The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-09-14
ANDREW CARNEGIE VERSUS JERRY
SIMPSON, OR PROTECTION
VERSUS FREE TRADE.

To the Editor OF the Eagle.
Andrew Carnegie is one of the most
enterprising and successful business men
in the world He is the founder and has
peen the chief manager of the largest
iron and steel factories in the world.
The Carnegie company has two immense
factories at Twenty-night and Thirty
third street in Pittsburg. Eight miles
above Pittsburg. on the Monongahela
river are located the Homestead steel
mills; on the opposite side of the river
two miles above at Braddock, are To-
Gated the Edgar Tompkins steel mills,
which are owned by the Carnegie COM
pany. At Beaver Fall, below Pittsburg,
are other immense mills owned by this
company. The Carnegie company's
mills give employment to about 10000
men. These with their friends in one
location would make city of 100, 600
people.
One of the largest of the Carnegie
factories is located at Homestead. Here
are found the most extensive and per-
feet mills in the world The capacity of
these mills are said to be more than four
times that of the great krupp mills in
Germany. The Homestead steel mills
gives employment to about 1000 men.
The mills cover an area of 10 acres on
which is found about dozen or more
immense mills. In some of these COM
mon iron is converted into steel by the
Bessimer process. They have mills for
making steel rails, for making immense
steel beams for building bridges, for
armor plate and other varities of OBJ
structural iron. The following from an
article of mine in the Carthage
Banner, will show the extent
and result of the Homestead and Carne.
gle works. 1t takes $50 steam boilers to
supply the necessary force, some OF
which work under 600 pounds pressure.
They contain cranes capable OF lifting
200 tons at one time. These immense
factories have all been built up undeI
the protective system established under
the high tariff of 1861. The production
of iron and steel in Allegheny county,
Pennsylvania, has increased since this
tariff was adopted from 1895 tons in
1874, to / ,542, 925 tons in 1891. The pro-
duction of pig iron in the country has
increased from 9S7, 500 tons in 1860, to
g, 202, 7O3 tons in 1890. The steel indus
tries of the United States have increased
from II ,S3S tons in 1860, to 4.277 ,076
tons during 1890 Mr. Joseph NImmo,
ir., formerly chief of the bureau of sta
tiSticS, says:
1.-The wages paid to laborers at Home
stead Just before the strike were on an
average three times as much or 200 per
cent above the wages paid III cores
pending establishments in England; the
price of food and clothing being about
| the same in the two countries, and about
| 80 per cent. of the laborers employed
at Homestead were men of foreign
| birth"
Steel rails, one of the products of the
| Carnegie factories, were selling in this
country in 1857 for $l66 ton. In 1868
tariff was put on steel rails of % per
cent. advalorum, which at the price
steel rails were then selling, was
equal to S14 ton in currency. Steel
rails are now selling for about $50 ton,
which is less than half of the duties at
that time. In 1867 this country pro-
duced on 2,277 tons of steels rails, while
in 1882 we produced about 1884 ,067 tons.
The price of steel rails has decreased as
the production in this country has in
creased under protection.
The reduction of duties in 1888 in
iured all industries to which it was ap-
piled. The tariff reform policy Of
Cleveland's administration injured our
prosperity still more The production of
steel rails fell off from 1, 2S4 ,067 tons in
| 1882, to 950.471 tons in 1885.
and have fallen still lower at
times since. One of the effects of
a reduction of 90 per cent. on such goods
as was made at Homestead was il re-
moved more than the profits made in
| the manufacture Of the products of the
| mills and thus brought on the necessity
| for reduction of wages or closing of
the works. and from this cause the late
strike at Homestead was precipitated.
| Can any sensible man, in view of these
| facts. help seeing that labor is as largely
| benefited by protective duties as is the
manufacturer? Does not this enormous
! increase of iron and steel from 9S,. 559
tons in 1860, to 9,202, 103 tons in 1890, of
our carpet industry from $4,000, 0o0
wards in 1860 to Il, GOO. 600 in 1890, show
! that the demand for labor increased: In
1860 there were 1911, 246 persons en-
ployed in manufactures, while in 1890
there were 3400, 600.
II was the great dema2d for skilled
| laborers that enabled the employees of the
Homestead mills to get the highest wages
paid in any factory in the world. and
| this could only he maintained under the
protective system. The Mckinley bill
unfortunately removed 20 per cent. OF
/ the duties on the products of the Home
stead factories. The Homestead en-
/ ployes, not willing to share any portion
of the 30 per cent. duties taken Off from
the goods they were making, stopped
| work. seized the property of their EN-
plovers, drove out the men placed IN
charge of the mills. assumed charge
themselves. and when outside aid we:
employed. attacked and killed g number
of persons, buildings we're burned
property destroyed and the lives OF the
managers not only threatened, bat the
assassIns made the attempt to Kill the
head manager of the concern.
Now while Andrew Carnegie under
the fostering care of protective tariff
has been building up these immense
factories, founding new cities. giving
employment TO 20, 900 men, making new
and extensive markets for all kinds 81
farm products. cheapening tn:
cost O. steel rails 50 thai
! Kansas has been able 10 build overs9 .09t
miles on her own soil, ard building NJ
Wichita as the commercial ceiter no
only of the Big Seventh congressional
district bat of the whole state. Nher,
10 we find Jerry Simpson: What Is h'
doing Tor his constituents, for has district
his state and his country: We find hin
acting SIS the champion calamity howle
of the axe. The tariff reform polio,