Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-10-26

and, both in manufactures and com
merce.
We add, also, because it is worthy of
careful thought the following article en-
titled, "The Story of the Bessemer Steel
by Hon. David A. Wells:
"This story, although often t'..ld, en-
braces, nevertheless, some fasta that are
rot generally known and which cannot
too often be repeated to the American
public.
Tin 1857, Henry Bessemer, an English
''an, discovered a new process for maxi
ing steel. AS far as the product was con-
cerned there was not much of novelty in
what Mr.. Bessemer accomplished, for
just as good, and even better steel was
made, and maze abundantly before. But
the great merit of Bessemer's discovery
was that it made cheap an article most
essential to the progress of civilization,
which was before dear. And the whole
world rejoced in the result, as one of the
great achievements of the nineteenth CEN
fury. We say the whole world, but we
are mistaken; the United States apparent
ly did not rejoice, for portion of its peo-
pie, after waiting until the new discovery
had been proved a success, and so avoid
ing participation in the loss and expense
that is always incident to an experiment
in manufactures, went to work to neu-
traize the benefit of Mr.. Bessemer's dis
covery, by depriving it of its special
merit-namely, cheapness. And they
succeeded in great degree in so doing,
by inducing Congress to impose a duty
of nearly 100 per cent on the import of
all Bessemer steel imported from Europe
and then augumenting the price of all
equal or nearly equal extent. 1t is also
to be noted as a further part of this his.
tory, that the persons who sought and
obtained from Congress the power to tax
to such an enormous extent the people
and interests of the country who desired
to use the new steel-the railroads more
especially in the first instance, and thel
all who used the railroads for freight anC
travel-had previously acquired by
purchase at very low price the exclu
slve control of the patent granted to Mr.
Bessemer in the United States; and tina
they then, after being thus doubly forti
fled against all possible competition a
home or from abroad, formed a compan,
or ring, of some eleven associates, an,
refused to allow any other persons to en-
gage in the manufacture of the new steel
except on condition of paying to tn
American owners of the patents a royal
ty so large as to be practically destruC
tive of all profit to all outside parties.
$50 the business outside of the opera
tons of the eleven associates has not un
til very lately been in any degree extend
ed. But now that some of the origina
patents have expired, few other partie
are beginning to engage in the bushes;
The American people, however, by res
son of the tariff. are paying all the sam
: as before for their Bessemer steel, @
about double the price paid by the peopl
of other countries, their compeers i
wealth and civilization.
"And how much does the tax at preser
amount to annually? Let us see. Th
domestic production of steel rails for tn
year 1880 was 954, 400 net tons; the i'm
portations were l5S, 230 tons. indicating
domestic consumption for the year of
liz, 500 tons. The average prices of tn
American product for the year 1880 wa
SCI The average prices of Besseme
rails in Great Britain for the same perio
were between f6and e. or from $50 to SO:
1t is, therefore. clear that the full poun
of flesh-S2S per ton-which the tariff a
bought and used in the United State
during the year 1880, and that this incrt
ment of price in consequence-whic
was tax on domestic consumption
amounted in the aggregate to S3l ,l55, 23(
Thirty-one million of dolars... Truly
big sum! A sum so large that the min
is unable to take its measure except b
instituting comparisons, or find out no,
much the same number of dollars wi
buy of some other commodities. Let Us
therefore, as a help to mental compreher
sion, institute some of these tests or con
parsons. Thus if man were to attemI
to count this sum at the rate of dolla
a second, it would take him more than
year, working twenty-four hours day
or more than two years at twelve hours
day to do it. 1t represents more tina
three times the net ordinary expenditure
of the entire federal government in til
year 1880. and more than half the ordiI
AIRY expenditures of the government du
ing the last year of Buchanan's admins
tration. The fishery business of til
great lakes is an extensive and laboriou
branch of domestic industry, giving en-
ployment in 1880 to $3.50 men, and SUI