The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-08-06
SO TISPL4TE Mills RUNNING.
About 10000 Men and Boys Now Employed
in the Business.

PrTTsBuRG. Pa. Aug 5.-Pror to 1891 there
was one little tinplate factory in the United
States. the fruit Of the unassisted experiments
of an American manufacturer. SO small was
the output Of this little mill that it was almost
universally believed that no roofing plato at
all was made in tlis country. The plant en-
ployed about forty men. To-day. not quite
eight years after :he Mckinley Tariff bill went
into effect. there are nfty-two manufacturing
plants. and 80. 600 men and boys are drawing
wages from the tinplate industry. A few
years ago not sheet OF tinplate was produced
In the United States; to- day :. l97 800 pounds
or 5l,"75 boxes of tinpatc can be produced
annually. and for at least 300 days In the year
$4,000 In wages ia earned daily.
American tinplate manufacturers were not
simply satisfied with the advantage secured to
them by the Mckinley Tariff bill over their
Welsh competitors. 1t would have been posi-
BILE and 1t was almost natural for them to
depend upon the tariff alone but from the
very beginning they set themselves to outdo
the Welsh manufacturers in their own field. so
that at present European producers OF tin look
to America for new ideas and latest improve
mcnts in methods of work. The American
mills had scarcely started up before
they began to double the amount hero
toforo produced by a single hot MILL "
the m achinery and rolls in charge Of one crew
as distinguished from tn" word mill used to
designate the entire manufacturing plant
Not satisfied with doubling the put Of the
mill, they turned their attention TO bcttering
the methods in the tinhousc proper. and the
ancient system OF 81 anddippinE" the black
plates gave way to machinery To-day this
machinery is sold in constantly increasing
quantities to the Welsh manufacturers. who
had never even dreamed of the idea.
The industry could never have been ostah-
lished in this country without the aid of Welsh
workmen. and many hundreds were imported
To-day. however, Welsh work have prnr-
tcally ceased coming, unless to take their
chances at securing work. and Americans are
The development of this me- industry is
even more rapid than that Of steel. 1t was
hard to induce the trade, to purchase Amer
TO- lean Ttse th hs ana were an
duce the scale caused in those days by the sea
was different in tnpIate. Although The Indus
T T2 sr eshs he RR9HdFs the HSSkb9ey
a%slties 70 the best Vel 81 patS ' '4"'' III al
ployed in the tnplate industry. not counting
sryerb thousand supGrntendfns and once
dy of urn rG and hc 800
mills need. therefore. 3O.OOO hands. The
eight hours constituting a days work: Roller.
5doublsrb 80 &. 70 81; heater 81 catcher.
sometimes employed by roller. 1875. in
which case the rollers daily wage It
being on n tonnage basis. amounts to
cold roll catcher 81 so poke, in boy, 81 so to
81, 10; anncaler So to So; picker. So to IS.
These wages are based on the scale which re-
Gently went into effect. Then there are also
plate whe"lers boss truckers. tinhouse truck
kranners. floor sweepers. tinhouse grease and
scrut men. assorters reckoners. boxers, tin
weighmcn, assorting-room truckers, waste
gatherers. member gatherers, annealng fur
mace men and laborers in apd about the an
neal ing furnaces. and picking depart cnt
leaders. unloaders assorters. straiRhteners
packers and other. laborers The wages OF
these men. boys and girls have ranged from ST
70 S250 day. and were recently advanced
from 10 to b per cent.