Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1899-02-02
A TARIFF FOR ROBBERY.
Republican Profession Brings Pres
perfty to Trusts and Mo-
nop0Iies.

The Mckinley tariff of 1890 ena bled
/ Americans to put up tinplate factories
| There is no doubt about that. Tinpiate
was sold as high as six dollars box.
All consumers of tin, and the consum-
| ers of fish, fruit and vegetables canned
| in tin, contributed bonus to the infant
industry. It got on its feet. Now it has
grown so great that it not only supplies
the home market but exports a sur
plus; so rich that it pays dividends on
enormous issues of stock; SO strong
that it has developed into most lord
ly and gigantic trust, which controls
every tinplate factory in the country
and advances prices with none to mo-
lest or make afraid. The tinplate trust
must be struck down; and the only way
to strike at it is by adjustment of the
tariff which supports it.
The American Tinplate company has
acquired the IS large tinplate fac
tories in the United States. What they
cost nobody knows. But they could be
duplicated for $7.5O0.000. The trust is
capitalized, however, at 1000. 600, OF
which SO, 900 900 is preferred stock, and
$40, ZOO, 900 common stock. The trust is
expected to make money on this enor
nous capitalization. The preferred
stock is quoted as high as 102. and the
common at 46 bid and so asked. The
promise of the promoters is said to be
for seven per cent. dividends.
How will it make the profit? BY ad
vancing the price of tinplate. Tinp1ate
could be bought by Columbia river sal.
mon Gamers last September al So. 10
box. Now it is quoted at $3.65 and con-
tracts cannot be made at that. The sal
mon pack of the Pacific coast is some
100000 cases a year. This requires
$4,000 boxes of tinplate, costing, at
1906, 81, 1s2, 600. of which $17s.20o is
taken from us by the advance since Sep
TENDER. There are no figures of Pacific
coast fruit Gamers. Probably they do
not use quite as much tin as our salmon
Gamers, but large amounts are used in
California for putting up fruits and veg
etables. If the tin consumption of fruit
and vegetable Gamers is equal to that
of the salmon packers. we are out be-
tween $3.50 900 and $500, 900 through this
latest advance in tinplate, made to pay
dividends on the swollen stock of the
trust.
But this is, not the real loss to be
borne by consumers of fruit, fish and
vegetables, and by the Oregon farmer
and the Columbia river fishermen. We
produce iron and steel cheaply enough
to export it. In fact, we export tin
plates themselves. The duty is super
fuous. This duty amounts to $1.20
box. On 64S.000 boxes of tinplate the
Pacific coast is filched of $3.50. 900 year.
For the whole country the output of
the trust is estimated at 100000 boxes.
1t will sell this at $1.20 box more than
it can afford to sell it for, or $9.600.O 600
In the aggregate. fiched out of the
pockets of the people under the tariff.
We hear a great deal of talk about
laws against trusts. They ought to be
no doubt. When they vio-
late laws they should be fined as pro-
vided in statutes. When they bride
senators. judges or juries the guilty
officials should be sent to the peniten-
tiary. But these remedies are hardly
worth bothering with as long as the
great bulwark behind which the trusts
carry on their robbery is untouched
the protection accorded them by the
tariff. Men will be elected to congress
some of these days, and not so very dis
tant either, who will vote to withdraw
protection from every one of these CO.
lossal trusts. The republican party can
90 this. or it can stand aside for those
who will.-Portland Oregonian.