The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1892-09-30
AVERAGE PRICE OF GALVANIZED SHEET
IRON, NO. "a GAUGE.

The same proportion holds good for all other
gauges.
Cotton ties are now made at home and
supplied as lower cost to the consumer.
Similarly the tariff has transferred the
manufacture of lace window curtains, silk
and mohair pushes, pearl buttons and
many other industries to the United States.
Many industries dull and lifeless for con-
siderable period before the act of 1880 are
now active, The Boston Herald of July
15 1892, says:
Where is the idle wooden mill today?
Indeed there is none, or the number is so
few that they are not worth counting Not
only is the great majority of the wooden
mills employed, but many of the manu-
facturers are contemplating engagements
and improvements, or such engagements
and improvements are already begun.
What does this all mean? 1t means simply
the greatest consumption of wool that the
country has known for years."
The importations of dutiable articles in
1889 amounted in value to $3.50, 100000 and
in 1892 to 1868, 100000, or decline in three
years of SOS, $4,000. If the value of the
imported articles of this class had increased
at the same ratio with the increase in the
value of all importations in 1892 it would
have been S50,000,0 900 greater than in 1889
instead of $25 500, 900 less. 1t would appear
from this comparison that articles of the
foreign value of at least SIS, 600, 900 were
produced in the United States in the fiscal
year 1892, which, if it had not been for the
adoption of the act of 1890, would have
been imported. If we add a portion of
average rate of duty to this sum we should
have value of domestic production re-
deemed from foreign competitors of at
least 100000. This production would
furnish employment to 200, 900 people and
support nearly million. All of this is of
course an addition to the natural growth
of our industries
In regard to trusts it is the climax of alb
surdity to say that the business of wooden
manufacturing in the United States is or
ever has been controlled to any extent by
trust No such trust or even a combina-
ton of any kind has ever existed. 1t would
be quite impossible to make any combina-
ton that would or could control prices or
production of wooden goods. as the number
OF establishments is so great and the styles
manufactured of such infinite variety.
For the purpose of ascertaining the truth
in regard to these alleged trusts. whose
pages of The Congressional Record, l ad-
dressed letter to at least one well known
manufacturer connected with each of the
principal industries that were included in
the list. / submit and will have printed
in The Record a copy of my letter of in
quiry, and of the replies received
The representatives of seventy-nine il
dustries replied to my letter of inquiry.
OF these the representatives of seventy-two
deny in the most emphatic manner the
existence of any trust in the industries
with which they are connected, most of
them, as will be seen by an examination of
the letters, denying in detail all the state
ments published by the senator from Mis-
souri,. Seven of the parties denied the ex-
istence of trust, but admitted in Quail
fed way the existence of combinations
which were intended to be more or less
effective in controlling prices.
There is no limit to the ingenuity or re-
sources of the persons employed in manu-
featuring statistics for the purpose of
breaking down the protective system.