The Forrest City times., 1891-06-12
TIN PLATE PROMISES.
THE INFANT INDUSTRY OF THE
 M'KINLEYITES.

Brilliant Promises and How They Have
 Been Kept-Four Tin Plate Mins-whae
 the Tin Plate Tax VIII Cost-Figures
 and Facts to Consider.
 The large and brilliant promises of the McKinleyites last year as to the rapid development of our infant tin plate industry have not been realized. What those promises were may be seen by the following extract from the speech of Congressman Bunting, prominent canner of New York State, at the recent meeting of the National Canned Goods Packers Association at Chicago. In speaking of the canners' hearing before McKinley's committee in March, 1890, MT. Bunting said:
 "Our unanswerable arguments were offset by the most flattering predictions and promises concerning the future of domestic tin plate. The Chairman of the committee MT. McKinleyl vcntured the assertion that before the law went into effect, July l, 1891, American tin plate could be bought cheaper than the foreign plate was then selling, and that in the interim the consumers of plato could buy the foreign article as cheaply as ever. Mir. Bayne, member of the committee, professed himself entirely willing to take orders for future delivery on that basis. Mir. Bayne lost his tenn per in an effort to show that within thirty days after the passage of the bill, forty factories on bass of millions each in capitalization would be under mining the Welshman at his favorte pur- suit of making tin plate. The prediction of Senator Allison that thirty reputable firms engaged in tho iron industry would within thirty days put up timing stacks and manufacture tin plate was flung at us for our composure.
 Now, how have these fine promises been kept? The Metal Worker, a promi- nent trade journal, entirely in sympathy with the effort to build up the infant tin-plate industry by the high Mckinley duty, has just collected all the informa- tion available as to the new tin-plate works; and all it can find, which are &C., tually engaged in making plates, are just four, with four others in course of erection. Of one of the most preten- tious concerns now making tin-plates- that of Norton Brothers. in Chicago the Metal Worker says: 1t will take con- siderable time for them to develop their tin-plate plant to a sufficient extent to meet their own requirements.
 It is learned from different source that another of the four mills. ex-Con- gressman Niedringhaus' St. Louis Stamp ing Company. does not offer any plates for sale, the entire output being used by Niedringhaus in his own establishment and in sending specimens around to Re- publican banquets and conventions and to the offices of high tariff newspapers
 Meantime, what is all this tin plate noise costing the country? Our entire imports last year were 674, ,ooo,o pounds, valued at SEQ, TAG, 900, or 1-10 cents per pound, and paying a duty of S6,746, GOO. The Mckinley duty on the same quantity next year will amount to sl4, s22,o 900. But our imports this year will be considerably above 500, GOO, 900 pounds, and the Mckinley duty on an equal quantity imported after July l will amount t6 SIT, GOO, 900.
 A high tariff paper, the Boston Com merciaJ Bulletin, calculates that it will require 2so mills, with capital of from s4, 500, GOO to S5,oo0, GOO, to make all our tin plates, The consumers are there fore to be compelled to tax themselves S1T,0oo,000 a year in order that few capitalists may find a place to invest S5,00o, O0O.
 Are we not going to pay too much for our tin whistle?