The Indiana State sentinel., 1891-04-15
CROCKERY GOES UP.
The Mckinley Law Causes 40 Per Cent. Ad-
vance Cannon Goods.
rBoston Racord.l


Boston Record
The following circular has been sent
out:
AND YELLOW WARE MANUFACTURER
EAST LIVERPOOL, O., Feb. 10. 1891.
To the Trade:
At general meeting of the Association of c.
C., r. and Y. w. manufacturers, held at Wash
ington City, Jan. u. 1891, the executive CON-
mIttee instructed TO put into eject at
such date as they deemed proper the following
changes in the American standard price-list,
viz:
c. c. ewers and basins. 9s, to be listed at
$3.50 per dozen.
{. c. ewers and basins, 12s, to be listed at
Sl1 per dozen.
C. c. ewers only, 9s. to be listed at 81 per
dozen.
C. c. ewe.s only. 12s. to be listed at So per
dozen.
c. C. basins only, 9s, to be lisetd at S6 per
dozen.
C. c. basins only, 12s, to be listed at $3.50 per
dozen.
Therefore, in accordance with said authority,
we have Fixed the second day of March when
the above prices are to 20 into elect, and no
orders tor these articles can be accepted after
that date at Old list prices; neither are MEM
bers allowed 70 accept orders IN the meantime
for more than the current wants of their pa
irons, so that the new prices may be enforced
impartially. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
The effect of the change which has been
made in the list prizes of these common
white and yellow toilet articles has been
to increase their price over that OF last
year by about 10 per cent. The combina-
tion which fixes these prices is in the
nature of trust, and has the American
, public completely at its mercy, except so
far as it is held in check by foreign COM
offa IF Iel< 1pla a
administrative bill, which was passed last
June. and which went into effect on the
| lst of last August, was TO impose heavy
duty on cartons, crates, boxes, sacks,
and coverings OF any kind, which in cheap
crockerv is an item OF no slight import
ance. In fact it has been estimated that,
on the average, the imposition of the
| present duty on these crates and cover
ings, which were imported free of duty
from 1873 up to the 1st OF last August,
| adds TO the price of the imported article
substantially 10 per cent.
1t is this advance in protective duty
that the American crockery combine has
taken advantage of in putting up the
| prices of its commodities to the Ameri-
| can consumers aud pocketing the tax.
This was no more than was to be expected.
The entire theory of the Mckinley tariff
is that it will enable American manufact-
urers either to increase or hold their prices
far above the normal level and, if the
! crockery combine succeeds in exacting
every penny of advantage that our gov
ernment laws will permit, its members
| can say that "they are merely living up
to" those theories that the majority in the
! Fifty-frst congress so sedulously ex-
| pounded and embodied in the form of
| statutes.
OF course this advance makes no special
| difference to the crockery dealers, except
in the limitation that it may impose upon
their trade by decreasing their Gales on
account of the greater price. Following
| the action of the executive com mittee of
the association the retail dealers have
| merely marked I'D their prices and it is
the consumer who has to bear the load,
which is in this way shifted from one per-
/ son to another. We pointed out some
weeks ago one curious way in which this
! transfer of the tax was made by which
| the increased cost of chinaware caused
! the patrons of one OF our largest restaur-
ants to pay cents plate more for soup
than they had previously been asked to
! give. But in the case of these common
! toilet articles, the pitchers and wash
bowles that are found in every family, the
extra price must be paid or those who
| would like to have them but can not af-
ford to buy them will be compelled to go
without. While we do not attribute this
to the second Mckinley law, because there
was no distinct change made in the pre-
vious statute by that enactment it is au
act of the Fiity-first congress embodied in
| the administrative law. and is part and
parcel OF the same shrewd device OF grant
| ing to certain favored American manufact-
urers an opportunity to put up prices
without fear of serious competition, and
In this way greatly enrich themselves.