Los Angeles herald., 1891-06-18
THURSDAY. JUNE 1s, 1891.
THAT TIN PLATE HUMBUG.

In0r6 Is something very SWSoI dnu III
sinuating about the way the Chronicle
and other Republican journals in this
state, and the leading Republican news
papers in the east, are talking about the
great benefits to the tin industry which
will result from the Mckinley bill. The
HERALD has heretofore pointed out the
fact that that famous measure, which
was ostensibly intended to stimulate our
productive industries, in no whit en-
courages the American miner who seeks
for tin in the bowels of the earth. The
only protection accorded by the McKin-
lev bill is to the manufacturer of tin
plate, whose staple is largely steel or
iron, with thin casing of tin. which he
is allowed to import free of duty from
whatsoever point abroad may please
him best. With Major McKinley's sup
posed devotion to American industries
it might have been thought that
he would have made provision
for the protection of the American
tin miner. But the Ohio Napoleon (O
knew his masters, and he was devoted
to their will. He was bowling down to
the Pennsylvania iron baron, while os-
tensibly encouraging new industry.
The Chronicle, the other day, made a
great parade about the arrival in that
city OF consignment of tin from the
Temescal mines, which figured up about
seven tons in all. That journal failed to
state that this harbinger of what we
hope to see developed into great indus
trial movement, is left to struggle along
utterly without protection while the
iron masters of Pennsylvania have al
ready made complete preparations to
fleece the consumer.
There is a good deal OF humor in the
way in which our Republican contem-
poraries are discussing this great and
growing interest which, if it shall take
on anything like life. will be built up on
importations of foreign block tin. They
are ingenius enough to invent many ex-
pensive plants which are being erected
for the manufacture of tin plates, with
the hope that, under the dust thus raised,
the giant steal, made under the cover of
enormous duties, may pass unobserved.
The American people have SO long sub
mitted to being robbed that it is COM
placently assumed that the preliminary
robbery of two or three million dollars
will excite no comment. Factories for
the manufacture of tin plate are going
up like magic, according to these au
thorities. We have already drawn a
picture of the single Welshman and
two small boys who embody the great
Niedringhaus plant in st. Louis. All
the other visionary establishments are
even less substantial than this west ern
enterprise. But the HERALD may possi-
bly, not be accepted as authority on this
branch of the Mckinley tariff. We
therefore quote from the Chicago Trib-
une, leading Republican paper which
occasionally dares to be honest, and
which says, under the heading, Lies No
Longer Profitable:
"This paper would be glad to see the
manufacture OF tinplate started in this
country. But if it is to become an
American industry, it wishes that men
would quit lying on the subject, and go
to work and turn out commercial tin
plate, and offer it in the market so that
American consumers can get hold OF it.
This has has been a case of great cry
and little wool since last September. One
single quotation of American tinplate in
than all this talk about million dollar
Ict 10 hr 1+o ta1 in po1t IN,
some Indiana village. Where are the
starter towards meeting the yearly de-
mand of about 350,000 tons?"
Here is a Republican journal that dis
dains to fib about the matter, and
which does not propose to prostitute its
functions of a great journal towards
buttressing selfish and Bourbon Re-
publican policy. Far different is it with
our esteemed contemporary of the
Golden Gate. The Chronicle assumes
that its readers cannot see through the
thin veneering of protection to Ameri-
can industries which lies over the Nc
Kinley bill like the slight coating OF for
eign block tin over the Pennsylvaniairon
and steel, which form the great bulk of
the tin plate which will be made, if
made at ALL Here is the best statement
our San Francisco contemporary can
make for our tin producers under the
Mckinley bill:
1t will be of interest in this connec-
ton to see what the new tariff law pro-
vides on the subject of tin, not tin
plate, which is only iron or steel coated
with tin, but the metal tin itself. Sec
tion 1856 of the Mckinley bill puts tin
ore, cassiterite or black oxide of tin and
tin in bars, blocks, pigs, or grain or
granulated on the free list until July l,
1898, but this is modified by section 209,
which provides that on and after July l,
1898, there shall be imposed upon tin in
the forms mentioned duty of four
cents per pound, provided that unless it
shall be made to appear to the satisfac-
tion of the president that the product
of the mines of the United States shall
have exceeded five thousand tons OF
cassiterite and bar, block and
pig tin in any one year prior
10 July 1. 1896, then all inn
norted cassiterite. bar. block and pig