The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-05-08
SOME TARIFF FIGURES.

In answer 10 our recent article, stat
Ing that manufacturers Of steel rails I'm
this country sold their rails, under the
Mckinley tariff. at just enough TO ex-
clude English rails after they had paid
the duty, the Spirit Of the Valley has
this TO say:
Now. let us come down to correct fig
ures and real facts, and see how they
compare with the theories and alleged
tacts OF The Times. The cost OF English
steel rails at the mills is about $3.50 per
ton, winch added to freight TO shipping
port and the freight from there across
me ocean to New York would make
the price at least sl9.2j. outside of profits
to eNpOrte1 or any other charges Now
then. to find out what these rails would
have 70 sell for in this country we must
add 10 the cost of the ton of rails when
lahdeu IN ms country. the present duty,
winch is SlM a ton. and the cost of the
foreign article would thus be brought up
10 W. But the price Of our homemade
steel rails is ~ ton, or s. less than
me foreign made rails, with freight and
import duty added. This proves concm-
Slvcly that American steel rails manu-
facturers do not add the tariff to the
price; for If they did they could add
Just 500 for each ton.
These are the facts as they exist to-
Gay, and the same difference existed
under the Mckinley law-that is, Ameri-
can-made steel rails sold for about five
Hblidio a ION it0N IMAM the IOItlEl-IndUe
rails would have done after adding
freight and duty. So The Times must
I'm fairness admit that neither under the
existing tarin, nor under the Mckinley
law. nor under any other tariff law has
the fun amount. or anything like as much
as the fun amount Of the tariff duty,
been added TO the cost OF the American
steel rails.
We have Heretofore given the prices
at which the American manufacturers
sold their rails while the Mckinley bill
was In force, which showed that they
put them up TO $50 per ton at the mill.
making them from s32 to 1913 at New
York which was just a little under the
English price at Liverpool plus the
freight (Which is inconsiderable. as they
are often brought over as ballasO. and
the tariff. As soon as the Wilson tariff
bill was passed the manufacturers Of
American rails dropped their price TO S22
at the mill. which makes them from $3.50
TO So at New York We inquired the
English price of steel rails on Monday
last and found them to be e rs. TO Is
l5s at the shipping point, on that day. in
England. If we take the intermediate
figure 10 AS II would make the price of
rails at the shipping point in England, on
Monday, about SIS allowing Sl.sS to the
pound. The duty is $7Si per ton. which
would make il necessary that the Eng
fish rail shall sell for s25.Si at New York
to pay expenses Of importing deaving off
freight. The American rail sells there
for about So per ton. We cannot for
the life OF us see why the American
manufacturer did not sell his product un-
der the Mckinley law. for all that the
Mckinley law allowed him to charge
while excluding the English rail, nor why
he does not now sell for just enough TO
exclude the English rail. He does 1t.
VIII the Spirit of the Valley please eN-
plain to us why the American manufac-
turer sold his rail at the mill, under the
Mckinley law. for $50 per ton but inn
mediately dropped his price 10 s22 per ton
as soon as the Wilson bill was passed?
The Wilson's bill tariff is $7.& per ton ana
the drop IN price after il passed was s..
Singular coincidence; is il not?