The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-08-07
SIEkL RAILS.

A correspondent asks the Tribune
whether its statement is really true that
'sthe CARNEGIE works are selling material
as cheaply as the same kind Of material
could be got from beyond the sea if there
was no tariff" aud to please give the au-
thority for it''
That paper makes the following answer
to the first part Of the question:
The statement is exactly true that the CAR
NEGIE works are selling steel rails just as
cheaply as they are sold in England. The NC
KINLEY bill reduced the tariff on all their pro-
auctions largely. We presume that in struc-
tursl steel-that is. such steel as is used in
building-the price is much cheaper in Belgium
now than in Pennsylvania but not in steel
rails. which is one OF the chief works at,Home-
stead.
The fret statement is exactly true" if
two words are added, thus: 1.-THE CARNE-
GLE works are selling steel rails'' to foreign
ers lust as cheaply as they are sold in Eng
laud." Leave out the words ito foreign
ers'' and the Trjbune's statement
is shameless and brazen false
hood. Steel rails are not sold in this
country as cheaply as in England. But the
CARNEGIE rails are sold abroad as cheaply
as the English rails are sold. This is what
the Liberal Republican organ really means,
but it writes the words in such way that
they convey two meanings.
The CARNEGIE company recently made
bid to furnish steel rails for roads in India.
The bid was some s22 per ton. The price
Of English rails has ranged during the past
FIVE years from SIS to SIG per ton. The
protection organ asserts that rails are as
cheap here as there. They are not. In
January, 1885, steel rails sold in this
country at S27 per ton. In 1887 thirty-four
Of the largest manufacturers in the coun-
try organized the Merchant Steel assoca-
tion,' the avowed object being ''to remedy
irregularity in prices"
The frat result Of the formation Of this
trust was to force the price of steel rails
up to $3.50 per ton in January, and to
S39 50 in March of the same year. But as
the tariff is only s13 "A per ton, and Eng
lish rails were nearer $50 than $50 per ton,
this price could not be maintained here
and in December tho American price
was s32.
The average price OF American steel
rails at the prices at which actual sales
were made in 1885, as given by MIR. SwANK,
was $3.50 per ton. In 1891 the average
price at which American steel rails were
sold was, by the same authority, 500 90.
Early in 1891 further consolidation of
interests" to use the elegant euphemism
OF the trust itself, took place; and since
then and up TO June 80 1892, not q ton Of
steel rails has been sold by the eastern
members Of the combine at less than $50 at
the works, or by the western member, the
Illinois Steel company, at less than S31.5O.
That is to say, in seven years of decreas-
ing prices of raw materials, Of reductions
in wages and OF numerous improvements
in the methods of production, the price of
steel rails has been advanced by the tariff
shielded trust from $27 to S3l.5O per ton.
Meantime the trust has offered to contract
to supply rails to East Indian railroad COM
panies at so per ton, the foreign price.
According to the statement Of the com
missioner Of labor, from figures furnished
by the steel companies themselves, "the
actual cost of making steel rails in several
Of the very largest establishments in the
United States is, and has been for some
time, within few cents of so per ton at
the works" page 16S Of report.
According to the testimony of disinter-
ested experts the cost is less than $50 and,
according 10 one OF them. only SIS per ton.
Thus it is clear that steel rails can be
sold abroad at foreign prices; but, shielded
by the tariff, the trust never sells to Amer
leans at this price, except when one men,
Der Of the trust "loads up'' and begins to
fight the trust by cutting prices. Twice
by such break the American price has
come down as low as the foreign price; but
the trust hastens to pacify or buy out the
stupid manufacturer who sells ut such
prices as he can afford to sell at instead of
exacting the full biackmail Of Sl3.44 per
ton, which the law authorizes him to exact.
Then the price goes up again.
As &c the reduction of tariff on steel by
the MCKINLEY bill, the organ will find on
looking up the matter that the principal re-
duction was steel billets; and since the
price OF steel billets fixes the rate of wages
Of the employees, it is quite clear why the
manufacturers permitted that reduction,
or, rather. why they secured it, for they
wrote the tariff schedules on steel and iron.
The protection organ answers its CORE