The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1899-06-23
1T is A WONDERFUL SHOWING.
Development of an Industry Under the
Protection and Stimulus of
the Tariff
From the Philadelphia Inquirer.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer
The efficacy of the protective 81 stem as al
agency for the development of indu-Ira
enterprises and the enri hmf mt of an acuv,
people with great natural resources at CON
mand. his seldom been so convincing,
and impressively illustrated as in the cast
of the duty which a republican congress
nine years ago at the instance of President
Mckinley then cha rman OF the committee
on ways and means, imposed on tin plate
No feature of the famous tariff OF 1890
provoked more virulent, vindictive and
INSCRIPTIONS opposition The democratic
and mugwump tree traders directed against
1t their loudest batteries Their great point
was that while imposing tax on the dinner
pail of the woIk'ngmah, It would certainly
fail to accomplish It's IN ended object. Tin
plate simply couldr't b. made in the United
States, and II they, were asked why not,
their only answer was because II couldn't
It was an uIcmv,, cling argument, and
SELDOM has arsun-nt been more over.
whemingly reiu;' E-eldom has the in
genuity OF the spec, plesder been so
utterly COMPOUNDED by the logic of the facts.
The statistics of thu Industry for the past
ten years supply a demonstration of the
value of a protective duty intelllgenty laid
which can neither be contradicted nor ex.
planned away. Figures are generally dry
reading but In this connection they surpass
the eloquence of the ablest orator and are
more interesting than the latest scandal.
Prior to the imposition of duty on tin
plate, which became operative on July l,
1891, the tin plate industry of the lutte
States simply did not exist. The tariff inn
mediately beha an to get its work in. Dslring
the next succeeding six months the
domestic production of tin and terne plate
amounted TO 2. 236. 743 pounds.
That was pretty we'll for a starter, but it
wasn't circuu> auce to what was coming.
In the first full Year of manufacture I'M de
the protection aud stimulus of the tariff the
production at American tin plate had in
creased twenty tod TO upward of 40 600,
900 pounds, and still! this was only be
ginning. BY 1898 the output had more
than tripled. 1t now aggregated 1913, 600,.
900. and the advance since then has been
rapid and uninterrupted. Thus it happens
that last year the mills Of the United
States turned out 792, 900, 900 pounds of
plate, and that since the tariff was enacted
the production in this country has reached
the amazing total of 2, 1855, 500, 629 pounds.
Scarcely less notable and satisfactory is
the fact that the predictions of the free
traders with regard to the effect of the tin
plate duty on the price of the 'poor mans
dinner pail" have been as effectualy ex-
plOded as all the rest. The creation of
another great American industry has been
accomplished without placing any burden
on the consumer. So far from that, the
consumer has been benefited Flu cans for
packing are sold today to packers at prices
twenty-five per cent less than were paid in
1891, and the same statement is true OF tin
plates for roofing 1t is a wonderful show.
ing, and 10 the republican party in general
and M. Mckinley in particular belongs the
credit for il