Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1890-10-04
A SUGGESTIVE MEETING

n SUGGESTlNE nd EETINt.
At the city of Swansea, which is the
very center of the great tin plate manu-
featuring industry of Wales. there was a
meeting short time since which must
be humiliating TO every true American
aid which is startling suggestion of
the line Of good policy in the United
States. 1t was meeting of the tin plate
manufacturers. over which Sir John
Jones Jenkins presided. 1t was held in
response to the following notification:
LLANELLY, Aug. 20, 1s90.-Dear Sirs /;
At the request OF Messrs. Rowland Ma
claran, Joseph Nayberry, Sir John j.
Jenkins, Ernest Turbshaw, Daniel Ed
wards, and few others, | beg to re-
guest your attendance at meeting at
the Mackworth Arms, Swansea, next
Tuesday, the 26th inst, at 2 o'clock p. NJ,
to consider a matter Of vital importance
to the tin plate trade.
Yours faithfully,
J. ii. ROGERS,
South Wales and Cwmbwria Tin Plate
Works.
Now, let the Iron and Steel Trades
Journal. Of London, August 80. tell t5e
story of this meeting of British tin plate
monopolists, who find in the United
States the rich market for over 20 per
cent, Of their total products of tin plate :
Here we should state that although
Mr., Rogers letter guardedly avoided all
mention of the actual business to be
considered, and although the proceed
ings were private, is was pretty well un-
derstood that the American tariff was
the matter Of vital Importance" to be
considered. Some members of the trade
who fear "the worst |. e that the tin
plate duty will be doubled-are still able
to see that in the interval between the
passage Of the bill and its coming into
force the American buyers would leave
no stone unturned in their efforts TO buy
up and land all the plates they could
possibly purchase. II was the hope Of
some that an arrangement might be
come to, so that in the event Of the bill
passing buyers might not have things
all their own way. IL the bill passed.
and came into effect forthwith, many
months would elapse before the mills
could be erected and got to work i'm the
states capable Of supplying even small
percentage OF the needs of the market
Some members Of the trade seemed dis
posed to adopt retaliatory measures, by
fixing large profits. which, plus the duty,
would make box of plates rather a
costly commodity.
In the face Of this authentic statement,
which is made by the organ Of the tin
plate monopolists, there will be Ameri-
can free trade organs that will ridicule
the proposition that those monopolists
have their secret conclaves, and when.
ever their interests require it they com
bine TO raise or lower prices. Here
they are preparing to fix prices to suit
their selfish interests. Suppose it were
attempted. without protecting duties, to
build up the business of tin plate manu-
facture in this country, American capit-
al and enterprise would be confronted
by the relentless monopolists that met
at Swansea few weeks ago.
There is no conjecture about it. In
1893 when these same British monopo-
lists we're selling tin plate at Si2 the at
tempt was made TO operate two tin plate
mills at Pittsburg. Those mills had
hardly got their product on the
market before the British monopo-
lists put the price down to $3.50,
and the American mills had to shut
down in 1875. By 1879 the British
monopolists had the price back to 50
and $40. Then the American mills
started up again, and again the British
monopolists put down the price below
the cost of production, and the Ameri-
can mills soon closed again. Once
more the British monopolists put the
price back, and 1t is over IS to-day.
1t was the British monopolists fight
ing for the American market, aud they
could well afford to lose millions of dol
lars to prevent the establishment Of the
tin industry in this country. for once es-
tablished ii would reduce the price to
the consumer and be impregnable to
the assault of the British rival. The
pending tariff bill causes commotion
among the British tin plate monopolists
for the very reason that it will make
futile the cut-throat tactics which
1t has so often and SO successfully adopt.
ed during the last fifteen or twenty
years.
The democratic paarty sustains the
British monopoly. 1t is opposed to any
action on the part of the American
government which will tend to break
the British monopoly. II holds that Il
is none ofti.- business Of the govern,
ment 10 inquire whether its tariff plays