The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1891-12-03
PRICES OF PLATE GLASS.
A FALSE PROTECTION cLkla Ex-
POSED.

FOSED.
where tie Price OF Plate Glass Fell Erirst.
The Downward Course Of Prices IN
Fraso" Before we Began to Ianufact-
urc-D Domestic aad Foreign Prices Now.
The high tariff papers Of tire country
are az present making great ado over
the plate glass industry. which they
claim. Is a triumph Of protection. They
are constantly asserting that it was bot
until TIE industry was established in
this country that the prices Of pla-e glass
began to fall, and they are very fond q
comparing the prices which prevailed
from 1870 10 1872 with those 1t which
the glass is sold ROW.
How careful they are not to say any
thing about tie real cause Of the high
prices which prevailed during the for
mcr period. France Is the most ilap5r-
tant center for the industry IA Europe,
and it Is from France that nearly ali
our imports Of plate glass have come
During the Franco-prussian war IL in
dustries were shaken up, and the drain
Of recruits from the workLnen for the
armies caused a great Use in wages.
For the same reason the prizes Of ma
terials rose, which, taken in connection
with the heavy taxes and expenses incl
dent TO manufacturing industries in war
time, caused an abnormal rise in the
cost Of production, and hence the price
Of glass.
1t is just IS logical, therefore, to com
pare the prices u wool during war time
and now us IL IS to compare present
prices Of plate glass with those ruling in
1872. The average price Of Ohio wool
in New York in January, 1860, was
ninety-six cents to $t.02 erpouud. The
present price is thirty-one cents per
pound. Behold the effect Of a high tariff
OF course sIch . comparison IS abu-d.
but 50 IS that made by the high tariff,
papers on plate glass.
History tells rs that in 1899 the Count
ess Of FCiQua exchanged an estate for a
single mirror Of plate glass. Only three
years later a yard Of plate glass sold in
England for IS 12s., or *32.11.
How absurd is the statement of the
papers that plate glass did not fall in
price until the industry became estab-
lished here IS shown by the following
figures, which are for plate glass sold by
the st. Gobain plate glass works Of
France:
raIcrs PER SQUARE FOOT.
s9sso.- !pce,s- So ~ 30; 5 5 5 81:
This does not show that prices were
kept up until We began to make plate
glass. On the contrary, the prices have
steadily fallen. Only during the past
decade have our manufacturers been
able to produce enough glass to affect
the market
The duty on tie sizes Of plates now
imported are twenty-five cents and fifty
cents Per square foot, and our manu-
facturers add the duty to the price Of
the glass they make, thus enabling them
to exact this amount from the consum-
ers. That the domestic manufacturers
do add the whole amount OF the duty 10
their glass is shown by the fact that,
while the small quantity Of plate glass
imported last year IS valued in the treas
my reports at slightly less than thirty
three cents per square foot, the domestic
manufacturers sell their output at an
average Of about eighty-ive cents. Thus
the domestic manufacturers are able to
declare enormous dividends on waterei
capital, and last year the Pittsburg
Plate Glass company declared q divi-
dend Of 81 per cent.
AT the same time that the nnanufact-
urers make these enormous profits they
pay the lowest wages Of any industry re-
curing skilled labor. The highest wage
they pay their workmen for twelve
hours work is three dollars Der d2v.
This amount is earned by the master
teasers. Other workcnen receive as low
as $1.25 per day for the same number Of
hours. They are enabled to keep the
wages down by importing contract Is Dor
ers in spite Of the contract labor law.
The real causes Of the fall in the price
OF plate glass are the use Of machinery,
which makes possible cheaper produc-
ton, and the greatly increased demand
for plate, which in turn makes possible
production on 4 large scale.
The true effect of the duties upon
plate glass, therefore, is to make posi-
Bile the combinations among the manu-
faeturer5 to keep up prices and keep
down wages. 1t is impossible to evade /
the duties SO that the prices they fzcan-t
not be cut. But they succeed in evad- I.
ing the contract labor law 50 that they
have practical free trade in labor. Thus .
on the one hand they make consumers
pay more, and on the other force their
workmen to accept less for their labor.
These are the true effects Of the high
duties. and, being such, tariff rcformers
are perfectly cauceatel to let their Cd
have all the glory that they can
make out of them.