The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1889-07-10
4 wan Or distress.


The 'proprietors aud lnanagers
of iron working establishments in
New England viii petition the
next Congress first, that iron-ore
coal and coke shall be put upon the
free list as they were before the
war; second, that the duty upon.
pig-iron, scrap-iron and scrap steel.
which prevailed Immediately before
the war be restored, to-wit: duty;
of "a per cent ad valorem.
The reason for praying for this
change in the tariff is made very
clear by the statement which viii
accompany the petition, and which
in substance shows these facts:
Tho present duty on pig-iron and
scis,p-ii.on is S6.72 Il ton, ora uni
form ratesof three-tenths of cent
pound. This duty was imposed in
1888. In 1872 the duty on pig-iron
was $500 ton; the average price
in that year was S43.63 in gold and
the duty was equalgto IA per cent.
of the American price. The aver
age price of Scotch pig-iron was
s32.50 and the duty was 1898 per
cent. But the price of pig-iron has
fallen since, and the duty for the
last ten years has been equal to 374
per cent. of the American price
The duty for the year 1888 was a.
little over 81 per cent, of the price
of Scotch pig-iron. At the price at
present it is a little over so per cent.
This is of course practically pro-
hibitory. Pig-iron is imported-only
in small quantities and of kinds in
which the quality is more important
than the price.
The result has been nearly fatal
to the iron-working industries of
Now England, the product of which
has .dwiDdled 40 per cent. in the
last ten years, while the total pro-
duct for the country has increased
over 81 per cent. Nor is it simply
the iron works that are being slowly
destroyed. All kindred industries;
all those of which iron in any shape
are the materials, are rapidly disap-
pearing. The same statement is
necessarily true of the steel working
industries of New England that de-
pend upon very much the same CON
ditions. "The heavy mill wrighting
business" say these petitioners,
hardly exists in New England, the
old millwrights are dying off and
few are being educated to take their
places. Their vocation is gone
Our iron and steel architectural
beams, columns, roofing, gas pipes,
water pipes and sewer pipes are
made in Pennsylvania. The iron
stores and work shops in which New
England men transact their business
and do their work are built with
Pennsylvania iron, machincd by
Pennsylvania mechanics, and are
erected by Pennsylvania superin-
tendents, in accordance with plans
made by Pennsylvania engineers
Our heavy machinery is also made
in gigantic Pennsylvania foundrics
and fitted up in spacious Pennsyl-
vania workshops.
This state of things is due solely
to the tariff. There is no natural
obstacle to iron working iii New
England. The obstacles are artifi-
cial aud arbitrary. a -taxshas been
placed on raw material and on fuel.
If these were admitted to Now Eng
land ports free of tax, the iron ore
or the pig-iron of England and
Scotland, with the bituminous coal
of the Canadian Dominion, could be
used in New England to as good
as native ore, iron, and
coal are now being used in Pitts
burgh. The consumption of New
England alone would, iii its supply
support 100000 of the people of
Now England, and large amount
of labor would find profitable en-
ployment. The same is true of the
steel industries, but we can not here
refer in detail to the facts. The
duty on coal is IS cents ton, equal |
to rs per cent. of the cost at the
Canadian mine. The difference in
freight is s1.50. The effect is OBJ
vious.
"The petition for return to, the
taxes imposed before the war is
based on tho fact that one party
now controls both Houses of Con
gress, and revision of the tariff is
to be expected. The demands of
the petitioners are just. The argu-
ments by which they are sustained
are convincing, we may say, over
whelmingly SO. But the petition. is
hopeless. 1t may do good by caus-
ing discussion. 1t will not be
granted. Revision of the tariff
may be made by the Republicans,
but not reduction. That is praeti-
cilly impossible. The men whose
privileges the party is asked to re-
strict are the very ones whose
money has bought the Government
for the party. That tells the whole
story. Justice will finally be done,
but not the Republicans"
At Snrinp Valley TIIinois tho