St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-02-19
ARoUT PLATE GLASS.

interview with Mr.. Conger, OF C'hlo'
stating his efforts to consolidate the
nlate glass factories, and his state
ment that they could stand the cut
in the tariff without reductlon OIL
vases. Among our exchanges Is d
Pittsburg paper devoted to the glass
interests. In it's latest issue we ma
some interesting matter bearing on
this question. Mr.. Conger's scheme
of consolidation is now completed
and will go into operation on the ISL
of April. 1t embraces every plate
glass factory in the country except
three, and these are not Included
because they are in financial dill
cuities: but as soon as these are
Strengthened out they will be taken
into the combination. They lntena
to put in labor-saving machinery,
and especially to apply some new
electrical devices which will greatly
cheaper the cost of production.
The Glass Worker says the pro
iectors hope to be able to effect
great economies that will result in
greater profits when the COM
panies take charge" it continues,
October prices will be restored,
which are about 10 per cent
higher than the current rates, or
just about the price for which for
eign glass may be imported. This
means that the trust will approprl-
ate to itself the full benefit of tarlff
rates, keeping the price sufficiently
below the import price, duty paid,
to give it monopoly Of our market.
This makes it of interest to users OF
plate glass, and, under our later
styles of architecture which demand
these large plate glass fronts for
our stores, these consumers are
legion.
Turning to the report that was
made by the experts of the treas
ury department, comparing the tar
if rate under the act Of SO, of 80,
the Mills bill, the house bill and the
present senate bill, we find that the
average ad valorem tariff under the
first three was ia per cent on cast,
polished and finished plate glass.
The house bill reduced this to 104
per cent and the senate raised it to
122 per cent, at which it now stands.
The specific tax, of which this is
the ad valorem equivalents 30 cents
per square foot on all such plate
glass above "a by 60 inches. The
object of the combination, then, is
to secure the advantage to them
selves Of this 81 cents per s112re
foot by advancing prices, as stated
by the Glass Worker, to about the
limit at which foreign glass can be
imported.
The same table gives the unit
of value of glass of this size at
the ports of export at 20 cents a
square foot in 1898. The duty then
was so cents a square foot, or ia
per cent ad valorem. If the foreign
value remains the same, the duty
of So cents a square foot will bring
importations up to about 60 cents a
square foot, duty paid. The mortl-
flying thing to us in this
is that Democratic con-
gress, elected to eliminate all
protection form the tariff, should
put upon plate glass tariff for the
protection of these few makers, in
order to enable them to form and
maintain a monopoly of it, amount
ing to over 100 per cent.
The pretext for this, Of course, is
the old and stale one that it was
necessary in order to enable the
factories to maintain "the American
wage rate" and the dignity of
American labor" We can under
stand the feelings of the working
men in this industry, who, the Glass
Worker says, regard this combina-
ton or trust as one (which will
make their condition worse" for we
find by the census returns of 1896
that the labor cost in the production
of all the glass in the United States
was but 25 per cent of the value
of the product, while their employ
ers demand, and a Democratic con-
gress weakly grants, a protection OF
122 per cent to protect" their Ia
borers, or nearly five times the
amount of the cost Of the labor tC
| them in making glass.