The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1894-01-09
TIE TARIFF ON GOAL.
continued from Fourth Pdge.l
present
coal can be sold;at Boston with present
duty at So, which is thirty cents less
than.tha COST of United States coal. But

duty at %, Which Is tn1rCy cents Tess
than the cost of United States coal. But
the difference in quality is in favor OF
the United States. If it is conceded
that United States coal is 20 per cent
better, add this to 50 25, the cost of
Nova Scotia coal, and we have 81 70 as
the value of Nova Scotia coal without
the duty, as compared with So 80, the
cost OF United States coal, or an advan-
tage OF sixty cents TO the Nova Scotia.
coal. The net prolific the producer on.
United States coal is between ten and
twenty cents a ton Under the present
tariff the landowners, miners, the
operators, railways, American vessels
and seamen are striving to retain the
home market. Take away the seventy
five cents duty and they must lose much
of their sea-coast trade.
OF the soft coal consumed in New
England it is estimated that one-thlrd
of it is usedin manufacturing, the great.
er position being required by railroads,
gas companies, electric railways, steam
vessels. light plants, etc. Many OF the
factories are located on rivers. The re-.
:moval of the duty, therefore, would
benefit manufacturing interests but
little, and in SO small proportion upon
manufactured goods ua to have little
effect on the cost of production.
A large manufacturer in New Eng
land, using 80, 900 tons of coal annually.
writing on this subject says: MASS
achusetL's census shows that the cost OF
the fuel employed in manufacturing is
equal to 2 per centum OF the total cost
of all material used in the WOODEN man
u%facture, to IT per centum OF the total
cost in the worsted manufacture, to 80
manufacture, to u per centum OF the
total cost in all industries"
From the above it will be seen that
the cost for fuel employed in manufac-
turing is u per cent of the total cost on
all manufacturing industries. If the
manufacturer saves the entire duty OF
seyenty-fVe cents per ton, it would be
less than one-fourth of II per cent,
equal to about four-tenths of l percent.
Canada, not including Nova Scotia,
uses about 100000 tons of bituminous
coal annually, about two-fitths OF which
comes from the United States, on which
we paw her a duty Of over $500, 900. The
coal regions of the United States af-
fected by the removal OF the duty pro-
duce many times the amount consumed
by Canada. In ~1S64-65-66, tho three
last years OF reciprocity treaty with
Canada. Nova Scotia sent to the United
States about 1,1SS,000 tons of coal, or
nearly 400, 600 tons annually, which at
that time was about one-tltth OF the BIZ
luminous coal used on or near the At
lantic coast. If, by making coal free,
they would be able to send the isame
proportion, their trade with this coun-
try would be about 1900, 900 annually,
and to this extent would take work and
money from our people. Would this
be right, and would they not ask who IS
responsible, and remember, when vot-
ing again, the men and party who re-
duced their wages and gave part OF
their work to foreigners?
The tariff bill, as reported, is especially
damaging to the interests OF West Vlr-.
oinia, whose leading articles Of COM
merce are coal, ore, lumber, salt md
WOOL. all OF which it is proposed to put
on the free LIST. Two-thirds of the state
is underlaid with coal, and it's produce
ton constitutes her largest Industry.
Free coal would not benefit a single per-
son or industry in the state. There are
fully 10000 employees engaged in the
production and transportation OF coal
in the state of West Virginia. all OF
whom would be affected by placing coal,
on the free list, some being thrownsout
Of work entirely, while the wages of he
Others would be reduced.
Foreign coal mines on both sides OF
the Atlantic are near the sea. In some
of the Nova Scotia mines the coal is
taken from under the sea. Our coal
mines are inland and from 25O to 400
miles from the ocean-to our great dis
advantage. When coal mined in the
| United States reaches the seaboard or
the point of consumption in New Eng
land, New York or New Jersey from 30
to 50 per cent of its value represents
labor.
1t is generally believed thata number
Of gentlemen of Boston and New York
OF great prominence in political and
financial circles have recently formed a
company, expecting to reap large gains
by free coal legislation, and it is said
that. their influence is being used in
favor Of the proposed removal OF the
duty.
It is we'll known that foreign ships
and seamen are paid less than those OF
| the United States. If we ARE to sue
cessfully compete under the new con-
ditions proposed our b must be re-
duced and we ought to have free ships:
Under our present laws American coal
must be carried betweenspoints in the
United States in American vessels.
The census of 1890 gives about $4,000
people in the states Yof Pennsylvania.
Maryland. Virginia, West Virginia and
Alabama employed in the production
of bituminous coal, principally mar
keted in the east. where foreign coal
completes. If the average is V per-
sons to a family, we have375,OOO people
in the FIVE states depending upon this
industry tor a living.
Free coal is different from all other
articles named i'll this regard; only a
few interests on the sea coast are bene-
fitted, and many thousands Sof persons
elsewhere are injured.
The duty paid to tho United States on
coalfor the last two fiscal years lS92
and 1888 was between 100000 and
l 100000. The Democrats announce
themselves .for tariff for revenue;
then why not make coal a part of it?
Coal should not be classed as raw ma
terial. In the mines it has very little
value, from five cents to twenty cents q
ton, depending upon it's quality and
locality. st Boston, whichyls Q central
point in New England for the delivery
| OF coal from the two Virginias, Mary-
land and Pennsylvania, it is worth