Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1891-07-25

M'KINlEYiSM IN KNIVES.

How Prices Have Advanced eetings OF
the Knife Manufacturers Trust in New
York-They VIII Reap What Mckinley
Sowed-The School Boys Twenty-Five
Cent Knife win Disappear.
When the McKin ey law was passed
It was pretended by the protectionists
that it was not intended to increase the
prices of any American made goods,
but only to enable the manufacturers
to hold the home market against for
eign competition and at the same time
sell their goods at the old prices. Even
to this day it is asserted that no adj
vance in prices have been made by do
nestle manufacturers in order to take
advantage of the higher protection
given them by Mckinley
| This claim is unfounded The makers
of pocket cutlery, for example, have not
"lived up to the tariff" by maintaining
old prices, The representatives of the
American Pocket Cutlery association,
or pocket knife trust told Mckinley
that the effect of the large increase of
duty they asked for would not be to
advance the price of knives to the final
purchasers" but they have been in
dustriously engaged in raising their
prices abroad ever since the tariff law
went into effect
A large wholesale merchant of New
York, one who handles both domestic
and foreign knives, was seen several
DAYS ago and gave an interesting ac-
count of how the pocket knife manu-
facturers are putting up their prices.
There are" be said, about twenty
FIVE manufacturers of pocket knives in
this country, most of them in New
York state and Connecticut and they
are nearly all members of the Ameri-
can Pocket Cutlery association. Soon
after the Mckinley law was passed the
association began to have frequent
meetings in this city, and these meet
ing have taken place every week or
two since.
THE manufacturers have been over
hauling their price lists very thorough
! ly at these meetings. The different
members of the association were taken
In turn and each summoned to appear
before the association at the st. Deni,
hotel in this city with full line o.
samples of his goods. On appearing
before the meeting he would be asked
to show his knives and give the price:
at which he had been selling
them. In most cases he would b,
directed to mark up his prices, but no
always. Suppose, for instance, the as
sociation had settled upon So. so dozel
as the price of given grade of knives
If any manufacturer had been selling
this knife at So 80, he would be ordered
to put the price up to ss.75; but If hi
had been getting S4 for it he would b,
told that he might keep that price o
reduce it to IS. rs, as he chose"
At this point the speaker reached TO
large book in which were pasted hi
bills of recent purchases from tn
factories.
Selecting three-blade knife, whicl
has had large sale in the west, h
turned the pages and read off tn
, prices he had paid for this knife sine
last year.
"Here is a domestic made knife" h
? went on, (which we were buying unde
the old tariff law at S4.a5 dozen. o
October 1s II was advanced to IS. 20; /
January to So: and we are now buyin
1t at S6,7O. AT the old price It retaile
, for IS cents; now the retailer will nc
be satisfied with less than 81"
Here is another, No 1901, cheapt
knife. A year ago we bought tn
knife at S. 10; on October IS the pri,
was raised to sS 80; in January to $40
and in June T. s4.4o That knife WI