Hopkinsville Kentuckian., 1890-10-31
STEEL RAILS.


Report of Carroll ID. wri.h Commissioners
of Labor-Lsbor Cost In Ton of steel
Rs!Is-Comparativ Cost In This Country
md Europe Protection Not In the In-
terest of the workmen-So Profits.
Under the existing law the tariff duty
on steel rails is si7 ton. In the Me-
Klnley bill, as it passed the House. this
was reduced to slS A ton, and in that
bill, as reported from the Senate Finance
Committee, it was st IL further reduced
TO Sll. 20 a ton. On the basis OF the i'm
portations for the year 1889, these duties
amounted respectively to ~, 81 and AZ
per cent These figures should be care
fully noted.
Now the men for whom Congress thus
kindly legislates should be able to give
some good reason why such favors
should be shown them. What have
they to say for themselves?
The whole story OF protection to steel
railmakers-as to every one elso-is
that the cost of production is so much
higher in this country than it is in
European countries that our manu-
facturers can not successfully compete,
even in the home market with the
cheaper foreign goods, unless the Gov
ernment helps them out II it were
not for the tariff, so 1t is ar
gued, we should be flooded" with i'm
portations OF ''pauper made" stuff. our
own manufacturers would be beaten out
Of their home Market and they would
have to shut up shop and turn their
workmen adrift Therefore we must
maintain our industrial defenses."
That 1t is believed, is perfectly fair
statement of the protectlonist position.
Pushing the inquiry little further, it
Is found that the chief reason why we
can not manufacture so cheaply as they
or abroad is that the rate Of American
wages is so high. We have the best
machinery and the most economically
organized mills in the world; we have
an abundance of raw material; there is
no scarcity OF fuel, and in Pittsburgh
natural gas Is used; but the great
trouble is that labor costs so much And
surely you would not, say these great
men, have US depress wages in order
that you may have cheaper rails. We
can beat the world making rails, but
we feel that the American work.
man must be paid sufficient wages
to enable him to maintain his indie
pendence and solf.respect The tariff
makes it possible for us to do this 1t
puts us on an even footing with the for
eigner, 1t is meant so the phrase goes
to 'eq ualize conditions" Thus 1t is
that we get back the excess that we
have to pay in wages over and above
what the Englishman pays
So 1t comes to the question OF labor
cost, and we have some very valuable
information upon that question in a re-
port prepared by Mr. Carroll D. Wright
the Commissioner of Labor, on the cost
of production of pig iron, steel ingots,
steel rails, etc. 1t bears date July l,
1890.
On pages "a and 35 Of this report the
facts are given about steel rails. Two
establishments are taken in the North
ern district in the United States, seven
in Continental Europe and two in Great
Britain. 1t appears FROM this table that
the cost of making one ton Of steel rails
in the first American mill (the estimate
is made on eleven days running time,
during which l. $50 tons of rails were
produced) is S24.79, and in the second
it was S2L6s. OF these sums 81. 81 and
81. 3S represent the labor cost That Is,
the whole labor cost Of making ton OF
steel rails In these two mills. And it
does seem that duty OF SIT, or s13 "A,
or even sill 90 is considerably more than
enough to cover the margin between
Sl.54 (the labor cost here) and any less
amount abroad II the foreign manu-
facturer gets his labor for nothing, no
would only be Si.54 better off in the ton
than his American rival. And SO duty
of 81. "a ton would be ample to equal
lied" labor cost
But this foreigner doesn't get his la
Dor for nothing. In the seven Conti-
mental establishments thelabor cost per
ton is as follows: 81 O4; s2-51; s404;
PASS; So. 90; Ss97; ss.0L
That is, in every instance, except the
first labor costs more than 1t does with
us. So tho margin. instead OF being
against us, is in our favor.
In the two English mills the labor
cost per ton is S254 and Il. 80.
1t should be clear from these figures
that an exhorbitant steel duty is not
necessary on account Of great labor cost
and 1t should also be clear that it is not
in the interest OF the wage-worker.
One other fact In this connection: Tho
Same table shows that the total cost of
tuakin9 d ton Of steel rails IL between