The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1892-10-13
THE TIN PLATE FRAUD AND SWIN0Lt.

liars on the stump from Steve Elking
down to the school house hustler, none
are talking about American tin
but the man who dipped the imported
steel in molten lead at Piqua last year;
and was exposed.
When the tin plate tax was under
discussion in the early summer of 1890,
Mckinley made speech in favor of
the increased tax, saying, that before
the bill became law there would be a
sufficient number of tin plate mills in
the United States making American
tin to supply the home market.
Prior to the passage of the Mckinley
act, Oct. 1, 1890, the tariff on tin plate
was one cent pound BY the provis-
ions of that act the tariff was increased
to 2.2 cents pound, but the increase
was not to take effect until the first
day of July, 1891.
During this interval of nine months,
between the passage of the act and the
| taking effect of the increase of rate,
| there was an enormous increase in the
importation of tin plates in order to get
them into this country under the old
rate, and sell them as If they had paid
the increased rate. The price of tin
plate was Immediately increased on the
passage of the bill, and consumers were
compelled to pay largely increased
| prices, while the government received
only the old rate. The importations
for the year ending June 30, 1891,
amounted to 1,033, 7074 pounds, while
for the succeeding year, ending June
30, 1892, they were only AIS, ,176, POP
pounds. The average for each year
was 722, ,332, ,202 pounds, which is sub
| uta
year for consumption.
If the Mckinley bill had taken effect
| as to tin plate immediately on its pas
| sage, as itshould have done, the govern
ment would have received in duties on
tin plates for the nine months of that
| fiscal year, and for the next fiscal year,
twenty-one months in all, the sum of
S2S,02y,805. But the amount actually
received being at the rate of per cent
pound on the importations for the re.
naming nine months of that fiscal
year and 2 2 cents pound on the i'm
portations of the year ending June 30,
1892, was only $l7,758,934, or $10,270S71
less than the government should have
received. In the meantime the people
were required to pay wholesale prices
for the tin plates purchased for con
sumption, the same as If they had
actually paid duties at the rate of 80
cents pound, or S10,000,000 in excess
of the amount the government actually
received. This amount of $10,00O000
was the net profits of the tin plate i'm
porters and jobbers, without taking
any risks whatever.
So much for this part of the robbery
and swindle.
How is it now?
Where are those tin plate mills
making American tin?
Where are the 10000 American tin
plate workers that Mckinley claimed to
make jobs for in his tin plate tariff?
Let us look at the record.
The manufacture of tin plates in this
country is conceded by all to be an un-
profitable industry; an industry that
cannot exist without government
bounty, or high pre- .ection tariff of 2.2
cents pound upon foreign tin plate.
Either the government or the con.
sumer of tin plate must pay S16,0O0,000
every year more than would otherwise
be required in order to have our annual
supply of tin plates manufactured in
this country. OF course this $16,000,00O
is all paid by the consumers of tin
plate, and it is clean cut robbery. And
where are those tin plate factories?
They are nowhere to be found.
The official statistics of the Treasury
department, are all from Republican
sources now, and they tell the true
story of how this robbery works.
The report for the fiscal year ending
June 30 1892, shows an output of
tin and terne plates for that year in the
United States of 13,240,S30 pounds.
This is less than 2 per cent of the
amount consumed during the same
period of time.
Less than per cent produced in this
country at the end of twenty-one
months, and only about one-fourth of
this production, according to the Off
cial report, was of tin plates, the other
three -fourths were terue plates, which
were coated with lead and tin, and
used for roofing purposes only.
But let us look further at the sta
tistics
The importation of black sheets prior
to the passage of the Mckinley bill was
for the year 1889 only 6,346 pounds, and
for the year 1890 only 2,29S pounds. The
importation of these plates began to in.
crease, and has continued to increase
from quarter to quarter, the increased
importation corresponding almost ex-
actly with the increased production of
tin and terne plates. For the quarter
ending March 81, 1892, the production
of tin and terne plates was 100000
pounds. The importation of black
plates for the same period was 3,6OO,-
600 pounds,
AS stated by Mr.. Shively of Indiana,
in his speech in the House of Represen-
90 NJ h,,1 Ne
the production of the tin plates report
ed to the government agent consists of
these tin plates, which were hot-rolled,
picked and annealed and cold-rolled
In Wales, imported into this country
and dipped in imported tin, in an i'm
ported timing pot, by an imported
forth is held by the treasury department
States. The part performed in America
is in very large measure mere dip
ping process. The metals are mostly
imported. The timing process is
very simple. 1t is stated in circular
recently issued by the N. and G. Taylor
company by the latest improved Welsh
thinning pot, two boys can dip seventy
boxes daily. If this be true, land
the company making this statement
is interested in the manufacture
of TIM, twelve boys by working the
entire year, could have dipped the
entire American product of tin
plate for the fiscal year ending
June 30 last, and at the same
ratio it would only require 642 boys to
dip the entire amount required in the
| United States for consumption.
This tells the whole story of fraud
and robbery. The 10000 men who were