New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-05-16

lower duty on tin plate itself than on the sheet
iron and steel of which tin plate is made il tie
higher duty on these IaNv materials has pro-
portionally cheapcncd them and the lower duty on
,ir Mate is propor1ionally dcarer, thus widening
,ho tin-plate manufacturers margin OF profit
| suppcse Mr. Mckinley made the statement
hoc,uso il is true. What troubles Mr.. Groh in
this statement Is this: lie fails to understand
that when we build up an industry in this
ccuntry and produce large supply Of any
article we invariably cheapcn the price for the
consumers in tits country. We always produce
,he article so as 10 sell it cheaper than 1t has
evcr been gold before. and cheaper than it would
have been sold had we not produced the article
here in the United states ard improved our
machinery so as to cheaper production lie
seems TO forget that we also cheaper the SINE
articles abroad. The price of all such goods Is
cbcapened all over the world. have stateD this
fact 50 often that its repetition is tiIesomc
THE TARIFF IS LEVIED in the first place
s;mplv TO ENABLE TIE PEOPLE OF me
| United STATES TO PAY TIE HIGH
WAGES everywhere prevailing in this country.
| I, * called a protective" tariff because
! il enables our manufacturers to pay 'hesc
higher wages and still compete in our own
markets with goods made abroad. what II Is
| intended to do is to give our manufacturers
| margin in prices of tier goods which VIII cover
This difference in labor. That will undoubtedly
result very often i'll keeping the price OF
| r,icles made in this country higher than the
| prce Of the articles abroad Inc ar'lcle
NAV be cheapened and chcapencd here, from year
70 year. so that it may finally sell for good deal
| less than onc-haIf what it sold for when the
duty was originally levied and the industry was
founded in this country. The falling in price on
| the other side of the ocean may keep pace with
the reduction in This country. Indeed. the wages
Of foreign worSngmen may 20 SO low as 10
enable the manufacturer TO make greater re-
duction in prices than can he made IN TINS
country That does not affect the benefit to the
United States OF protection in this country.
Mr.. Mckinley meant exactly what lie said. The
dutv levied on iron and steel plates was high
onouob IN protcct our manufacturers and enable
them 10 manufacture with profit in the United
States We have been manufacturing for years
The tariff on till plate WIS lower than the tarlh
on the steel and iron plates from which TN plate
is manufactured. The duty on tin plate was so
low that no tin plate was made in the United
States. The anomaly OF which he spoke was
this: Tin itself is on the free list, but the
Great bulk of tin plate is not TIM 1t is these
IRON or steel plates. The moment these plates
were coated with tin they came into this country
at lover duty than when not coated with TN
The duty the finished tin plate was 'hen 80
low that could not pay the high wages III
this country and manufacture tin plate Inc
duty was raised for the simple purpose OF build
ing up the making of tin plate in this country
And it will succeed. Forty-two concerns have
already been started under that law, ana are
either making or getting ready to make TIN plate
to-day. In the last niue months 2.1Oo 'ohs
have already been made Now what will be
the result of this law? Will Mr. Groh give me
his attention just one momentP
No tin plate had been made in the United States
for fifteen wears previous 10 the passage OF this
bill If the foreigners going to cheaper
tle article they had ample time 10 do it.
Now what we ProtectionistS claim is this: This
law will build up that industry in thla country;
our manufacturers will pay nearly as much again
for wages as arc paid for the same kind OF work
in South Wales; and will drive down the
price of tin plate that in a little While II
will be selling cheaper than it has been for the
last fifteen years.
Now mind what say. do not pretend that
three years from to-day will Ike selling tin
plate in the United States cheaper than they will
be selling il in England. What do say is that
we will be selling il cheaper than they are selling
il in England now and cheaper than they wonld
have sold il here or there either, If we had not
built up the industry and added largely to the sup
py of the world. Just long az they pay letS
than half their work than we pay for ours, they
may keep reducing the price so that they could
under-scll us at any time, II we continued to pay
present prices for labor If am right about this.
il can readily be determined | have frequently
offered 10 leave this whole question to this
simple test It's settlement will then rest upon
simple fact that can be readily determined !
have vet 20 find single Frce-tradcr in the United
States who dare risk the truthfulness of his theory
on the result in this one product.
DON'T YOU KNOW ALREADY
a. "Why did Mr.. Mckinley say: Having in
creased the duties on wool, have also increased
the duties on the product-thc manufactures Of
wool-to compensate for the increased duty Oh the
raw product" What need to compensate the
manu- facturcIs of woollcns for an increased tarh
on woods if it makes wool cheaper Instead of
dearcr? p"
There it is again. Who claims that a tariff on
wool will make il cheaper? tariff on product
of that kind is not intended 70 make it cheaper
than the product is in other countries. Wool can
no, he chea pened in the same way that manu-
featured goods can be cheapcncd. The duty on
wool was intended to secure the American markets
for the American farmers, and was levied for the
nurpo.e of enabling the farmers Of the United
States 70 sell their wool for more money than IL
brings in London. The duty on manufactured
articles raised, in part to cover this increase
in nricc so as to enable our manufacturers of
woollcn goods 10 control our own markets. mat
done. let me state 10 Mr. Groh, and every other
rrec-tradcr, what will take place, and has taken
place in the United states
Once give the men who run woolien mills In
,bs country> control OF our own markets, so that
they can run their mills continuously and end a
market for all their product, and those very men
WILL PAY A HIGHER PRICE FOR WOOL, and
HIGHER PRICE FOR LABOR than they pay in
| tho Old World and WILL THEN DRIVE DOWN
THE PRICE OF WOOLLEN GOODS for the con-
tIl Initcd 1T Until "a EICc