Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-03-17


works--They Are Thoroughly Prosper
Gus, but They Do Not Cease to Beg.
Enormous Duties Paid on GLASS.
The window glass importers of New
York, Boston and Philadelphia have re-
Gently held meeting in Springfield,
Mass, at which most of the firms repre-
sented made comparisons of their figures
to show what the average duties on win
dow glass have been during the past
three years.
The figures of eight firms were COM
pared, and the average duty was found
to have been 105 per cent. One firm
paid last year average duties of 116 per
| cent, and the lowest average was 104
per cent, the average for the year be-
ing 1886 per cent.
Duties on some sizes of window glass,
however, ran far above these figures.
One payment of 2l9 per cent. some time
| i'll 1888 can be seen ON the books of
prominent New York firm.
The figures given at Springfield were
estimated upon the cost of the packed
glass on board ship at Antwerp. But
the cost of freight, insurance, etc., is
also protection to the American manu-.
facturer, and ought rightly to be added
to the duties in making up the total pro-
| lection. These additional charges would
| change the lO5 per cent. average above
given to from 115 to 125 per cent.
Is not this protection enough?
Our manufacturers say no; and so they
have been before Mr.. Mckinley's COM
mittee TO ask for still higher duties. Do
these men want the earth? The window
| glass industry in this country is no longer
an infant. 1t is 100 years old; but iC still
| cries for pap. Our infant of a century
III its "No 10 shoes" toddles up to the
| pap dispensers at Washington and asks
for more pap and a bigger spoon.
The importers have not appeared be-
fore the committee to ask for lower
duties, for they remember that Mr..
Mckinley has already fathered one bill
which treats importers as if they were
enemies of the country, and of which
| The Boston Commercial Bulletin saws
that it is ''titter for the era of the Plan
| tagenets than for the Nineteenth cen
| turv."
| The manufacturers offer their familiar
plea that wages are higher with us than
in Europe. 1t is their old rot that every
body has become so disgusted with
comparing the price of daily wages here
| with the same in Belgium. and ignoring
| the fact that the only true basis for a
comparison of wages is the percentage
of labor cost in the total product. Let
| them make that comparison.
| But what are their figures on wages:
| Two years ago Mr.. F. l.. Bodine, presi
dent of the American Window Glass
Manufacturing association, who usually
acts as chief spokesman of this industry
before committees of congress, told the
senate committee that the average wage.
of glass blowers in Belgium were $50 Il
| 800 per month, and in the United States
S15 to $3.50. He also told the committee
that the Belgian ahorers worked all the
! year round, but that the American sea
son for glass making averaged less thar
eight months.
Let us make it eight months-and here
is the result:
| Twelve months in Belgium at Sl0O $500. 81 90
Eight months in the United States at $50. 100
And the difference is zero.
But it is a well known fact that tn,
wages of glass workers in this countr,
are kept at the highest possible point b,
the cast iron rules of the National Win
dow Glass Workers association, which
regulates the number of apprentices t,
be allowed in each factory. Too man,
young men are not permitted to leari
the trade, for Mr.. James Campbell, TIN
president of the association, knows tina
the supply of labor regulates wages
When he goes before Mr.. Mckinley
committee, however, he thinks that tn
tariff regulates wages, and accordingl,
he asks to have the duties increased
MIR. Campbelrs association keeps tn
number of apprentices so low that tn
working force of blowers actually doe
not meet the demand i'm rush seasons lik
the present, when glass is taken from tn
factories as fast as it is made. There hav
been complaints that some of the manu-
facturers were delayed in filling order
by reason of the inefficiency of untraine,
blowers put in for lack of experience,
workmen.
| This labor, too, is more than half for
eign. The Glass Workers association
although it caused the passage of tn
contract labor law, does not object to i'm
porting blowers on its own account whel
there is an unexpected demand which
cannot fill. The glass blowers who re
Gently came here from Belgium to wor
: in the Jeannette factory in Pennsylva
mia came through the instrumentality Q
that very association, coming hv differ
: ent routes and turning up mysteriousl
at their common destination.
1t is claimed by these applicants fo
higher duties, by manufacturers am
/ workmen alike, that importations O
: French window glass have greatly in
: creased during the past seven years
There has been some increase, but til
, importations last year were 5000, ,O0
pounds less than in 1885, This is show
by the latest treasury reports.
But the industry i'll America has il
creased out of all proportion to the ell
larged importations. In 1S79-s0 we ha
only GAG pots in our factories; this seaso
there are ,29e.
The window glass men are the las
men who should ask for increased dutie
at this time. Prices have recently at
vanced 30 per cent. for French windo,
glass. Furthermore, our glass industr
is in u most tiourishing condition. Price
have advanced, the factories are keI
busy, ami at the recent meeting of tn
Western Association of Window Glas
Manufacturers at Pittsburg it was sui
ject of fcongratulation that the best brand
of American glass are now displacin
foreign glass in the eastern markets
Why should there be still greater protes