The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1897-01-10

Washington, Jan. 9.-Thp House COM
mittce on ways and means reached the
iron and steel schedule to-day. The first
speaker before the committee was Repre-
sentative Draper, of Massachusetts. in
behalf OF the machinery manufacturers of
New England, he advocated the restora-
ton OF the Mckinley rates.
w. III. Alexander, of the Grant Smrlt.
ing Company, of Omaha, spake for lower
rates on lead ore, asking for u provision
that the lead in all metals containing lead
ore he dutiahle at three-fourths of \ cent
II pound. The importation of lead ore
was necessary for smcltinV, he held, and
under an erroneous inTrrrctation of the
present law it paid as ! rates rs ! and
. II cents Il pound. DutieS of - cents
on Lead bullion and | ) 1 cents on pn, lead
were asked. American capital was in.
vested in Mexico and British Columbia
for protecting the ores.
:. Burke spoke for the Canadian Conner
Company, of which he is president and
which is entirely an Ohio corporation.
They had sold to the Government conner
nickel mats ut / cents IL pound when
the market price was % cents, that its
value in armor plate might he proved.
me subject OF pig iron was next taken
up. William y. Inghum. of philadel-
~
tio3, composed OF the smeltcrs east of the
Allcghencys, asked n restoration of the
duty of the Mckinley rate of 60 Il ton.
Another member of the eastern assoca-
tlon, j. c. Thropp, of Everett, Pa. nd.
dressed the committee after the recess
The shelters regarded the present conGi.
tlon OF the market as abnormal. he said
i'riceS here were lower than they should
he and prices abroad abnormally high.
At present the Wilson law, 81 n ton. was
sufficient prDtection. The depression i'm
the United states market was due Co do
mestlc competition and decreased con
sumption. Last years consumption was
/, 10000 tons less than that of 1892.
The Southern mills were making no
money. The. view of the tariff question
held by the association was that on pro.
ducts American resources could supply
Tor American consumption, the duties
should DE high enough to'kecp..out foreign
goods The average cost of pig iron in
Pennsylvania was $40 to $50. 80 ton.
The ore laid down ut the WORKS in Penn
sylvania cost $625 To s. IL ton, while the
southern smelters could secure il at 81
or more cheaper. Another advantage
helu by southern manufacturers was that
they could practically compel their work
men To deal ut company stores which was
forbidden 10y PENNSYLVANIA law. one
Virginia company had made SIS, 900 on
It's store last year while it had lost ON
every ton of iron turned out
W: G. Cronemyer, OF pittsburg, asked
the following advances in rates on tin
plates and similar wares: On tin plates.
on sheets of iron or steel ssfrom 10 to
~ cents pound; sheet iron or sheet
steel polished or glanced from is to 1T
cent pound; sheets, common or black.
between 10 andes wire guage from ITO
To 2-l0
Il. T. smith, representative of the
Canned Goods Association, .of Baltimore,
protested agains: any increase in tin plate
duties on the ground that they would de.
crease the Government revenue and en-
able home manufacturers to raise prices
The three Baltimore tin. plate mills had,
he said, been closed under the Wilson
law, but the witness thought from other
causes than that law. For II year past
american tin plate.had been from Is to
20 cents per 100 pounds cheaper than for
cign plate delivered ut American seaports.