Iron County register., 1891-01-15
RESULTS OF M'kiNLEYISM.

RESULTS OF M'kiNLEYISM.
Effects OF Republican Control in the Heus.
OF Representatives.
Since the Republican Congress aae'
last December, three tendencies have
been noticed IN all commercial and RAJ
dustrial affairs.
En- the first place, the prices of all the
neeessaries of life have been advanced
Second. wages have been declining.
Third, money has been so scarce as tc
threaten widespread disaster.
The result of all of these influences
has been noticed in the returns from
the commercial agencies relative to the
failures for 1890. In his message to
Congress Mr.: Harrison undertook to re-
buke the people for their discomfort
with the Mckinley bill. and to sustain
his position he patched up lot OF
figures including a period of thirty
days, that is for the month of October,
1890, and from these reports he con-
cluded that there had been Il larger
business in the country, conducted
upon safer basis, because of the fact
that there We're 800 less, failures for the
month of October. 1890, than for the
same month the preceding year, with
liabilities diminished by $4,000, O00.~
If the President, will take the report
for the entire year he WIFI find that
since October there has been such an
increase in the number of failures as to
wipe out the October gain and show
for the twelve months an excess of
twenty-five compared with. 1889, and a
remarkable increase in the aggregate
liabilities. The total number of fail
ureS in this country and in Canada for
1889 were 10, SS2: for $780,, 10, ,9O7: an in
crease in the number of. fixtures of
twenty-five The liabilities for 1889
We're S14S, 900, 600; for $780, S1S4. 600, 900,
the largest amount since 1884. This, is
a very significant exhibit, showing that
the Mckinley bill, which it, was urged
would inaugurate an era, of unprece-
dented prosperity, has operated in, ex-
actly the opposite direction. tt pro-
duced a condition of affairs that almost
precipitated panic three months after
the passage of the bill, and swelled the
losses from failures in 1889, the first year
of Harrison, to the figures, of 1884, the
last year of Arthur.
But while the country has y-extraor-
dinary eXertions avoided a financial
crash, there has been no check in the
advance in prices. Imported goods and
the products of the American mills are,
with the exception Of iron and steel, be-
ing advanced slowly but steadily month
by month as the old stock produced or
under the old law becomes
Unfortunately, this advance in prices
is not accompanied by an advance in
wages. On the contrary, every days
report brings accounts of reduction in
wages from one end of the country to
the other. A dispatch from Pittsburgh
under date of December 80 says.
''At conference of the Off cials of the Anal
gamated Association and Carnegie. Phipps &
Co., of the Homestead steel works, the selling
price OF billets for the ensuing three months
was fixed at S27 per ton. Under the sliding
scale adopted two years ago this will reduce
the wages of the 1900 employees of the Home.
stead mills over 10 per cent.
''The iron furnace propretors in the Mahon-
ng Shenango valleys held meeting in Youngs-
.own, o., and resolved that January 10 they
will close down their furnace; Indefinitely.
rwenty-three furnaces were represented The
operators claim that owing to the high railroad
ariffS and the present cost of coke they are un-
lble to continue work except at heavy loss.
The coke operators recently reduced the price
If coke twenty-five cents per ton. hoping to as
list the furnace men, but the latter insisted
ipon a greater reduction, which the coke manu-
acturers claim they can not concede."
It will be noticed that the price of
steel billetS" has been fixed at point
% call for a reduction in wages of 10
Der cent, whereas the duty. about S13
S the same under the existing as under
he previous law, with this distinctions
n place of 45 per cent. ad valorem, there
las been specific rate upon the lower,
trades of steel.
The advantage to the manufacturer is
hat the tariff does not decrease, even
when prices decline.
It is to be noted that the wages of the |
are upon a sliding scale
s prices decline their wages fall: but 1
he manufacturers were shrewd enough |
o get into Congress and have this slid |
ug scale changed, as far as the tariff |
vas concerned, and they now get fixed |
ate of $40, Clio, $40 and 1910 cent perl
ound in lieu of the previous ad valorem
ate of 45 per cent.
There is in all of this nothing surpris-
ng. The whole scheme of protection
a scheme of plunder, by which the
Teak suffer and the strong grow richa
1essrs. Carnegie Phipps & Co., of the
homestead steel works, have the world
4 a sling; when prices go down they
ecoup themselves by reducing wages,
ut protection never goes down. The
seem to be between the
evil and the deep sea. Lower wages
or work; higher prices for what they
ave to consume.
This is then the result of Republican
ontrol of the House of Representa-
ortS and conveniences of life: lower
yages and a stringent money market;
ut an iron-clad tariff schedule, made
pom the Procrustean model
Since all of these injurious tendencies
f the Mckinley bill have been made
lanifest, Congress has been in session
lirty days, and no steps have been
aken to relieve the people. One thor
ugh thrashing seems not to be suffi-
lent to convince and convert the Re- /
ublican leaders to a better course of
fe. They are determined to try conclu-
ons with the people once more at the
olls.-I.ouisville Courier Journal
A, DESPOTiC MEASURE.
iril Liberty Threatened by the Force Bill
Plan.
If history proves any thing. it Is that
n 6PSrepriSm ho1vaverr Stronu. or. be- |