Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1892-09-23

plate, and enabled them to take from the
people of the United States, rs shall pro-
ceed to show, many millions of dollars over
and above the profits which they were
making before its passage.
1.-The senator here presented tables show
ing the cost producing tin plate in Wales
and the advance in price there in anticipa-
tion of the Mckinley bill, and continued:
1t appears therefore that the people Of
the United States, before the increased
rate OF duty on tin plate took effect under
the Mckinley act, paid, not to the impor-
tiers, not to the government, not to the
dealers here. but directly into the pockets
of the Welsh tin plate manufacturers the
sum of q, ,629, $50 as surplus profit on their
sales, which was considerably more than
half the value of their plant manufacture
of that article.
An Injustice of the Tariff.
Mr.. President, it is broad statement to
make, but the Mckinley act increased the
duty on every fabric that contains single
thread or fiber of wool, and in most cases
the increase was very large. II an article
OF silk is found to contain n thread of wool
for ornamentation or for any other purpose,
it becomes subject to the wooden goods
duty, which, even in the case of the cheap
est woolen fabrics used by the poor, is
much higher than the duty on the finest
silk fabrics used by the rich.
lhave here a number of samples of wooden
and wOrsted goods imported under the Nc
kinley act, with statements showing their
cost abroad in 1889 and 1890 their cost
abroad now, the duty imposed upon them
in 1889 and 1890, the duty imposed upon
them now, and the increased cost to Law
them down at New York to the consumer
Elaborate tables were presented.J
The prices abroad have fallen necessarily
because the cost Of the raw material, wool
and cotton, has gone down in the market;
but the people of the United States by the
passage of the tariff act and the imposition
of a higher rate of duty upon these goods
have been wholly deprived Of the benefits
which they should have received, and
ought to have received on account of the
decreased cost of the materials entering
into the manufacture of the articles they
consume. The cotton grower and the wool
grower alike are compelled to take lower
prices for their products and to pay higher
prices for the goods manufactured from
them.
The Protected Manufacturer.
The necessary effect Of the Mckinley act
is to enable the manufacturers of these
articles at nome 10 keep up the prices to a
certain figure, no matter what may be the
diminution in the cost Of their raw mate
rial or in the wages of their laborefs, be-
cause the high duty protects them against
competition abroad so long as they keep
their prices just below the point which
would enable the importer to bring them
in and realize a profit after paying the
duty. What that point is the domestic
manufacturer always knows very well, be-
cause he keeps himself informed in rela-
tion to the foreign prices of the articles he
produces and he therefore permits impor-
tations in two cases only: First, when he
goods at all, and secondly, when he cannot
produce them in sufficient quantities to
supply the home demand.