The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-09-20
THE INTELLIGENCER.
WHEELING. SEPTEMBER 20, 1897.
Z TIN Plate Industry.


The history of the tin plate industry
In this country is so recent and the cir
cumstances of the starting OF the mills
are so familiar to every one except chill
dren born within the past dozen years,
that the following assertion IN satur-
days Register caused about every one
who read 1t to smile:
The Republican politicians talked about
the establishment of the tin plate In
dustry by Republican tariff legislation but
Il was talk for politics only
Every tin plate worker and manufacture
or In the land and especially those In our
immediate vicinity knows that these are
the facts In the case OF this industry II
had no existence outside Of the minds OF
Republican politicians during the four
years Of the Mckinley tariff and 1t was
not until the Wilson bill was In full opera
ton that American tin plate was known
in the market.
The paragraphs appear In an editorial
which attempts to show that the Wilson
bill created the tin plate industry and
that the Mckinley bill failed ofSits pur-
pose. The Register totally ignores the
fact that the entire Democratic side in
Congress sneered at the very idea that
tin plate could be made in this country,
and that the Register itself declared that
such a thing was impossible. Mr.. Will
son and Mr.. Cleveland both sneered at
the confidence Of the Republicans that 1t
could be done and that all that was need
ed was tariff protection. 1t requires a
great deal of nerve, after this record. for
Democratic papers to claim the credit
of the establishment of an industry
which was established against their pro-
tests.
But is there the slightest ground for
the assertion of the Register as quoted
above--that the industry had no exist
ence until the Wilson bill was in full
operation? Fortunately, we have etatis-
tics showing the growth OF the industry.
The Mckinley bill passed in 1890. but the
tin plate schedule which called out the
protests of the free traders and the de-
claratlon that tin plate could not be made
In America, did not become operative
until the first of July of the
following year. Encouraged by the
protection afforded by the two and two
tenth cents duty manufacturers pre-
pared to go into the manufacture Of tin
plate and several mills were erected. so
that in a few months they were in opera
ton.
When a new industry is started 1t does
not grow to great magnitude in day,
but under the Mckinley bill this new en-
terprise made rapid progress. The first
years production of tin plate in this
country. according to the United States
government officers report to the bureau
of statistics, as required by law, the act
providing that the production must reach
a certain amount before the tariff should
be permanently In force, was 1856, 719
pounds of tin and terne plate. This was
in 1892 only year after the tin plate
schedule became operative.
The mills increased. and in 1893. year
before the enactment of the Wilson bill,
the production of tin and terne plates
was 9o,sl9,2O2 pounds, an Increase of
more than 700 per cent over the first year.
In August, 1894, the reduced tariff In the
Wilson bill was enacted against the pro-
tests of the manufacturers and tin plate
workers, Mr.. Wilson did not dare carry
out the threat to repeal the duty, but
eontented himself by simply reducing IT.
knowing that the industry was being
rapIdly devcloped and that n repeal
would check tho nrorress and cause the
loss of conltal ALREADY invested. ana
throw tho,sands of mon out NJ cmp,ov-
mont AsIt wos tbero were reductlona
40 wog,s folIov,ng the roduct,on NJ the
.oro
THO ,roduc,to, ,ho, voor all hr, rour
month"; or wb,cb tbc McKtr,cv hl,l wos
In ,orcc wos lao o22 lc7 noundo ~ lin ana
,orno ,,,,o Tho nrodrc,lon in 1so, yos
1oa sot ma mounds and in 1900 in s,,,o a,
40. -, ,,,a,,sa. ,...g.,,.a ~
on, soo c,t ..,,,,1. ,,,. -, ,,..., a,
nrodr.,,n, off o,,n. = haan,, ynor0aao
',,sr ,oac ~. a,uh ,As $50 -, ..a.
' " ' ~ 800" - ''''