The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1891-05-25
TIN. TIN. AMERICAN TIN.

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There is a kind of "ghoulish gleer in
the course of the free-trade press on the
tin-plate question. The I-told-you-so
air of triumph with which they point to
the fact that the American market is not
yet supplied with American tin could
only be equaled by the exultation of a
prophet of evil rejoicing in the fulfill
ment of his most direful prediction.
The possibility of the failure to estab-
lsh a new American industry fills the
free-traders with delight. The bare
prospect that the American people may
not be able to free themselves from the
clutches of British monopoly causes
them to bubble over with happiness.
Butt the happiness of the free-traders is
premature. They demand too much of
the Mckinley tariff. 1t must be that
experience of what protection has
accomplished in other cases led
them to expect too much in this. The
law has not been in force eight months
yet. So far as tin is concerned its oper-
alton is prospective. The duty on tin
has not yet taken effect, and viii. not I'M
til July L. And yet in the very infancy
of the law, and before the duty on tin
has taken effect, fr~ee-traders assert that
it is a failure because the American
market is not already supplied with
American tin. We repeat, they expect
toe much of the Mckinley law. Protec-
tion has accomplished and can accom-
plish great things, but there should
be a reasonable limit to what is expected
of it. Let the f~ree-traders wait till six
months or a year after the duty on tin
has gone into effect, and see what the
situation is then. Great industries re-
curing the investment of millions of
money are not established in a day.
There are abundant indications that
the manufacture of tin-plate will soOn
be established in this country on a large
scale. The men and the money to do it
are forthcoming, and the preliminary
work is being done as fast as could be
expected. AT a recent meeting i'm Pitts
burg to organize a tin-plate manufacture
ing association, representatives of
twenty-seven concerns were present,
some of which are already manufacture
ing tin-plate, while others soon will be.
Some of them will begin in a small way,
while others are organized on a large
scale. The plants, present and pros
Dective, represent investments all the
way from $4,000 to 81 0O, 900. The
Journal recently addressed a note to the
st. Louis Stamping Company in regard
to their plans and prospects. This is
the company of which ex-~Congressman
Niedringhaus is president. In reply to
our inquiry we have a note, dated
May 81, saying:
We beg to state that we are now making
twenty-five to fifty boxes Der day of tin
plates. which we are using in the manu-
facture of our regular lines of nwa We
have under construction q tIn-Dlate-mill of
five hundred boxes daily capacity. which
| 1st of July or August, when we shall be in
q position to put plates on the market.
This is only one of twenty-seven con-
Germs which are getting ready to manu-
facture tin for the general market. We
venture the prediction that if the free
traders will wait a little while they will
have all the American tin they want,
and more toe. American tin cups are
likely to cut a large figure in the next
campaign, and one of the campaign cries
of Republicans will be ''Tin, tin, Ameri-
| can TIM