Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1892-06-16
THE TIN PLATE BUBBLE.
The Omaha World Herald Pricks 1
Mercilessly and Thoroughly.

The Omaha World erald Pricks II
Mercilessly and Thoroughly.
Our local contemporary, The Bee, has
screwed its resolution to the sticking
point and ventured to champion the tin
plate fraud, which The World Herald
has repeatedly exposed. While The
World-H erald's statistics cannot be as
sailed, The Bee declares that we have
stated th'n in an unfair manner with
out giving due credit to the fact that
the tin plate industry is increasing rap
idly in size and Importance under the
benefcent provisions of the Mckinley
law.
Let us see how much good the coun-
try has derived as a result of this law
in promoting this infant industry. The
bill advancing the duty on tin plates
from one cent a pound to Q Is cents a
pound was passed and signed by the
president in October, 1890. That is
more than year and a half ago. It
is true that the tin plate duty did not
take effect until July 1, 1891, but there
has been year and half during which
the work of establishing this alleged
new industry might have been carried
on.
AS matter Of fact, up to April of
this year nineteen establishments were
in operation and the total output of these
ablishments is less than per cent.
of the tin consumed annually in this
country. But that is not all. 1t must not
be assumed that these nineteen firms are
manufacturers" of tin to the extent of
making the steel plate or sheet which is
the basis Of all tin plate. Only four out
of the nineteen establishments make the
steel sheets which become tin plate when
coated with tin or lead. Fifteen Of the
nineteen establishments merely coat the
steel sheets with tin or lead preparation.
They are therefore not ''manufactur-
ers' Of tin, but only engaged in the in
dustry of 'tin dipping" as it is called.
The black sheets are still imported and
we are being taxed merely to establish
great monopoly in the process of coating
those black sheets with tin or lead.
Thus we find that the tin industry in
this country, while it nominally pro-
duces nearly per cent. of the tin con-
sumed here after year and half of
time in which to develop, actually falls
far short even Of that per cent because
most of its product is merely clipped"
in this country and not manufactured
here.
The feeble attempt to maintain that
the doubling of the duty has not in
creased the prices is illogical and ridicu-
lous. If it had not increased the price of
tin plate in this country no new indus
try could be developed. It has, as
matter Of fact. increased prices of tin
plate very materially. This fact is
sought to be hidden by comparing pres
emit prices Of tin plate with the average
prices for eleven years back, including
a period when all things, particularly
tin plate, were higher than more recent
ly. If we compare the prices of tin plate
just prior to the reign Of McKinleyism
with the present prices of tin plate I'M
der McKinleyism, we find very large
advance, which the consumers of tin in
this country have been compelled to
pay.
The tin duty is an unconscionable
swindle. It plumbers the people of $15,.
$1,000 or $50, 100000 year to bestow
upon few manufacturers as bonus
for setting up establishments in which
to "coat" black plates, made either in
this country or Europe, with tin or lead.
That is the short and the long of the tin
duty.-Omaha World Herald.