Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1892-01-21
HELPED By TARIFF.
Fifty Thousand American Work
men will be Employed in the
Tin-plate Industry.
Wages will be Higher than in Eng
land but the Product will not
be Dearer.
The New Industry Would not be
Possible in America but for the
New Tariff.

F, G, Niedriughaus, the st. Louis ex-
congressman, who has established TIM
plate factory In that city, was IN Chicago
recently. He said to reporter:
THE American people will never abol-
ish the tariff on tin plate because the
whole cues ion has resolved itself down to
whether the American people will get
their tin plate from England and support
SO, 900 tin plate workers there or Whether
they will buy their tin mere and support
$4,000 workmen here. To employ these
$4,000 men to supply the entire consImp-
ton in this country will require the ser,
vices of 500 English and Welsh expert tin
plate workers TO teach the business Ia
workmen here, There you are. Either
employ 500 foreigners to establish the in
dustry in this country and give employ
ment to sc, 900 men or buy all our tin plaLe
from England and allow these so 900
Americans to remain In ldleness. In
starting a new industry you want few
men fresh from the old established
works in Europe, and they in d snort time
will teach the methods to the American
workmen. have imported few skillt d
English and Welsh workmen, as they are
absolutely necessary to start the tin plate
plant we are now operating. | dldn
consult the treasury department and would
not consult it, because the law Is plain and
gives US full permission to bring men over
to start a new industry.
1.-The free trade press talks about cur
being ariff barons | would like to III
qulre If the workmen, an / not we, are the
barOns, the benefciaries of the tariff
We pay 81 and 81 so per day to our tan
plate workers which Is two and two ard
a half time the wages paid the English
tin plates workers. The tin plate industry
is protected rs per cent. and the working
man gets 100 to 100 per cent. increase IA
wages over the English workman. SO II
Is the workingman who is the tariff baron,
and not the employer.
The American people will not pay
any more for tln-plat9 than they nave III
the past, and hence you will see that IN
tie next twelve years the tin-plate made
here will not te higher IN price than
it has been In the past twelve
years We can not make tin a.
cheap as the English factories, bot we
can sell it as cheap as it has been sold by
the foreigners If we were given work
men from England and had only to pay
them English wages we could drive tue
English tin-plate producers out of the
business; but as 1t Is, with The Increased
wages we will pay, we will only supply the
American market,s
Il al ways consent to be interviewed,
because believe it will help In attract
ing Englishmen over here to start up the
works they Will be compelled to abandon
over there because of the high tariff.
There was an Englishman spying around
our factory several weeks ago, just to see
whether we were really in earnest In golu.
into the tin plate business. From now on
there will be plenty of English capitalists
visiting our country to establish tin plare
works, and my brother and | are ready to
give any responsible concern free site on
which to establish d factory ard where
they cln get coal at One-thlrd the English
price. The field is certainly attractive.
The free trade press charged me with
advocating the Imposition of the increased
tin plate duties when | was In congress.
The truth Is. ! did urge the increased
tariff, but it was as a business man and 4
citizen, and not as a politician. AS poll
tlclan strongly urged against the 1mposl
ton of the high rate III the ways and
means comvittee conference. From Il
political standpoint, | made strong argu
ment against IT, Wien ! made my talk
the committee drew letters on me from
my own firm, in which we had urged on
the tfteth congress to put tariff on tin
plate and we would make it. After had
gotten through my speech Mr.. Mckinley,
ike Napoleon that he is, said, Let US
do right the first thing, even If the party
does suffer at first, and then
acknowledge that | opposed the duty on
tin-pIate, because the American people
were not yet educated up to the point
where they could see the good tn tariff
would do"