Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-05-22
Imports of Tin PLATE,

The Iron Age gives the following in
teresting statistics with respect to recent
importations Of tin plate:
For April. 1890, there were imported
here lac, 466 boxes Of plates. valued al
S597, 532; for April, 1891. the total was
19S, 904 boxes. valued 1916 SIS. For the
first week in May there were landed here
in 1890, SO .2l3 boxes, valued at S22S 2S5;
for the same week this year there were
69,O54 boxes, valued st $343. 794. To
sum il up, for the last IS weeks there
were landed here about 935, 1913 boxes OF
tin plates. valued at 4.l61.1 $50, duty and
freight not included, against 60i,452
boxes, valued st So $50 ~, tor the same
period last year
The reader will not fail to note that
there has been a great increase in the
quantity OF tin plate imported, aud
proportionstely larger increase in the
value, remarks the Louisville Courier
Journal Thus. taking the figures for the
first week of May, in 1890 and 1891. it will
be found that the average import price
per box last year was 81. SO, while this
year it was within q small fraction of S.
Tie reason of the increased imports
just now is well understood. The i'm.
porters are seeking to escape the great
increased rate OF duty, which goes into
effect July l. After that date imports
may be expected to fall of largely until
the accumulated stocks begin to show
signs Of exhaustion.
But why has the price Of tiu plate sd-
vanced before the new tariff rate has gore
into effect? The explanation is easy. IL
is also important, because it illustrates
law of political economy with which
every one ought to be familiar, bat which
many fail to apply in practice. Price is
regulated by supply and demand; il is
directly as the demand, inversely as the
supply. If the demand increased. the
supply remaining the same, the price goes
up.
The passage of the Mckinley bill, ad-
vsncing the tariff on tin plate from to
22 cents per pou.d after July l, 1891.
enormously increased the demand for de-
materially increase the supply because no
one could 90 10 the expense of new plants
to supply demand that would be over
Boon after the works were completed if
not before. So the foreign manufac>
turers, being overwhelmed with orders.
found themselves masters of the situation
as TO prices, and have profited by the cir
cumstsnce TO the amount of millions
of dollars. The trainers Of the Mckinley
bill, while protesting so much attach
ment to what they cal, an American pol
icy, ought to have forseen this but they
did not, unless we adopt the conclu-
sion still more discreditsble to them that
they did forsee it and did not care.
1t should be remarked hat this advance
in tin plate is q direct reversal of recent
tendencies The tax has always been
purely q revenue tariff, as no tin plate
worth mentioning has been made at home.
Protectionists say that q revenue tariff
advances prices, while protective tariff
puts them down. How has it been with
tin plate, The Iron Age gives these fig
ures for boxes of the standard grade
January, 1882, 1870; February, 1884.
81. so; May, 1885. S4.25; June, 1887,
81 90; May. 1890. S432. This shows
that the price had been declining for
wears under q revenue tariff.
When the Mckinley bill passed the
house, the price of tin plate began to go
up. From "a 80 in May it rose to IS 90
in August and to $3.50 in October. An
other authority shows that tin plate was
IS high as $7.16 in 1874 and as low as
$2.95 in 1888.