Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1891-10-15
THE AGE OF TRUSTS.
How They Rob Laborers and Squeeze
Consumers.
THE GLASS TRUST.

FINDLAY, o., Sept. 8, 1s91.-It is re-
ported that fifty Belgians reached Fos-
toria last night over the Baltimore &
Ohio road, coming direct from Belgium,
70 work in the different window glass
houses in this section, and there is
much ind gnation among native work
men concerning the manner in which
the Belgians succeeded in getting here.
-(Press Dispatchl
COMPETITION AND THE MKINLEY BILL
THE BASIS
/ CLEVELAND, O., April IS, 1s91.-The
Mckinley bill is working out its legit
innate results. The duty on window
glass plus the heavy duties on packages
has given manufacturers so wide a
margin that combination and extor.
tionate prices are possible.
Several months ago the window glass
factories of Pittsburgh, Findlay and
other natural gas centers undertook
the formation of a trust under the name
of the American Window Glass Co, and
patterned closely after the Standard
Oil Trust. The object was to maintain
prices at a point where large profits
would be assured Several large fac
tories refused to Join at that time, and
since then the screws of competition
have been put on harder than ever, and
prices have been cut until the obstinate
factories are glad to secure peace.
A meeting of all window glass manu-.
facturers has accordingly been called,
to convene at Chicago April Is, when,
it is understood, there will be no OBJ.
jeetions from any factories to the
formation of an iron-clad com bination,
as contemplated before. The meeting
will have a very important effect on
prices, and, if the trust is formed as il
confidently expected now, material ad-
vances are certain.-(Press Dispatch. }
Under the protection of an ad valorem
rate of duty of 92. 3S per cent, imposed
on foreign window glass imported,
home competition in the manufacture
and sale of glass is easily throttled.
The average duty on all other glass
than window plate, was 0.2s per cent
On plate glass; such as is used in store
windows the rate rose to 1872 "a pei
cent.
There are eight plate glass factories
in the United States In 1880 they en-
ployed $50 men, women and children,
and in 1880 these work people each
earned the princely sum of about S3O5,
less than dollar day. These people
received work and nothing more and
their wages were no greater than la Dor
commands elsewhere. They received
none of the benefits of the high tariff
duty, because they sold their labor in
absolute Tree market under the open
competition of the world On the
other hand their employers sold their
glass in highly restricted market with
the competition of the world cut off by
the high tariff duty and domestic COM
petition was killed by the com bination.
NJ C. Depauw, of New Albany, Ind,
rolled up S15, 900, 900 in less than
twenty years. The 100 per cent. and
more of protective tariff on imported
glass gave him monopoly of the home
market and he used that power not to
elevate and dignity labor, but to make
himself rich.
1t is said that the profits of the Pitts
burgh Plate Glass Co. are 81, 900 900 a
year. In a lawsuit last year the fact
was brought out that this concern
cleared 3434 per cent. on its capital in
1889
In the face of these facts the plate
glass men were given higher protection
than they had under the old law. Be-
sides the increase of duty from cents
foot to cents on the smaller sizes,
the Mckinley customs administrative
law, which went into effect August 1,
1899, allows nothing for breakage, and
compels the payment of duty on the
boxes and all costs on the other side
for packing, transportation, etc. These
additional charges amount to from 10
to 30 per cent. of the extra protection
for the domestic manufacturers. It
seems to be the purpose of the tariff
makers, not only to give our glass men
living chance, but to insure them
profits which will make them willing
and liberal contributors to the cam
pagn funds of the party.
The Philadelphia Telegraph, a repub-
lican and protection paper, arraigns
the Window Glass trust and the Nc
Kinley bill as follows:
''Now, with the aid of enlarged du-
ties they (the trust are free from for
eign competition; they can make the
prices pretty much what they please,
and the buyers must pay them; and to
keep them up on this article of univer-
sal consumption, they have only to re-
strict production-which they do. We
can see, under the circumstances, that
this is an excellent encouragement for
the manufacturers; but we can
not SO clearly perceive how it helps the
public, all of whom must buy window
glass at largely increased price; or
how it benefits the glass workers, of
whom there are now larger number
idle than at any time since 1885 We
have not heard that those who are still
permitted by the trust to work get
higher wages than formerly; and Sec
retary Cake says that, owing to the
closing of their factories, a great many
get no wages at all The truth is that
as measure of benefcence to either
consumers or workmen, the Mckinley
bill is one of those mysteries which no
body can find out; as benefcent meas
ure to trusts and monopolies that it has
created or fostered, there is no mys-
terry about it. For them it is mighty
fine bill, and they know it"
AS the republican Telegraph truth
fully admits, it is fine bill for the
trusts 1t is class legislation in the
most offensive form The operations
of this one trust would justify a popu-
lar uprising against the Mckinley tariff.
But when we add to it a hundred and
| opa o+har +vrannouS imnOSitiOns the