Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1891-10-01

| country Tor CallIOrnla TIN enough TO
roof Mr. Sternberger's barn had re-
vealed the fact that there was none to
be had excepting 100 pounds at Chicago.
Presumably those two pigs were the
Chicago lot.
| Asked to explain the process of Amer
lean tin-making, Mr.. Hicks said: "Well,
that pot is full of mixture of two
parts of lead and one part of tin. We
Just take the steel plates and dip them
in the pot and there we are. Oh, 4ts
simple enough; anybody can make tin
plate"
"But how about the cost of it?"
TIN MAKING STILL AN EXPERIMENT.
"Well now. that's just what we are at
work on. You see," Mr.. Hicks went on
in his frank fashion, "of course this is
all an experiment. We are just trying
tile thing to sec what we can do at it. II
we can't make any money ut it We'll
drop 1t quicker'n lightning. This, that
we are making now, is just for flyer,
| you know, and we are using all Amer
lean material. When it comes down to
business, of course we will buy the
imported tin to work with if we can
| get 1t cheaper, and guess it will come
about two cents pound less. When we
know what it's going to cost us" Mr.
Hicks went on, 1--WE can tell whether IL
will be worth while TO put in mills for
cold rolling and other machinery. You
see" he continued, his franllness in
creasing with each sentence, 1--WE can't
lose much, ii anything, because if we
don't succeed we can use up the tin in
our galvanizing business, and them"
with an air of most engaging abandon,
he remarked, 1--WE don't care We'd Just
as lief spend as much as 81 900 just to
find out we can't do it,"
HICKS Amt GOT NO TIN PLANT.
After such an expression of business
muniiicence there remained nothing for
the reporter to do but ask to be taken
back to the town. "Certainly, certainly
said jovial Mr.. Hicks, "and I'm going
to take you right to these Democrats
that are doing all the talking, and tell
them to say what they please to you. |
want you to have both side Of the story"
Which promise he proceeded to carry
out literally, introducing the reporter
to Mr.. Kieter, Major Sternberger and
numerous other eminent Democrats, who
laughed and joked with Mr.. Hicks
while he stayed, and when he went
away, with one accord, they winked the
other eye and remarked: "Say, there's
nothing the matter with him. We all like
Hicks, but he amt got no tin plant"
ALL POLITICAL MOVE.
"And he never intended to have one"
was an addition Editor Smily of the
Ddtly Leader, made to this general
opinion. "lle told me himself that it
was all a political move. The Leader is
Democratic, but we are on good terms
with Mr. Hicks, and we want to en-
courage anything for the good of the
town, so when he told us he really was
going 10 start making tin we gave him
first-class notice. Then when the whole
thing came out we took him to task for
having deceived us. He acknowledged
that he had not used lis right, and said
he was sorry for it, and he owned right
up that he didn't expect ever to make
any more tin. 1t was only a piece of
politics" he said.
TRIES TO BEG OFF ON THAT ROOF.
I'm doing nothing" said Major
Sternherger, except going on building
my barn. OF course | want to have q
roof on it and the corrugating company
have contracted to furnish tin for il.
Their time is not up till October 1st, and
l have nothing to say till then. Hicks
stopped me on the street the day after
the contract was made and said he sup
posed | understood it was all q Joke.
| told him it would not he any joke for
me If did not have roof for my barn.
Two or three times since he has init
mated that he would like to call the bar
gain off, but am going to have that tin
or make him own up he cannot make it,"
1.-The only reason | got hot about it,"
said Mr.. kiefer, lis that that company
was given its plant by the people of
Piqua, and don't think they have any
right to use property given them by the
public to play political tricks with.
What they call tin is only sheet iron
with coating mostly of lead on it. The
black rubs off of those badges as
though they were tinfoil. The whole
business is fake and fraud on the
public"
"THE WORLD" REPORTER SUMS UP.
Both sides having thus been given, in
accordance with Mr.. Hicks desires, it
may be remarked as q sort of summing
up that the investigation of the World
reporter, conducted under the personal
supervision of Mr.. Hicks, show that the
Cincinnati Corrugating Company has
no tin-plate factory in operation or even
in immediate CONCENTRATIONS that it has
no facilities whatever for the manufac.
ture of tin-plate as commercial enter
prise; that il has never made or at
tempted to make tin-plate, but only
terne-plate; that its terne-plate is not |
cold-rolled, and therefore not as good as |
the imported article, even if properly |
made otherwise; that the so-called tin |
plate making has been only few ex-
periments OF the crudest possible nature; |
that these experiments, so far as they |
have shown anything, have shown that |
the Cincinnati Currugating Company |
cannot manufacture terne-plate as good |
as the imported plate at all, and cannot
manufacture any terne-plate except at
cost considerably above the market |
price, even with the tariff added.
ALL A DELIBERATE FRAUD.
Any pretence that tin-plate manufac-
ture of any sort as a commercial enter
prise has been begun here is deliber-
ate fraud on the public, and Major Nc
Kinley, unless he visited the works
blindfolded, must know it to be so and |
must be purposely lending himself to
the deception when he asserts, as he
does in all his speeches, that he has per-
sonally witnessed the manufacture of
tin-plate at the Piqua works.
Finally, great deal may be done
with rolling mill, melting pot, 100
pounds of tin and sufficient patience and
industry, and Major Sternberger may,
therefore, get u roof for his barn accord
ing to contract, but any hope which the
rest Of the country may entertain of
being able to roof itself under Ameri-
can made tin in the immediate future is,