearing the end Of
expenses IA making our sheet of paper,
but we must wrap cf case it. and here
again we find our wrapping paper costs
next to nothing for raw material and our
lumber is worth practically nothing till
the tree is cut in the forest, and then
labor, transportation and sawmill charges
make up nearly all its value. We use OH
for our machinery, but II Is worth little
till refined, and II II Is product of petro.
lsum Tvs value IN the well is so small
that il can hardly be discovered.
Woolen felts Of blankets are largely used
in making our sheet of paper; but here
again labor plays leading part, for in
the felt for which we pay from $50 TO $75
we find from 10 to 15 pounds of wool,
worth probably is, t0d., the price paid
for the felt, and even this small portion
includes the cost Of raising the sheep and
gathering the wool crop. We have now
covered all the cost Of our sheet OF
paper excepting the inevitable interest,
insurance and taxes, and they are in no
sense raw material.
Thus you see that in our cost Of 1--WE
cents for the paper we have been making
probably four and half is labor in one
form or another, the actual raw material
comprising a very small part, for in the
original form Of trees in the forest, coal
in the mine and wool ON the sheep 1t is
worth practically nothing until labor has
been brought into play Raw material,
so called in almost every line Of manu-
featuring is the finished product Of some
other factory, and be il chemical fibre,
starch and rosin, capital must be invested
and labor employed before it can be put
into shape TO be used by us in our sheet
of paper
Raw material Is thus misleading
term well applied to anything we use for
we use nothing upon which money has
not been paid out for labor in some form
or another.