Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1890-07-26

roads main line. This plant viii be
the largest OF tho kind In the world and
its erection is necessary to supply the
demand for plate glass The Pittsburgh
company, whose output last year was
about Is, 900, 900 feet, Is still working on
orders received last year, and 10 behind
on its contract ut that, so that 1t Is con-
sidered that the future VI the trade In
America is full of promise"
Put those two facts together and they
become extremely interesting-the Sem
ate committee bolstering up an indus
try at the same time that single FAC
tory OF that industry Is clearing almost
81, 600, 900 year, and when that indus
try is carrying on negotiations with En-
glish capitalists in order to form trust
and add still further to their enormous
profits!
Tariff making is verify . curious
game!
We imported last year Sl,11S,4ss
worth Of plate-glass, not including Sill
vered plates for mirrors. In other words,
our importations were but slightly In
excess Of the net profits OF this single
Pittsburgh establishment. The high
tariff on plate-glass crushed out several
years ago the last OF the foreign houses
In New York which imported 1t; and
the Senate comes forward with its hum
bug pretense of increasing the duty in
order to give more effective protection
to this thriving American industry.
This Pittsburgh concern. which is the
largest plate-glass establishment in the
country, cleared S4H per cent. on its
capital. With the existing tariff, which
gives it IA per cent. protection on tse
large sizes, 1t is not remarkable that
high profits should be realized. What
is remarkable is that the Senate coIo-
mittee should offer to pamper this rich
and promising concern by granting adj
d;tional protection. The regularity
about tariff makers is that they never
know where to stop. 1t is no wonder
that We sometimes hear the more eau
tious protectionist say: ''Our people
are carrying this thing too far"
But this dispatch contains another
statement which is worthy of attention.
The writer of the dispatch was evident
ly protectionist, for he put the follow
ing observation into it: Until few
years ago very nearly all Of the plate
glass used in America was imported and
was sold at about $3.50 foot. Now the
home manufacture has grown to such
degree that importati6hs have ceasea
almost completely and the price has
come down to G5 to 90 cents a foot, &C
cording to trade" which means, what q
glorious thing protection is!
The point he wants people to see Is
that plate-glass has fallen from $3.50 q
foot to G5 to 90 cents as the result Of
protection.
But was it protection?
The Treasury Department reports
that last year 5000, sO7 square feet Of
''unsilvered" e. pol.shed-plate glass
was imported and that the total value
of it was $685. $40, which is slightly less
than 33 cents a square foot
Now if the tariff reduced the domestic
: 1898 AIOLl CAsC O - lOOJ W w " OU OChUoS
what was it, pray, that reduced the price
Of the foreign glass?
This dispatch says there are nine
which it is proposed to COM
bine into this trust, and that their total
output is $4,000, 900 feet. Let us take
the writer's statement OF the cost of
this glass as from 65 to 90 cents a square
loot, and it would seem that an average |
cost of IS cents foot would be very
estimate.
What, then, on this basis, does the |
output of these nine factories cost the
country? SIS, 100000.
Now. making the liberal estimate of
'3H cents as the price OF foreign plate
ylass laid down in New York, what then
would the same quantity cost the coun-
,ry? $500, 600.
That is to say, difference Of more
han $40, 900, 600 year.
Query: Is the country any better of
1y having those nine glass factories?
LngersOll Not nm Orthodox Pr0tectIonlst.