Evening star., 1899-11-16
TIN PLATE INDUSTRY
An Independent Manufacturer Tells of the
Combine
Thinks the consolidation Has In
jured the Business and
Output.

Mr.. VIM. III. Griffith of Washington. Pa,
secretary of the Steel and Tin Plate Com
pany, appeared before the industrial COM
mission today.
Mr.. Griffith said he had surrendered one
Of his plants to the American Tin Plate
Company and had done so unwillingly and
because his partners had desired the deal
The plant they had sold was tin plate
plant, and he is now engaged in building a
new tin plate plant The American Tin
Plate Company, he said, had caused a com
pact among tin plate machine manufactur-
ers, so that their concerns will not manu-
facture machinery for eny one except the
American company Now there is only one
machine company not in that compact. and
that is at Canton, Ohio. That is the com
pany he said he was looking to to get the
machinery he needs for his mill. He had
been refused verbally by companies in the
combine when he asked to have them fur
nish him tin plate machinery. These COM
panles. he said, do not now have as many
contracts for machinery as they had two
years ago, when no such compact existed,
and some of them had told him they would
like to take his contracts, but they could
not do so under their agreements
Profits in the Business.
The American Tin Plate Company has,
he said, an arrangement whereby jobbers
handling its goods cannot handle a brand
1t does not control and If they desire to
handle them they have to have them
signed to the American company. He said
Carnegie now has a large contract with the
American company, which is so large that
they cannot furnish rolled billets to any
one except the American company. He did
not know that there was contract pre-
venting Carnegie from furnishing to some
one else, but thought the same result was
brought about because the order of the
American company was so large that the
Carnegie company could not take more or
ders. He thought Carnegie would next
year supply Independent companies. He
proposed to have mill to make billets and
do all parts of the work in his concern,
that he could not be embarrassed.
Before the mills with which the witness
was formerly connected as a stockholder
were sold to the American Tin Plate
Company they were making 20 per
cent on the investments. Tin plate was
then cheaper than at present, and cheaper
than at any time in the history of the
trade. When the witness first went into the
tin plate business he made 100 per cent on
the capital invested. Then tin sold at So 10
a box. When 1t came down to 50 60 a box
he made 20 per cent.
He believed that Independent companies
could manufacture tin plate cheaper than
the American company under Its present
management. This was so because the
owner Of the Independent mill gave it his
constant thought and care. The witness
said while the American company had been
very arbitrary in its conduct of business
and sought to prevent competition. he did
not think 1t had succeeded in making
competition impossible, though it now
frghtens independent men from going into
the business
He said the recent increase of price of
tin plate has been more proportional te
than the cost of making the plates.
Workmen on the Edge of Despair.
The tin plate that now sells for S4.G5 a
box of 100 pounds the witness said he
could make for $3.50. He based this on his
experience in the mills lie lately ran and the
ruling prices of material. He would not say
the American Tin Plate Company could
make tin plate at the same cost.
Mr.. Griffith said the workmen ARE stand
ing on the edge Of despair In their view
of the way the American Tin Plate Com
pany is managed. He said there
much Giscontent among them, and read a
letter from enploye Indicating this feel
ing The mills were not being carried on as
regularly as formerly, and in many other
ways the business is run to the disad-
vantage of workmen, the employe said OF
272 mills owned by the American company
50 are now closed down. Formerly they
were run when there was no immediate
sale for the tin plate. Their product was
stored until it was sold. Now the American
company will not manufacture when the
product is not at once needed, as it de-
clines to pay for storehouses.
Created by the Mckinley Tariff.
Mr.. Griffith continued his testimony dur
ing the afternoon. He said the Mckinley
tariff created the industry. but he would
not say that the present rate Of tariff was
absolutely necessary for continuing It. If
the tariff were wholly removed the industry
could not survive. He said that while the
American Tin Plate Company was capital
lied at $2O.0o0,o00 preferred and $4,000 900
common stock, the plants acquired by that
company would have cost at the time of
the consolidation to build about s12 900 600
Today they would cost $20,O00,0OO or S25,-
900, 900.
He knew of no railroad discrimination in
the tin plate industry against the individual
manufacturer and In favor of the American