Daily Republican., 1890-05-28
Tho Dinner Kettle argument.

According TO the utterances OF our
Democratic friends the tax on tin
plates Is an intclerable hardship 10 the
poor laboring man who carries mis-
dinner with him in a tin kettle. To
read their distribes and wailiDgs over
the matter wo would be justiliable in
coming to the conclusion that the
larmers and laborers arc irretrievably
ruined by this onerous tax on tin. We
are under obligations to the expert
Erithmetician who has gone to the
rouble OF ciphering this thing out aud
has compared the cost OF Tin unlensils
under the old and under the present
proposed tariff law. Cur expert has
Iaken sixteen different articles, such
ls are found in most loust holds, from
pint cup TO a large wash boiler, and
he has found that the difference in
ccst on the entire lot is % 3.S cents.
This is enormous oppression, is it
no,Y These sixteen articles embrace
We should suppose nearly every inlag-
lnable tin utensil used in well con-
aucted families. The pint lin cup
would possibly cost five cents aud the
largest wash boiler Sl50. There
would be wash bowls, straincls,
buckets, milk cans, dippers, cake
cutters, possibly tin teakeitle, ladies'
md dippers, in all amounting u some
where about S. or So. and the whole
lax on them would be less Than %
cents. To carry the calculation a
little farther it will hardly be too big
stretch to say that these utensils
~ F,rd ,ar s,.,..
years, In which case the tax per an
mum would reach The enormous pro-
portions OF about IL cents.
Now let US see how much the work.
mans tin dinner kettle argument is
worth. A dinner kettle can be bought
from 20 cents up to 10 cents, according
10 its arrangements. The average tax
on these Aettles would be about / !,
cents, and as a kettle well taken care
pf would last lhIee years, the tax per
hnnum On the poor NorkEgmau
pressed to the earth aud the life
uqueezed out OF him by the lugeratiil
Tariff would be about o II or<a5t quite
halt cent u year.
We have no disposition 10 reflect in
The least upon the erworkingmen, for
The writer OF this article belongs to
that class himself and often carries the
dinner kettle. but, in all scrlousnt ss,
we would ask If this Democratic ap.
peal 10 the workingmen is not DENT
gogical in the extremely We believe
that workingmen themselves Will pro-
nounCe it so.
But, were there not compensatpg
advantages tor this tax on imported
lin, even the small tax OF Il hail eenl !.
year on the dinner-kettlc could not be
justified. The tax ie !or the purpose
ui shutting out foreign manufactured
linware and 10 encourage It's mGnni9c-
lure here al home. aiace the tariff On
tin plates was removed some five yeais
ago, the manufacturing OF tinwarc
ceased in this country and went bodily
over TO Wales, where labor was
cheaper than here. Win labor in tbs
country reduced in lrica 10 level
with the wages paid 10 The Welsh
men, women nnl c illiln engaged iu
the tin factories, the Manufacture ol
ln could have been retained here
What howl would have gene up
from Democratic ttroats had The ldau-
ntacturers OF tinware attempted to cut
down the wages OF their employees TO Il
level with the wages paid in Wales.
This, OF course, could not be done
and SO there WAS he ether ulteinaiiv,
left than to accept the situation une
let the Tin industry 20 across the At
lantic for the benefit OF Welsh insteae
OF American workmeu, Pho pcudlns
tariff is TO bring that industry back /,
this country. twill employ two hun
--dfed tA1a.antt Amelitan WUramon
1t will invest tn million doi.ara Q
capital. 1t willepen ~ larger hon.
ma ket teI The farmer. IL will can
tribute 10 making times better a
around, and American families WI
not object to ID cents tax year Q
their lin utensils tor that purpose, nj
the workingman to his halt cent
year tax On his dinner kettle.