Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1889-01-31
TALKS ON THE TARIFF.
THE TIMED PLATE ISSUE AS TYPICAL
CASE FOR PROTECTION.

THE TIMED PLATE ISSUE AS A TYPICAL
CASE FOR PROTECTION.
New York Press.
The Boston Adoertiser tells a good
deal of what people want to know about
the timed plate issue in the following
tariff talk:
"An immense amount of the tin plate
is used in thousand ways. The buSi-
ness of supplying this country with tin
plate is very large one, employing
many Welsh mills and thousands of
skilled wOrkmen. Both from its i'm
portance and from its magnitude it is
such an industry as we should properly
delight to have in our own country. We
are the largest consumers of this article
in the world, and we have often paid
tribute to foreign monopoly or trust,
as such combinations are SO often call
ed, among the Welsh manufacturers.
At times also exceedingly poor plate has
been sold throughout the country. Do
nestle competition would correct those
evils, and while there might be an in
crease at first this competition would
proportional decline in steel rails, where
we have domestic competition, has been
appreciably greater in the past ten years
than the proportional decline in tin
plate where we have had no domestic
competition.
"Tin plate was successfully made in
this country under a protective tariff
several years ago; but Treasury ruling
removed the protection in the first years
of the new industry. 1t is an iron work
ing industry, the plate being sheet iron
coated with tin. Formerly Wales had
the advantage of us in her rich tin
mines, but they are now inadequate to
the demand, and we could import tin
from the Straits of Malacca as well as
the Welsh manufacturers. The new in
dustry would give employment to 100,-
600 people within two years time. 1t is
so closely allied to two kindred branch
es of iron working that our manufac-
turers could successfully take hold of it
Immediately. 1t would employ some
thing like $30,000,000 capital and pay full
ly 81, 100000 in wages. Our imports of
tin plate are to the value of nearly $20,-
100000 annually.
aside from the outlet it would give
to surplus labor in the iron industry,
this industry would call for the con-
sumption of $4,000 tons of iron ore,
100000 tons of limestone, 100000
tons of coal, 100000 tons of pig iron,
100000 bushels of charcoal, 100000
pounds of lead, 25,000,0O0 pounds of tin,
n r1e. Of fol
feet of lumber, 100000 pounds of sui
phuric acid. We have made no men
tion of the effect the establishment of
this industry might have in developing
our Western tin mines.
mo one who believes it to have been a
wise move to establish the steel rail indus
try in this country by protective tariff
car logically withhold protection from tin
plate, while in comparative Importance
tin place is not so far beneath steel rails
as manyimagine. We now beat the world
on steel rails and imports have almost
ceased. In ten years from the leyying
of protective duty on tin plate we will
outstrip the world, both in quality and
eheapneSS, and rest content with only
such protection from cheap foreign Ia
Dor as the laboring classes in our eOun-
try must always rightfully ask"
Tin plates are iron or steel in nearly
SO per cent. of their composition, need
ing only coating of tin equivalent to
2 per cent. of their weight to convert
them into tin plates. Pending the de-
velopment of American tin mines, pure
tin in all its forms is admitted duty
free. England imported $4,000 tons of
metallic tin to exc out her home pro-
duetion of 9,282 tons last year.