Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-04-16

the McKinleyites made it appear that
they were reducing the duty. In the
wire schedule the duty on one of the
sizes of wire used for strings was re-
duced from p cents a pound TO 2l cents,
the other size being left unchanged.
But at the end of the wire schedules a
paragraph was added placing a duty of
- per cent. on all iron and steel wire
worth more than four cents a pound.
Now piano wire is worth from thirty to
forty cents pound abroad. Thus the
old rates of duty, equal 70 an ad valorem
of II per cent. on smaller wire and Il
on the larger sizes, give place to a As
per cent. rate, which means increasing
the rates over 800 per cent. on the finer,
and over 200 on the coarser wire. Where
the piano manufacturers paid p cents
a pound duty under the old law they
now pay over eight cents, and where
they paid three cents they now pay over
twelve cents
The kind of wire used for piano strings
is made by one or two establishments in
the United States, the most important
of which is Washburn & Moen, who
control important patents and were the
chief movers in the formation of the
barbed wire trust. Just as soon as the
Mckinley tariff went into effect the
price of music wire was raised. Dealers
at once changed their lists, and wire
which cost the piano manufacturers fifty
cents per pound before the Mckinley
tariff went into effect now costs them
seventy cents per pound. The circular
of one of the manufacturers announcing
the advance bears date of Oct. -. 1890,
lust one week after the Mckinley law
went into effect.
Another part of the piano affected by
the tariff is the action. or machinery for
transmitting the strokes of the finger
from the keys TO the strings. The old
duty on piano actions was p per cent,
and under it the business of making ac-
tions expanded greatly, there being now
twelve establishments engaged in the
manufacture Of them, one of which
makes 10000 actions year. But the ac-
ton makers wanted an absolute Inonop-
DIV. and so went 10 the Mckinleyites and
succeeded in getting the duty put up TO
As per cent, though they asked for 80
per cent. The smaller piano manufact-
urers do not make their own actions,
and they protested vigorously against
the increase of duty. They said in their
petition TO Mckinley's committee:
The undersigned pianoforte makers
of the United States would protest
against such an advancement Of duty as
being unjust, obstructive and fatal 10
the piano making industry Of this coun-
try. There appears TO be no good reason
for higher rate of duty on pianoforte
actions, since the manufacturers of this
article in tins country have been highly
successful. having made large fortunes
within a comparatively short time under
the present protection duty. To raise
the duty on pianoforte actions would
simply mean TO create monopoly for a
| few action makers at the expense of
| hundreds of piano makers"
The action makers INDUCED in the
usual rot about protecting labor, and de-
! clared that they would be compelled to
| reduce wages were not their demands
| granted. Just as soon, however, as the
| Mckinley bill was introduced one of
| these manufacturers at once cut down
the wages of his laborers 10 per cent.
Having thus given the action makers.
/ the wire makers, ivory key makers and
| the single maker of felts full license to
prey upon the piano manufacturers, Nc
kinley made the pretense of giving these
also fair and equitable revision of the
tariff" by raising the duty on pianos
from % per cent. to 40 per cent. AS any
duty at all is a matter Of perfect indif-
ference TO the piano makers, the hollow
mockery of this piece Of McKinleyism is
I evident.