The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1892-04-16
SWANK'S BOOMERANG
LUDlCROUS SHOWING OF THE PRO-
TECTIONlST "TIN PLATE LIARS"


Three Times ms Large II Product a,
Manager swank Can Find-The Con
sumcrs' Association Finds Still Less.
So much has been said and written or
the rise Of the tin plate industry in the
United States as completely to bewildel
the people. On one side claims are ad.
vanced that the growth of the industry
since the Mckinley tariff went into eff.
feet Is phenomenal: on the other. all
these claims are denied and the counter
claim Is set mp that only Il little tin plate
has yet beer made. chiefly by coating
imported sheets of iron or steel. and that
the total product is less than | per cent.
of the consumption.
The Tin Plate Manufacturers ~nssocia.
ton has done much to create Il favora-
bic impression. On Jan. 8 it gave ont
for publication Il list Of the works in OBJ.
Grafton. with their capacity. and those
now building and projected. Twenty.
four of these, it claimed, were already
turning out tin plate. with an estimated
weekly capacity of $500 boxes. while
four others would % be in operation.
This statement was published in full by
The Bulletin of the American Iron and
Steel Association and other high tariff
papers.
In Jarnary last the Tin Plate Con-
suIllcr~ association issued Il statement
to the OBJECT chat the production of tin
plate III 1llis country was equal To less
than ! per cent. of the consumption. and
consisted largely of ternc plates made
from imported sheets of iron or steel.
And Ill order 10 get at the facts the as
ISOLATION sent ont to its members Il cir
culHr letter requesting them to send in
reports Of III" amount Of American tin
plate used by them since the duty went
into effect. so far ll5 reports have been
received. ~cyactly 100 of which declare
that their writers have not bought anv
American plate whatever. while fifteen
report that they have bought solne-the
total being GG5 boxes.
Each of the above statements is vouch-
Ell for as being perfectly correct. Which
is To he believed:
The manager of the American Iron
and Steel association ISSUES annually a
directory of the iron and steel indus
tries. Il publication which is regarded rs
u standard authority in the iron trade.
Ii the statements Of the Manufacturers
association are correct. they Ought to he
Noucficd for by this directory. The cdi.
ton Of which for 1892 has just appeared.
Th" statements have been corrected
down to the middle of last February.
To amy one who is curious enough to
consult this directory it will at once be-
come evident that Manager Swank has
used by any means as much latitude
OF statement as is III his weekly Bulletin.
In the directory Mr.. Swank describes
the status of twenty works which are
IN operation or are prepared to make
tin or ternc plates. and ten others now
binding. OF these he says fifteen are in
operation. In giving their weekly ca
he is careful 10 nse the word
estimated" which he explains in Il note
AS meaning reported by the respective
manufacturers" The following compar-I
lsun between the statements made by |
the Manufacturers association and the
fact, as a~certained by Mr.. Swank is in
ttrc>tinG: