The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1891-04-24

.
4 Prossrsion Organ on Prices IN 1854 and
lspo-The Little TIN Cap-A Piece %
Cheap sgnorHncs -wens 49, .s-s
Ishor->svtng Observation-Disclosures ssa
s.Chsspness- Again
An Iowa protcctionist paper prints
list Of prices taken from AZ ancient
book kept in Boonesborough during the
year isss.~ and compares with u cor
responding list Of prices In 1890 The
prices In the list for $500 are Of course
| much lower than in the list for 1854; and
| the protectionist organ hastcns 20 con-
| c,ude that when the prudent housewife
compares the two sets Of figures she |
| will feel that she Is willing e live under |
| republican regime and pay five cents |
1 for tin cup that in 1854 cost four times !
/ Is much" The performance ~ this
| organ Is fair sample Of the cheap and
| ignorant arguments put forth in defense
az protection BY men who know abSo-
lutclv nothing about the changes In IN
dustrial conditions affecting prices since
1854: or II they aie aware Of those
changes they ignore them and pretend
that protection Is the force which has
reduced prices
This republican editor takes tin cup
n n specimen OF the reductions which
protection has caused But the tin
plates OF which tin cups are made. are
nroducei in Wales How could our
protective tariff bring down the price
Of tin plates? The truth is that the de-
velopment of the industry in Wales has
caused the cheapening OF all the tim
ware in this country The causes lead
ing to these developments are pointed
out by David A. Wells in his Recent
Economic Changes The first cause
! was the cheapening Of tin consequent
! upon opening of mines in Australia and
on the straits" OF Malacca- The sec
J ond cause was the improvements IN the
manufacture Of iron and, owing 70 the
. invention OF the Bessemer steel process.
the substitution OF steel plates in place
} of charcoal and puddled iron plates
} The principle cause. however. i the
; great improvement in the process OF
, thinning the steel sheets. modern TIN
\ plate mill turning out every twenty -four
q hours more than double the product OF
the old-fashioned mills. without any
a increase in expenditure for motive pow
er or labor.
| Besides these changes in the method
i of production. q still greater change
1 has come in the method Of distribution
: Railroads and iron steamships have
:. revolutionized prices There were al
: most no railroad communications Re
!. tween Iowa and the east in 1854, a
: compared with the great lines Of RAPID
: Transportation to-day Mr. Edwart
4 Atkinson shows that freight charg'
4 between Chicago and New York in 1s6
Z was 8. 45 cents per ton per mile and 20
y of a cent in lss5 How this cheapenini
= Of railroad freights is still going 81
NAV be seen from the fact that tn
!, average rate on all classes Of freight o.
!. all the railroads Of the United States Il
- 1883 was 1885 cents per ton per mile
= and already in 1851 this had fallen 20
a tribe above one cent
Another enormous factor in cheaper
q ing the commodities consumed BY on
- people to-day Is the great reduction Q
ocean freights caused by the use z
=. steel and Of triple-expansion engines
\. making ocean steamers This redu'
ton can be estimated from the fact tina
- the freight charge between Liverpo'
\, and New York is now less than on
tenth Of what il was in 1860 This lov
N erinr of freights by land and water h
increased the foreign demand for IN
products Of our farmers and has thu
N tended to check the downward ten
~ encv Of prices Of these products
~ The price Of flour is given in the
~ lists as s4s41 a hundred in 1854 AZ
- sa.3i in 1890. The cheapening Of no
- even is claimed for projections; but
10 the western farmers believed this q
era protectionists would have a hard tin
y convincing them that protection Is
~ good thing for them The only way
which protection can possibly cheap
~, =. flour Is by driving our foreign g
toners to other markets
- reason of our high duti
'su on their products But as matter
n fact, the cheapening Of -four has
~ been due 50 much TO tariffs Is 20 the
ant vention Of labor-saving machineI
SO TIE grain drill for planting and
Inc self-binder for harvesting wheat !
ana diminished the labor Of the farmer
the very low point Or producing
CROP Of 1857 in Dakota IL was fou
ho- that the years labor produced >.
the bushels Of wheat per man
nds- Since the war the roller mill
was cess Of grinding -four has p
iigh introduced into this country n
re . Hungary: and now one laborer car
one year turn into fiour the $500 bu
% . els of wheat Of the Dakota man. ~
citi- the labor Of two men produces 4
and barrels OF -four in a year. allowing
well bushels Of wheat 70 the barrel
this. way. Is David A. Wells points
n 10 American -four from the fields Of
mid kota and the mills Of Minneapolis
,rtly sold in European markets ~ r
rive which arc determina,ive Of the pr
,ing. which Russian peasants Egyptian !
lah,~ and In iian ''nycts" can obtai
the same markets for similar y
rr,~n BY them on equally good
and v ith from fit TO twenty 9
PER day wages for their labor.
The chcapening ~ commodities IN
'trk- United states under protection = n
en- thing peculiar 10 this country