The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1890-02-28
; FREDERICK w. BAKER, Editor.
The Tariff ON Tin-Plate.

A meeting in the interest of tariff reform
was held in Baltimore, Monday night, under
the auspices of the Maryland Tariff Reform
Club The topic discussed was the tariff on
tin-plate, which the association wants remov-
ed and which the Republicans in Congress
propose to double.
Mr.. +. w. Schultz spoke on "The Relation
of the Tariff to the Canning Trade" At the
last session of Congress, said Mr.. Schultz, a
tariff bill was proposed in the Senate to in
crease the duty on tin-plate from cent per
pound to 2.15 cents per pound, the object
being, as the advocates of the bill gravely put
it, to encourage the manufacture of tin-plate
in this country.
Mr.. Schultz showed that 10 produce the
whole 100000 boxes of tin-plate needed in
this country, granting that the demand
would continue at the higher figures, it
would employ at most $4,000 people, who
might or might not be benefited, while ten
times that number or three-quarters of mil
lion people would he directly injured, and at
least one-fourth of our entire population in
directly injured. Can it be argued that this
is measure of equity Eff it is to be question
of protecting these "a, 900 people in their en-
ployment, why not adopt the simpler method
of taking the $5,4O0.O00 which the govern
ment now receives from the present tariff.
which, it is granted, the government has no
use for, and which it is proposed to be got
ten rid ofby the prohibitory tariff, and dis
tribute it among these $4,000 persons to be
protected?
"In 1850 the first canned goods were pack
ed for the market, not more perhaps than
1000 cases. In 1888 more than 750,000,000
cans were packed as quota for years sup
ply. The Senate proposes to increase the
tax upon the can, which is merely the wrap
per for the food 1t contains, from $4,000, 600
per annum to more than $6,000,000. Thus it
is proposed in the interest of $4,000 embryo
laborers to levy q tax upon the daily food of
at least 100000 people. This is tine legiti-
perfect system"
Gen. William Reynolds spoke on 1.-THE
Burden of the Tariff on Tin Plate" He
said:
"The amount of tax collected by the United
States by the tariff on tin-plate in 1888 was
about 50, 900. This of course fell in the
first instance upon the manufacturers of ar
iicles made of tin-plate, such as the roofers,
the manufacturers of cans and general house
hold ware. Probably they got it all back
eventually from the consumers, but whether
they did or not this tariff tax compelled them
to put $500, 900 more capital into their bus
iness, or, in other words, reduced by that
much the capital employed by the manufac-
turers of tin-plate. Of this $4,000 was
ers of Hartford county, Md. However, the ul-
innate loss must of course fall upon the con-
sumner of the article manufactured, and every
man who has tin roof put on his house,
every one of the 100000 of people who
consumed canned goods and every one of the
10000, 900 who used tin cups, coffee pans and
saucepans had, by paying an increased price
for the article consumed, to contribute his
proportion of the $6,500,000. No tin plate
being produced in the United States at pres
emit, all this tax went into the treasury of the
United States.
"Thus we have the monstrous proposition
that every man in the United States who
buys tin coffee pot or saucepan must pay
four cents to the government in addition to
the cost of production as bonus to enable
cOhC OtuCl ndu III L Cuucyltauld VI ciec-
where to manufacture tin-plate at profit.
Every man who uses canned goods and every
man who has tin roof put on his house must
contribute in like manner, involuntarily, to
the same object The simple statement of
This proposition is enough to show its injus-
tice."
Mr.. ]. G. Schonfarber in a short speech
said:
1.-THE increased tax on tin-plate will allow
afew manufacturers to experiment for awhile
to see whether or not they can produce tin
plates at profit, but at the same time they
have the people taxed to prevent them suf-
fering any loss by their experiments. They
make the people protect them from any
risks man would ordinarily run in purely
business venture or experiment. think an
increase of the tax on tin-plate would be
robbery, pure and simple"