The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1899-12-01
HOW THE TARIFF HELPS
TRUSTS.


Mr. A b. FarQuhar, of York, Pa, the
wcllknown manufacturer and exporter of
agricultural implements, contributes to the
series of articles on trusts now being cir
culated by the New England Free Trade
League discussion of steel trusts and the
aid the tariff of $1S4 a ton gives them in
plundering home buyers of steel rails and
other steel products. The steel trusts, he
complains, have put up their prices on him
higher than on foreigners to whom they
sell, with the result of obstructing his ex-
portation of agricultural implements. The
removal of the tariff on iron and steel
would destroy the trusts power and en-
able him to get his steel at about the same
prices paid by foreign competitors to
American steel makers. Mr.. Farquhar
now finds himself, he says, in the position
of being held down by his Government
while be is pounded by the various steel,
iron, coal, lead and other tariff trusts.
Many other manufacturers and exporters,
it is stated, now feel the pinch of protec-
ton. The practice of the trust being to
accept a reasonable profit from foreigners
and exact from Americans the full 1874
afforded by the tariff, in additional to
reasonable profit, very severe check is
given to the development of our export
trade.
Tie trusts abuse of the power given it
by the tariff is illustrated by one of the
recent results, namely, the importation of
two cargocs of steel guard rails, one being
brought from Scotland, the other from
Germany. These rails were to fill orders
from various street railway lines in East
ern cities. This country exports steel
rails A few months ago one mill shipped
10000 tons to North China, and larger
amount has been engaged for future de-
livery. From this one might infer that
American street railways ought to be able
to get steel rails cheaper here than abroad.
AS matter of fact, on the two cargoes of
imported rails just mentioned there was
The trouble arises from the fact that the
steel combine, protected by the 1874 duty,
exacts from home buyers of rails a profit
| of 100 per cent, while selling abroad at
low figures. For this reason, it is cheaper
to buy guard rails from Scotland than
from steel rail mill across the street
The fact that the demand for such rails is
restricted accounts in part for the trusts
|.excessivc grecdiness in this case and con-
sequent failure to exclude foreign compe-
tition.
ON this case Mr. Farquhar says, ''it
is plain that the pool, or trust, has over
reached itself l some years ago compared
protection grabbing to the behavior of pigs
| at their feeding; the eagerness with which
the corn is seized results in the waste of
| more than is eaten. The trust could have
| kept all the trade in guard rails and
| cleared at least 80 per cent. profit by put
| ting the price lower. Though its eager
ness may carry it too far in special lines
where the demand is not very large, it
makes no such mistake with steel rails of
ordinary construction. For these it care
fully keeps the price just low enough to
escape importations, the amount of the
duty being realized by it as added profit
ian unwarrantablc tax upon home con-
sumers, as is proved by its expectations,
and so we hear nothing of imports of ordi-
nary rails. In fact such exceptional cases
| are to be taken not as indications of the
usual working of the trust, but merely as
episodes" The close alliance of trusts
and the tariff is becoming plain to every
intelligent man, though some people are
perpetually trying to confuse it by saying
that trusts flourish in free-trade England.
But this fog is easily blown away AS
suming that consultations and combina-
tions take place in England as they do
here it makes all the difference in the
world that there is no hightariff wall in
! England to protect combines from foreign
competition. We do not object to trusts
| merely because they are trusts, but be-
cause, having tariff duty to protect them
| from foreign competition, they take ad-
vantage of it to put up prices on American
consumers of their products, while selling
them low to foreigners. English trusts
could not do that, since English ports are
open to all the W orld, and German, Fl ench,
Austrian and American competitors would
soon take away the business of an English
trust that advanced prices unduly. I'VE
are not claiming says Mr.. Farquhar,
THAT associations of producers are under
all circumstances an evil, for we freely
admit that in some form they must con-
tinue to eXist-that union for business
purposes is something that has come to
stay. The evil comes in when the associ-
alton is encouraged to Cypress fellow citi
zens by monopoly which legislation has
made Precisely the same organization
may be fragrant evil if granted monop-
oily, and quite harmless if not so favored.
Further, the monopoly that renders the
trust formidable may arise from other
sources-possession of lands, deals with
private corporations, and what not-as
well as from legislation. But it is sense
less to speak of that as disproving that
legislation may be and is used to create
monopolies. Why are the trusts and COM
bines so much more harmless in England
than here? Just because legislation there
does not put Il weapon into their hands to
aid in reducing citizens to suhmission"-
BGNimo.P sun
BLOODY VICTORY.
London was startled last Wednesday