St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-01-11


ton of the committee Is % per cent. 1t
seemed like large reduction, he de-
clared, but il left all the steel rail trust
needed. 1t is as good to them as 1000
per cent, for it is practically a prOhib-
itory duty. Steel can be made here as
cheapiy as anywhere else in the world,
and would not now be imported, save in
exceptional eases. even If there were
20 duty; while the tendency of inven-
ton and improvement is i'll favor of the
United States as against Europe. Tine
steel made into rails in this country is
from native ore. What pig metal, billetS
and blooms are imported are used en-
tirely i'll other iron and steel manufact-
ureS. Now 1t costs less than 81 a ton to
make steel rails from blooms, including
Strengthening and punching. On today'S
market steel blooms are selling at less
than SIT; steel rails should, therefore.
not bring over SO. They did fall nearly
to that price few weeks ago during a
temporary break in the
STEEL RAIL POOL.
But the pool was quickly reOrganiZed,
and the price of steel rails was put up,
and is now maintained at S24 a ton, so
that, by vii tue of the duty which keeps
out foreign rails, the pool is compelling
the users of steel rails to pay them %
per cent more than fair prlce. This
new steel rail pool is composed of seven
manufacturers, headed. by Carnegie,
VINO absolutely controls the product OF
more than one-half OF the rolled steel
produced in the United States, and
who have combined together 10 pay
other large manufacturers heavy annual
sums TO close their works, discharge
their men and make no steel. Do en-
poyerS pay larger wages when they get
larger profits? do not, and even phil
anthrOpiStS do not. Take Andrew
Carnegie, who gives like prince out of
the millions the tariff has enabled him
TO take from his fellow citizens. He
gives like prince from his more than
princelY income, but he does not raise
wages unless he has to. Before he
started for Jerusalem a few days ago
he utilized the tariff to re-eSta0liSh the
steel rail pool. and pay other manu-
sfaoturerS to shut up their works, and
throw their men out of employment;
then general cut in wages was made
in all his great establishments; and
theE he announced himself ready to
give as much as $1,000 day to feed the
unemployed in Pittsburgh place that.
If there were any truth in the theory
that protection is good for labor. ought
to be a very paradise for workingmen.
charity soup houses, or plenty of en-
pl0yment? There is the question of
protection and free trade. What is true
Of steel is true of
ALL INDUSTRIES.
If we could abolish the whole tariff
on the first OF Februsry, do not believe
there is single manufacturing indus
try that would close. On the contrary,
all that were not purely eXotics, kept
alive by taxes, would be greatly stimu-
lated; foreigners would want more of
our products, and foreign markets
would be open to our goods. Wheat
would bring more to the grower and
labor would bring more to the laborer,
and the masses of our people would
want and could pay for more manu-
industry and lmpoVerlSh labor by re-
hitting taxes: that is done 10y imposing
taxes.
The bill he would pass, he said. would
consist of but three sections:
Section ALL import duties and cor
responding internal revenue duties are
hereby abolished. and all officials en-
gagged III collecting such duties are
hereby discharged.
Sec. 2-The secretary of the treasury
is hereby directed to sell all custom
houses and revenue cutters and pay the
proceeds in the treasury.
Section 8. This act shall take effect
Immediately.
Such bill would excite no more pro-
tectiOniSt opposition than the poor,
timid little Wilson bill will. But it
would not be sneered at. and it would
raise mighty support that this bill can
not get.
While Mr.. johnson was condemning
the alleged steel rail pool he became
engaged in heated controversy with
Mr.. Dalzell, Of Pennsylvania.
"You deny the present existence of a
pool?" asked Mr.. Johnson.
"Yes, SIR"
"Well, here is the proof of it." said
Mr.. Johnson, tlourishjng aloft a docu-
ment. Here IS the agreement in the
Iron Age. A certain r. f. Kennedy
contracted to receive $4,000 tons of rails
at what consider
AN EXORBITANT PRICE,
and to forfeit $1,000 day if he did not
take them. looked into the matter to
see who such large buyer could be.
found that he was stockholder in the
Cambria works. a rival concern, and
now secretary of the new pool, formed
last November. That pool agreed to give
the manufacturers CT Sparrow's Point,
Md. $1,000 day to close their works
and discharge their men. That is the
sort of trust the Wilson bill's 25 per cent
duty perpetuates. Democratic ap-
plause.
''lt gives a concern in PENNSYLVANIA
S0O,0OO year TO close down. The old
pool OF eight or nine com panes agreed
TO maintain the price of rails at $40. One
OF the members secretly undersold the
pool. Carnegie made war on him, beat
the price down to SO, closed him up,
and then formed another pool" APP
plause.
II cannot c0atr0vert what the gen.
tleman says" interposed Mr.. Dali
zell, but if such a pool as he describes
exists deprecate 1t as much as he."
That is where | differ with the gen
tleman," retorted Mr.. johnson.
II believe in making all the money |
can. am thOrough-going monopolist,
and taking advantage OF all the bad
laws you Republicans have made. but
don't believe in defending those laws
here" Long and continued Democratic
applause.
At the conclusion of Mr.. Johnson's
speech, Mr. DalZeli, of PENNSYLVANIA,
took the floor. He said: The election
or 1892, which resulted in the ascend
ancy In all branches of the government
of the Democratic party, had no sooner
occurred than
CRISIS ENSUED
amongst the most appalling in our econ
omic history. All our industries suf-
fered immediate collapse; trade, foreign
and domestic, became paralyzed; the
ghost of distrust stalked threatening in
all the avenues of commerce, and fear
fell on ali men. rich and poor alike. AS
people we walk today in the valley of
desolation.
Furnace fires have gone out and fires
upon humble hearthstones as well,
while throughout all our borders factory
and workshop and the various imple-
ments and appliances of industry re-
main idle and unused. In the few
months that the dominant party has
held the reins of government 1t has
proved itself conspicuously incompetent
to deal with single important question
presented by the responsibilities of civil