The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1891-10-22
THE Age OF TRUSTS.
How They Rob Laborcrs and Squeeze
Consumers.
THE GLASS TRUST.

! ported that fifty Belgians reached Eos
toria last night over the Baltimore
Ohio road, coming direct from Belgium
to work in the different window glas.
houses in this section and there i.
much Indignation among native work
men concerning the manner in which
the Belgians succeeded in getting here.
-(Press Dispatch-)
COMPETITION AND THE M'KINLEY BILL
THE BASIS.
CLEVELAND, o., April Is. 1S91.-The
Mckinley bill is working ont its legit
innate results The duty on window
glass plus the heavy duties on packages
has given manufacturers so wide a
margin that combination and eXtor.
ticnate prices are possible.
Several months ago the window glass
factories of Pittsburgh, Findlay and
other natural gas centers undertook
the formation OF trust under the name
of the American Window Glass Co, and
patterned closely after the Standard
Oil Trust. Tie object was to maintain
prices at point where large profits
would be assured. Several large fac
tories refused to join at that time, and
since then the screws of competition
have been put on harder than ever, and
prices have been cut until the obstinate
factories are glad to secure peace.
A meeting of all window glass manu-
facturers has accordingly been called,
to convene at Chicago April Is, when,
it is understood, there will be no OBJ
iections from any factories to the
formation OF an iron-clad com bination,
as contemplated before. The meeting
will have q very important effect on
prices, and, if the trust is formed as is
confidently expected now, material ad-
vances are certain.-(Press Dispatch.)
Under the protection of an ad valorem
rate of duty Of 80. So per cent, imposed
on foreign window glass imported,
home competition in the manufacture
and sale of glass is easily throttled.
The average duty on all other glass
than window plate, was 0.2S per cent
On plate glass, such as is used in store
windows, the rate rose to 152.94 per
cent.
There are eight plate glass factories
In the United States. In 1850 they en-
ployed $50 men, women and children.
apd in 1880 these work people each
earned the princely sum of about SS05,
less than dollar day. These people
received work and nothing more and
their wages were no greater than labor
commands elsewhere. They received
none of the benefits of the high tariff
duty, because they sold their labor in
absolute free market under the open
competition of the world On the
other hand their employers sold their
glass in highly restricted market with
the competition of the world cut off by
the high tariff duty, and domestic COM
petition was killed by the combination.
H. c. Depauw, of New Albany, Ind,
rolled up $4,000. 0a0 in less than
twenty years. The 100 per cent and
more of protective tariff on imported
glass gave him a monopoly of the home
market and he used that power not to
elevate and dignity labor, but to make
himself rich.
1t is said that the profits of the Pitts
burgh Plate Glass Co. are $1,000. 600
year. In lawsuit last year the fact
was brought out that this concern
cleared 34X per cent. on its capital in
1889.
In the face of these facts the plate
glass men were given higher protection
tl.an they had under the old law. Be-
sides the increase of duty from s cents
a foot to S cents on the smaller sizes,
the Mckinley customs administrative
law, which went into effect August 1,
1892, allows nothing for breakage, and
compels the payment of duty on the
boxes and all costs on the other side
for packing. transportation, etc These
additional charges amount to from 10
to 20 per cent of the extra protection
for the domestic manufacturers 1t
seems to be the purpose OF the tariff
q living chance, but to insure them
profits which will make them willing
and liberal contributors to the cam
pa gn funds of the party.
The Philadelphia Telegraph, repub-
tcan and protection paper arraigns
the Window Glass trust and the Nc
kinley bill ss follows:
Now, with the aid of enlarged du-
ties. they (the trust) are free from for
eign competition; they can make the
prices pretty much what they please,
and the buyers must pay them; and to
keep them up on this article of univer-
sal consumption, they have only to re-
strict production-which they do We
can see, under the circumstances, that
this is an excellent encouragement for
the manufacturers; but we can
not SO clearly perceive how it helps the
public, all of whom must buy window
glass at largely increased price; or
how it benefits the glass workers, Of
whom there are now larger number
idle than at any time since 1855. We
have not heard that those who are still
permitted by the trust to work get
higher wages than formerly; and Sec
retary Cake says that, owing to the
closing of their factories. great many
get no wages at all The truth is that,
as measure of benefcence to either
consumers or workmen, the Mckinley
bill is one of those mysteries which no.
body can find out; as beneficent meas
ure to trusts and monopolies that it has
created or fostered, there is no mys-
terry about it. For them it is a mighty
fine bill, and they know it."
AS the republican Telegraph truth
fully admits, 1t is fine bill for the
trusts 1t is class legislation in the
most offensive form The operations
of this one trust would justify popu-
lar uprising against the Mckinley tariff.
But when we add to it a hundred and
one other tyrannous impositionE, the
aggraration tecomes intolerable.
According to Carroll D. Wright, COM
missioner of labor statistics. the aver
age wages of glass workers in this
country in 1860 under the low tariff
were 81. 9s per day. In 1899, after twen-
ty years of high protection on glass,
they were Sl.79, decrease of sl.17 per
day, or 70 per cent Depauw, protected
BY duties ranging from so to $50 per
cent, rolled up fortune within these
twenty years, while the laborers EN-.
ployed in the glass industry saw their
wages shrink from g.. 96 day to S1.Te
Examine the report of the republic
an tariff commission of 1883. on page
1889, and see how the beneficiaries OF
the duty on glass love the American
workman, any other time than when
they need their votes. The following
is the testimony:
I'm 1878 the master Of the glass
works at New Albany. Ind, sent an
agent to Belgium. who made CONTRACT
there with the idle glass workers for
their labor at fifty cents box, one