The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1891-09-24
A PLATE GLASS JOKER.

A PLATE GLASS JOKER.
HOW THE HUMoRIsT FINDS 4 M'kIN-
LEY INDUSTRY.
The Plato Glass Factory 81 Irwin. Pa.
Wonderful Effect Of tho Mckinley Law.
A Troublesome Little Comparison u
Prices.
Ex-Congressman r. q. Horr. Of Michi.
gan, writes to the New York Tribune an
enthusiastic description Of the new plate
glass factory at Irwin, Pa. He celebrates
the opening Of the factory as a protection
list victory, and especially as a victory Of
the Mckinley law. "This new factory"
he says, lis the direct result Of the pro
visions of the Mckinley bill That wise
measure advanced the rate Of duty on
this kind of glass 30 as to provide for the
enormous difference In wages here In the
United States and the wages paid for the
same kind of work in the Old World"
This is an amusing statement, when It
is remembered that the Mckinley law
leaves the plate glass duties precisely as
they were in the old law, except that
on the very smallest size, 10 by Is inches
or less, the duty was raised from three
cents per square foot to FIVE cents. The
statement that this increase caused the
building of the Irwin works is all tho
more worthy of the Michigan humorist,
when it is learned that our imports OF
plate glass 10 by Is inches or less in 1890
were valued at only sci ,s14, while our
imports of larger sizes reached $s95, 200.
If even the increase from three to five
cents on the smallest size Of plate glass
should guarantee to the Irwin factory all
of the sci 900 worth Of this size imported
last year, it would appear little difficult
to explain how this small matter could
call into being an enormous establish
ment covering five and half acres, hay
ing q capital of 81 ,OOO. 600, and "a capac-
ity for manufacturing each year /, $780,
600 feet of glass;" Mr.. Horr in his char
acter of wag may have put some hid
den point to this joke which other people
cannot discover.
Filled with protectionist exuberance
over what he saw at Irwin, the ex-con-
gresham branches out into some gen.
eral statements concerning the plate
glass industry and what protection has
done for it. He says:
"Since our plate glass factories began
work in the United States they have con-
stantly been driving the price of plate
glass down, SO that now q purchaser can
buy better plate glass, made in the United
States, for seventy-ive cents per square
foot than could have been bought when
the manufacture OF it began in this coun-
try for $2.2J per square foot"
But he does not state that while his
domestic plate glass sells ut seyenty-five
cents foot, the average price of foreign
glass last year, not including duty, is
given in the treasury report at thirty
two and one-half cents foot, and that
people are thus compelled by Republi-
can tariff laws to buy Of the domestic
manufacturers and pay more than two
prices for their glass.
Mr.. Horr says that this Irwin concern
will make 100000 feet Of glass per
annum at seventy-five cents . foot.
This glass then will cost the country
1887 500. But if the consumers could
buy the same quantity of foreign glass
it would cost them, exclusive of duty,
only $iOG, $50. The extra tariff cost Of
this concern to the country will there
fore be $43l go. which is certainly a
rather neat little sum for a single pro-
tected establishment to take out of the
consumers pockets by our system Of
private taxation. Is not an industry Of
this kind positive loss to the country
rather than a gain?
After Horr makes snch false and fool
ish claims for the Mckinley law and its
effect on the Irwin factory, it is not
singular that he omits to state that that
concern has been built largely by Eng
lish capital. We put a tax on plate glass
which makes prices to the American con-
sumner more than double European prices;
then Englishmen invest their money here
to get part of the tariff spoils, and our
McKinleyites fancy that they have built
up American industry"
Another fact escapes Mr.. Horr's atten-
ton. There are not enough plate glass
workers in the country to supply the de-
mand of the two or three establishments
recently built, and the manufacturers
have been trying to persuade the authori-
ties at Washington to permit the impor-
tation of European pauper labor" 1t
is also well known fact that number
Of these 'pauper" plate glass workers
have come over here within the past
year.
And that is how the McKinleyites pro-
tect american labor"
Protection is put forth as defense
Of American interests" As only five
persons in q hundred, however, are in.
Ill n. ~