The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1897-05-28
KANSAS GYPSUM,
A Few Facts Regarding the Industry and
Why 1t Should Be Protected.

WY AE SHOULD DC Efute1EGaa
People in many parts OF the west are greatly
agitated over the failure OF the senate Dill to
place q duty on unmanufaotured gypsum The
bill as it passed the house placed duty Of sl.5G
ton on the raw material. but the senate bill
left it OF entirely. Few people not In touch
with some phase OF the hard plaster industry
realize how great the importance Of this mat
ter. Ask any contractor ip- the country what
kind Of plaster is now most used in plaster
ing walls Of the different kinds OF buiid-
ings and he viii tell you hard plaster is
now used very largely, ana that its use is
on the increase rapidly. He viii likely 60
further and say that in his Judgment It viii be
but few years Catil it wiz have entirely re-
placed the old style lime mortar for all kinds
Of wall plastering. Probably he viii add that
il is in use from the Atlantic TO the Pacific. II
you carry your Inquiry further aud ask him
from what this hard plaster is made, and what
are the methods Of manufacture ne viii smile
at your ignorance and tell you that all the
brands are made from gypsum and that the
difference in the plastsrs is due entirely to the
mode Of handling ana the degree Of purity OF
the materials.
Gypsum is found in many places In the world.
In the United States it is most abundant In
Kansas, Iowa, Michigan, Indian territory and
Texas, each Of which have factories for max
ing hard plaster. Kansas leads all other states
in the value Of her products at present, but
Michigan and Iowa follow closely, and the
other states add largely to the total pTOduc-
ton.
Canada also has gypsum and here is where
the rub comes Large quantities Of it are an
nually shipped from Nova Scotia by water to
New York and other sea ports 70 which places
it has come as ballast, and therefore at little
cost, and is there made into plaster and sent to
the markets Of the world Il IS sent by way Of
the great lakes into Chicago at lower freight
rates than can be obtained for the western
product. In this way the imported plaster is
laid down in the very heart Of our country at
less cost than the plaster from gypsum much
nearer by.
Could a duty OF s. a ton be placed on the gyp-
sum the great west could then~cOpe with the
importers to a good advantage But the sly
Yankee has not been mapping al this time for
nothing. No sooner did the house place a duty
on the raw material than b. at once set up a
cry to the few members OF tie senate whom he
wished to influence that u S was un-republio-
IN because it was putting tariff on raw nate
rials, and hence crushing home industries
This succeeded in persuading the senate CONE
mittee TO leave the duty on entirely. II
is further stated that Senator Baker, Of
Kansas, and other western senators have
given up the fight as though it was Of no conse-
Quence to the great west Well it is not Of
consequence to the silver-mining states, for
/ they have no gypsum. Neither is II OF cOnse-
| Quenee TO the far east, for they are only indi-
rectly interested in the matter. But TO the
great middle west it is of greatest importance.
ried on largely enough to supply q narrow
home supply without the duty, and industries
reaching many millions year with the duty.
But, you say this is q plea for placing a
| duty on raw material, and you cannot do this
without gripping our home manufactures
| This is not for the BEST interest Of the AmeFi-
can people" But wait There is where you
/ show lack Of knowledge Of the processes
I passed through in the manufacture Of hard
| plaster All that is done is 10 heat the gypsum
and drive of the water Of cTystalization, maxi
! ing loss in weight of from % to go per cent
This can be done at small cost, so that it does
not at all compare with the labor required TO
manufacture almost any other product In
! this way letting the raw material in is almost
/ the same as letting in the manufactured prod
uct We always have been in favor Of protect
| ing home industries in the true sense Of the
! term. We want to use American natural prod
ucts, and American labor In getting the gypsum
| from the mines into the calCining furnaces,
and we want everything else about it to be
/ American.
/ Further than this we want the great middle
! west to have fair play once Itisa well-knoTn
/ fact that the great bulk Of recent legislation
| has been aimed at the extremes Of our country
1t has been for the far east, OF the far vest the
! far north, OF ths far south Is it not about
/ time that the great middle west had something!
/ Michigan, Iowa Kansas, Texas, what phalanx
/ we could present if we would 1t is the duty Of
/ both the senators from Kansas ana from Niche
gan and from Iowa, and from Texas 20 stand
! together in this cause and insist on having
/ what they want No matter whether they are
| free traders or pFotectiOnists, now is the time
| when their home is assaiied, and they should
stand together and boldly demand what they
want They could get it Just as easy as asking
tt # they try. II they do not get it We will ali
! know that the reason is they have not tried
Prof E. Haworth, of Kansas State University