The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1890-10-10
BAKERS TIN PLATE.
Editor Free Press.

BAKERS TIN PLATE.
Editor Free Press
/ General Baker and his criminal lawyer Erwin,
while taking up collections to pay travelling and
| campaign expenses, are wasting their earnings
in the vain effort to convince the farmers that
they are all going to poverty flats in conse-
quence of the enormous tax imposed upon
them by the robber tariff A stranger from a
foreign land who had never seen demagogue or
heard one crate, should hear Baker make one
of his spread eagle speeches. especially when
ranting and paving the air as in thunder tones
the wrongs he suffered from the expressions OF
this Republican tariff which levies protective
duty of probably half mill on his tin dinner
plate, would be excusable for the conclusion that
| Ireland was land flowing with milk and honey
| and Russia a paradise of freedom compared
| with the United States. That the one thing
needful and altogether desirable for the peace
| and prosperity of the American people, is an
English made tin plate free of duty. The strang-
er would not know as his British neighbors do
that the Generals powers of exaggeration are
limited only by his capacity to use the
English Language, that his ambition is as illimit-
able as is his powers Of exaggeration and that
for seat in what he believes the mansion OF the
blessed 1.-THE Congress, which his free trade
Democratic brethren have so frequently tried to
convert into a bear garden very den OF howl
ing devils], che would barter all even what's
divine nor think the bargain DEAR if he could
only win. But Baker never will get there He
knows full well that since 1888 the duty on tin
plate has been the same, yet during that time all
the manufactures of tinware have steadily de-
clined in price till he now can get his little cup
and dinner plate. his dinner pail coffee pot or
wash boiler for so to 100 per cent. less than
seven years ago and the laborers' wages engaged
in the manufacture of the same have been in
creased, and the farmers products are as high
or higher now than then. Yet he is not happy;
his longing aspirations are still unattainabe,
although tinin bars, pig ore orgranulated aread-
mitted tree, and only the manufactured tin
plate, which is mostly iron or steel rolled into
thin plates and slightly coated with tin, which
until quite recently could not be manufactured
from native ores, which must be mixed with ores
imported from England, is dutiable, to encour-
age American capital to invest in the manufac-
ture of the plate now that the necessary ores
hitherto imported have been found in our own
mines. Baker is careful not to tell his friends
what the effect of the passage of the Mills bill by
Democratic Congress had upon tin plate max
ers in England. The British manufacturers
knew how much happier our American people
were when drinking free coffee and paying an ex-
port duty to Brazil, instead of an import duty to
their own government, rightly conjectured that
the free trade Democrats or the Alliance lead
ers of the Baker calibre care nothing for the
price of tin plates so that the higher cost only
swelled the pockets of their British bosses, and
here is what they sit is English you know testi-
mony, right from the st. James, London, Jour
nal:
''The passing by the United States House of
Representatives, of the Mills tariff bill, which
places tin plates on the free list, has led to q
sharp rise in the price of tin Yesterday straits
touched $50 rs Cd cash and $50 los three
months. This is an advance of Ga to els on
the figures quoted recently. If the Senate pass
es the bill in it's present form tin will command
higher prices than have ruled of late, and great
impetus will begiven to an important branch of
manufacture IN this country"
This is an old trick of the ohm Bull manufac-
tuners. They done the same thing in 1852 and
'53 when they with the Golden Club agents got
large per cent. of duty off from railroad iron
and got the price reduced from sos to $50 per
ton, closing up the newlystarted American mills
because of the more expensive labor, three
ldU6T IL WAS DSCk AGAIN. TO UIlC ora price
$65 per ton, and went no lower till wiser coun-
Gil prevailed and an American Congress who be-
lieved the American laborer as much entitled to
American protection as British manufacturer
made Iich by compelling the labori1fg man to
work for half what the American laborer did
The British tin plate manufacturers, in whose
interest Baker is SO frantically working, were
about to form trust to send their products
still higher. They believed Mills, Cleveland and
Baker would be able to hold the duty down to
1 cent per pound and the whole American peo-
pie were like them, contribute one dollar to the
revenue OF their own government, though it
would be vastly more benefcent to the Ameri-
can laborer than the government But the Nc
Kinley movement put a stop to thatlittle game.
Their leaders had more sense than their Ameri-
can series and Mr.. Rogers, manager OF the South
Wales Tin-plate Works, speaks thus to his Brit
ish brethren we take his words as quoted from
the Western Mail [Welshl by the american Econo-
mist,
year ago one OF the most telling arguments
used by those in America who endeavCred to get
the duty upon tin-plates raised was that it was
not wise or safe that such large industry as the
| canning trade shauld be dependent upon for
elgn country, where mas9erS might combine and
stop the tln-piate works and put mp prices in
sucn manner as to seriously injure the cann-
ing industry.
In the interests of both employers and en-
rloyed he hoped that nothing would be done in
| this country to strengthen the arguments OF the
protectioDists, and weaken those of their own
friends. The total exports of tin and terne
plates last year were z 400 600 boxes and of
these the United States took 100000 boxes.
What would be the result to Wales if America
were driven to make her own plates, as she now
made her own steel rails, pig iron, etc. which not
many years ago were made in this country ?
Some said that if such state of things did come
about they must find new markets. But where
were they to find them?
This too is English proof and shows how and
why English manufacturers are so deeply inter-
ested in securing free trade in America and why
they can afford, as they did in the Cleveland
campaign four years ago, when hat eontribu-
lions failed to remit a reasonable contribution
from Cornwall to pay their tin plate agents. The
total output of tin plate last year was 900 900
boxes at a cost of some S23, 100000, quite a
little item. Its production in this country it is
estimated, would afford in all it's branches 3d.
600 laborers, and add to this the families Of the
laborers, and it would create pretty large de-
mand for tee product of the farmers, as does
every new industry strrted in our country; it
increases the demand for laborers as well as for
farm products and keeps up the price of both.
Notwithstanding the tariff ON tin plates has been
the same since 1888 tinWare of all description