The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-12-19

Thoma as w. Miller, attorney at law.
and a gentleman largely Interested in
the iron ore industry in this section,
was seen by TIMES man the other day
upon the matter Of the provisions in tho
Wilson bill which places iron ore, coal,
salt and agricultural products on the
free list, a vigorous protest against
which THE TIMES is voicing in the in
terests OF the continuance of these in
dustries in this section.
Mr.. Miller said the present opposition
recalled thai of 1885 when the bill pro
posed by Chairman Mills, Of the ways
and means committee, was under con-
the Same provisos in respect to the FREQ
list were made. "In that year." said
Mr. Miller, Hon. Con. Trigg, member
Of Congress from the Ninth Virginia
district, went through the city and
stopped short while with me. 1 then
talked with him upon the political effect
of that bill and told him that sincerely
believed that the ultimate effect Of
placing these articles on tho free list
would be the loss of tho States OF Yir.
ginia, West Virginia, Tennessee and
Alabama to the Democratic party. We
could not do without these States in the
election of Democratic President.
"Mr. Trigg then said to me, Il am
going before the Democratic members
Of tina. committee and present the
matter in just that light. Some time
later on, said Mr.. Miller, "Mr. Trigg
stopped hero and said that he had
nj "a pf VI,
that light and Mills had told him he was
the only man that had talked sense
on this matter and that coal and iron
should not go on the FREQ list.
ITO day." continued Mr.. Miller, "the
danger is greater than it was in 1855.
In the nine years which have nearly
elapsed since that time we have been
developing these industries, and not
only do we depend upon the operators
votes, but upon the votes of the thou.
sands Of laborers who have been fur
nished employment by these industries.
Those establishments have been built
up largely upon the faith in the Demo
cratic party, who then took the stand
against placing coal and iron ore on the
free list And now if they remove the
duties they are breaking this faith
which the people here have imposed in
them.
when it comes down to expressing
an opinion as to the direct effect in the
iron ore business, l am not we'll enough
informed as to the particulars as to the
competition to Judge correctly. II i am
rightly informed that pig iron can be
produced in England at a cost of 81 or
ST SO per ton, with the ad valorem duty
Of 22M per cent, and cheap ocean
freights, this would enable the English
pig iron to be sold cheaper on the At
lantic coast than the furnaces of South
west Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee
and Alabama could sell it from tho nee.
essarily higher rate of freight from tho
furnaces to the coast. 1t would then
follow that we would have no market
for our ore and we would be back to
where we were in 1881, when this Sec
ton of the country started in with tho
development of these industries.
II believe that politics and business
should go together in this matter and
think 1t would be advantageous if the
chairmen of the Democratic county
committees in Southwest Virginia
should get together and see that the
interests OF this State were not sacri-
feed by the legistion in the house of
our friends Every Congressman would
know that that would be a body Of
men who would reflect the political in
terestes of the people they were allied
with"
Mr.. Miller maintained that the pres
ent low price Of pig iron was made
through the development of the indus
try in The South In 1878 iron sold for
$40 per ton, now it is down to SIP, and
about as low as the users of pig iron
could wish. If, as it is apprehended,
the tariff should be taken off from pig
iron, it cripples just tho district which
has brought the price down. The OUT
put will then not be so great and, as in
1878, when the country was denuded OF
pig iron, the importers would make the
customers pay any price they demanded.
MIR. Miller coyld not see the advisa-
bility OF the scheme which would leave
the markets of America at the mercy of
foreign nations and not have a steady
lowest price maintained by steady com.
petition from the Industries of our own
country. He believed that this bill was
not carrying out the policy laid down
by President Cleveland in his speech
made at the big meeting In Madison
Square Garden. New York, July 20,
1892. when he was informed of his NOM
ination by the Chicago convention as
the party's standard bearer, when he
said
Ours is not destructive party. We
are not at enmity with the rights of any
OF our citizens. All are our country
men"
Bargain.
COMpT tsTE GOT of Tho Ed;nL,L