Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-10-29
A SAMPLE CASE.
How tho Tariff Increases the Cost eE
Carriages and Wagons.

How tho Tariff Increases the Cost ss
Carriages and Wagons.
The carriage and wagon industry OF
the United States may be considered to
be fairly well established. We not only
make our own, but furnish carriages to
every civilized nation of the earth.
England herself buys annually of Us more
than a quarter of a million dollars,
worth Of wagonA while her possessions
in Australia invest 800, 900 more with
us on this account. But our export
trade is but 1.-THE of what it would be
with free raw materials, and with better
facilities for shipping, such as we might
have If there were no restrictions upon
shipping or commerce. The carriage
and wagon manufacturers begin to
realize this themselves, all but one of
them Republicans and Democrats alike).
in Cortland, n. Y, the carriage center
of eastern United States, signed petit
ton protesting against the duties on
material proposed by Mckinley. But
the major was deaf to their appeals, and
increased the duties on many materials
for carriages.
The duties on materials for carriage
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS broadcloth, plush
corduroy, etc.-increases the cost of q
$75 carriage about g.. Not a yard of
corduroy is made in this country, and
the greater part of the broadcloth used
has been imported at about 100 per cent.
duty. A leading manufacturer of Cort-
land says: "Over $780, worth of
cloths are used in this place, seven
eighths of which until recently has been
imported. Not thing that goes into q
carriage is untaxed by the tariff except
lumber, which is also probably higher
because of the tariff"
The duty on carriage hardware Is 45
per cent. 1t serves no purpose except to
enable the National Association of Car
rage Hardware Manufacturers to keep
up prices, which it raised materially
when it was organized few years ago.
Nearly all wheels are purchased Of the
Wheel trust. The duty on iron and steel
adds something to the cost of these and
also to the cost Of axles, many of which
are made of imported steel. 1t is safe to
say that the cost of carriages is increased
10 per cent. by tariff taxes. What an
impetus would be given to both our
home and foreign trade if prices could
be reduced 10 per cent.
There is no doubt that our heavy
duties on Canadian imports causes re-
taliatory Canadian duties on imports
from the United States. These duties
are SO heavy on carriages and wagons
that some manufacturers have branch
factories in Canada and others contem-
plate building there. They will, how
ever, do this under protest, for with bet
ter facilities and more efficient labor
they can manufacture about 10 per cent.
cheaper in the United States than in
Canada.
The Canadian tariff is about $50 on a
800 carriage and $40 on $40 cart. OF
course our manufacturers pay these tar
if taxes and sell to Canadians at our
own home prices. This would leave
them small profits on $40 carts, but if
the tax does not come out of the man.
ufacturers pockets why should he 20
to the trouble of manufacturing in Can.
ada? The New York Association Of Car.
rage and Wagon Manufacturers fixes
prices at which certain vehicles must
be sold. These prices are strictly ad.
hered to by most firms. Profits are big
In some Of the largest firms with i'm
proved machinery and well established
regulations. One company declared 9
dividend Of 100 per cent. last year. In
spite of these profits vehicles are sold
cheaper than they can be made by hand
In small blacksmith and carpenter shops,
and factory made wagons are rapidly
supplanting hand made ones.