Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-06-05

Men-Home and Foreign Prices-what
Labor Gets-Enormous Profits for the
Manufacturer.
1t is announced in the trade papers
that 1.-The Pittsburg Plate Glass COM
pany, Of Creighton, Pa, have increased
their capital stock from 5000, 900 to
$780, 600. this being found advisable by
the enormous increase in the business.
They have works at Creighton, with
monthly production Of 100000 square
feet of polished plate glass; works at
Tarentum, with monthly production of
10000 square feet, and at Ford CITY,
with monthly production Of 250, 900
square feet, making a total monthly out
put of 100000 square feet Of polished
plate glass"
A little calculation will show how
much 1t costs the country to protect the
Plttsburg Plate Glass company. Protec-
tionists boast how protection has brought
down the price of domestic plate glass
from $50 per foot to an average price
OF elghty-hve cents per foot. Accepting
their figures, the total price of the 500, 900
square feet made by the Pittsbu1g COM
pany per month would be $4,000. Our
glass companies do not work all the year
round; but allowing ten months of
work for the Pittsburg company, it
would have a gross income of 81 go, 900
per annum.
Now the reports of the treasury de-
partment show that the plate glass i'm
ported last year was invoiced at slightly
less than thirty-three cents per square
foot At this rate the ten months out
put of the Pittsburg company could be
imported at a total cost of 81, $50 900, a
saving of S2,600,000 In other words,
the consumers of plate glass in this coun-
try are compelled by law TO pay a trib-
ute of S2,600.000 per annum to this sin
gle company over and above the cost of
the same quantity of glass imported and
laid down in New York Or if this con-
Germ should work twelve months in the
year, the price of its total product would
be s., 100, 900. of which 5000, 900 would
represent the extra tariff price
The high protection on plate glass,
equal to al per cent. on the largest
sizes, shows itself in the yearly dividends
Of this Pittsburs concern. In 1899 its
dividends were 34s per cent. as ties ified
IN court by one of the company, ard its
shares, with par value of $780, are now
worth 500.
Notwithstanding the high profits hitch
this company Is making by virtue of
high protective duties, il does not for
that reason pay its labor any higher than
non-protected labor. In no industry are
the hours of labor longer than in this,
and IN none Is the work harder And
yet while these manufacturers charge
for their glass all that the tariff will al
low, the wages of the workmen are lower
than those paid to laborers anywhere
else in the United States for work equal
~ difficult and exhaustive and requiring
equal skill.
The manufacture of plate glass is d.
v1ded into four separate and distinct
processes and departments:
The casting hall, IN which the glass Is
cast and the rough plate rolled
The grinding of the rough plate with
sand.
The polishing of the plate by the use OF
emery, rouge and felt.
The cutting and preparing of the I'm
ished plates for shipment
The most difficult and severe labor is
performed in the casting hall, but in
grinding and polishing the greatest skill
is required In the following table the
wages of the most important wSrkmen
only are given. A days work is from
ten to twelve hours, more usually the
latter, especially in the casting hall:
CASTING HALL