The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1892-02-27
justly claim. is sheer bounty and trib-

justly claim, is sheer bounty and trib-
ute to monopoly.
Now let us see how they keep faith
with the people, when they arrange
duties for the protection of their favor.
ties. Heretofore both lawmakers and
people have been dependent chiefly on
such statements as intereste parties
chose to make before congressional
committees or elsewhere as to the cost
OF production and the comparative
scale OF wages here and in other coun.
tries. 4
fortunately for us now the depart
ment OF labor is carefully and method.
lcally Investigating these questions in
some OF our most important industries,
particularly in the iron and steel and
textile industries. Its sixth annual re.
port is devoted to an examination of
the cost of producing iron and steel in
this country and abroad.
Let us first take pig iron. Taking
the average of twenty-six blast fur.
naces in the northern district of the
United States the cost of all elements
OF production of run-of- mine pig
was Sl3 81 per ton; in twenty-four fur
naces in the southern district it
was Slo.7 Is per ton. In a typical fur
mace on the continent of Europe it was
WILL oS per ton. The cost of producing
pig iron in the south is thus somewhat
less than upon the continent, and prob
ably about the same as in England.
In the north it is about So per ton
greater, yet the Mckinley bill fixes the
duty at Sc. 70 per ton, which, if we add
~ tor ocean freight, insures protec-
ton to the American producer of So u
per ton on his product; whereas, if he
produces in the south he needs no pro.
lection whatever, and if he produces in
the north he needs at most but So per
ton, according to the rule laid down by
both the Economist and Maj McKin-,
ley and his colleagues
Let us also take the Economists own
llustration-steel rails. The report
finds that the actual cost of making
standard steel rails in several of the
largest establishments in the United
States lis, and has been for some time,
within few cents of 1922 per ton at the
works, " and that in Great Britain it is
"sum not varying much from $1s per
ton" Accordingly, making all allow
ances, it says the difference between
the lowest cost of British steel rails of
sixty pounds to theyard and the lowest
cost OF the same grade of rails in the
United States is in the vicinity of SIS
per ton"
Now, the Mckinley bill, protesting
to recommend no duty above the differ.
ence in cost of production here and
in the countries that seek our Market
puts duty of $13 A per ton on steel
rails, insuring, if we add ocean freight,
protection to American makers of
$15 Al per ton on product that costs
but 81 or SIS per ton more to make here
than in Great Britain.
1t is we'll known that com bin alton
exists among the less than dozen rail
mills in the country By which they
keep up and dictate prices to purchas-
ers That com binatlon is created and
shielded by this protection, which is
more than three times greater than the
amount declared necessary by The
Economist, and more than three times
greater than the amount professedly
given by the Mckinley bill.
The $40 per ton in excess of the ade.
quate protective duty as defined by the
protectionists is the safe and sure
margin within which they may and do
establish the prices at which they will
sell their rails.
These are not exceptional cases.
They are but fair and average illustra-
tions of the existing tariff law, and
stamp that law not protective but a
monopoly tariff. -