The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1890-11-05
and declare tho bill. as whole to be an

They tell the mechanic that because
the duty on tin has been raised that
everything in that line will Immediately
be advanced to that extent. Because n
tariff OF Pa cents has been put upon
nails made from wire, they would have
us believe that in very little while we
shall pay cents a pound, by the keg,
instead OF pa, that we now are paying.
Yet they all know better, or ought To.
The manufacture of wire nails is of
recent origin, and the industry has pros
pered beyond all precedent, yet the price
has been remarkably low. The duty
that is now imposed Is simply wise pro-
lection. Capital has been largely In
vested, machinery perfected, trade
worked mp, and the popularity OF the
nails established. Now that the article
has been invented its value shown, and
the price brought as low as they can
proiitably be furnished for, does any one
desire To see foreign manufacturers
adopt the idea, and by means of their
pauper labor destroy so promising an
American industry? Not by any means,
and the tariff is safeguard, but not
burden.
We are told that 10 per cent increase
In duties means an equal advance In the
price Of goods. If that be true what
host OF milionaires Nebraska and Kan
sas will have by spring. The advance OF
8 cents bushel on corn, In these two
states, would bring nearly SS,000,0O0.
Fifteen cents bushel on barley, 81, 000,
900 more. Potatoes, at 10 cents adj
vance, about a quarter of a million, and
SO on. Such a statement is, OF course,
ridiculous, yet il is exactly the sophistry
nd dol hat IL hninn "a al
the country by opponents to the Nc
Kinley bill.
In the matter OF tin, American manu-
facturers have been handicapped from
the start. English syndicates have con-
trolled the principal mines and have
handled the bulk of the product. When
ever il has suited their purpose TO raise
tho price they have done so, and when
ever it has seemed advisable, from policy
or necessity, 10 reduce IL a little,
that too, has been done. 1t
has now become known TO GER
tainty that tin can be mined in this
country in llmitless quantities. With a
margin for protection of only l cent per
pound, however, our capitalists have not
been willing TO risk much money or
time in the development of tin manu-
features, because they could be easily
frozen out during the years of begin
nings, by foreign competition. But the
increase i'm tariff has changed the con
ditions Congress has finally given TO
this industry the same sort OF encourage
ment that has been extended to others
of our great material interests when
they were too feeble 10 stand alone.
Never in the history OF legislation has
there been such an awakening OF in
terest in particular direction, as the
additional duty Of 2-l0 cents per pound
ON tin and tcrne plates has brought
about, 81, 00O,0 To be invested in
Baltimore, $1,000, 900, in Chicago and
the Mckinley bill only three weeks on
the market
We are told that farmers are oppressed
by the tariff on machinery; that reapers
and plows, and things of that sort, are
sold abroad for half what they have sold
for here. Is the tariff responsible for
! this condition Of things? Not by any
means. Manufacturers sell their wares
! for cash 10 dealers abroad, and il is GER
| tanly true that the same class Of dealers
i'm this country can buy them at equally
low prices. The difficulty lies in the
manner of sale. Machines are shipped
from factory to distributing agent,
where they are handled at considerable
expense by an agent Of the company or
a wholesale dealer. In either case a
profit must be made. They go from
these distributing stations, after being
| three times handled. 10 a local dealer or
| agent i'm some smaller town, where they
| are brought into contact with the
| farmer. This dealer has margin of
! from % TO 40 per cent. profit, and when
| he sells, In nine cases out OF ten, he
! takes note from the farmer, running
] one, two or three years, as the
case may be. For this accommodate
ton there is usually a higher price on
| the article, for in great number of
| cases when the notes come due, they will
| have TO be extended, or sued. and this
latter course, as / learned by seven years
experience in a manufacturing institu-
ton, is almost equivalent 20 a aban-
| dOnment of the claim. Farmers, as a
! rule mean TO pay their debts, but since
crops and stock are the only sources of
| revenue, payment OF notes depends upon
the outcome Of the seasons work. Ii
may be satisfactory, but IL from any
cause crops are spoiled, or cattle fail,
then extensions Of time on obligations
must follow. All these operations cost
| llOlltls ~ Nlldb INC ulltItuCt DtlNttU
what the farmer ultimately pays for a
reaper, for instance, and what the man
ufacturcr actually receives. is at least
equal 10 the discount 10 dealers abroad.
Sewing machines that are sold at retail
for from $40 to So apiece to the user,
can be purchased in quantities from
manufacturers at from SIS TO $50. II
the tariff was removed tomorrow from
many OF the articles produced i'm this
country, the difference in price would be
| scarcely perceptble. / have said that
when an industry reaches that point
where it can cope with any competition
tariff should be removed from that par.
ticular interest, but | am nearly con
WINGED, now, that il is better TO let il
remain as safeguard. while home com.
petition, one manufacturer with another,
is accomplishing what we all desire-re-
ductiOn of prices.
Only few years ago Administer car.
pets were worth 50 yard, and were all
handmade. An adequate protection en-.
cOuraged not only American capital but
American genius, and before very long
an American had invented machinery tC