The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-03-28
A SIGNIFICANT STATEMENT.

An Associated Press dispatch from
London contains the statement that on
last Monday, at the annual meeting of
the great shipbuilding firm of William
Doxforo & Sons of Sunderland, Sir Will
liam Theodore Doxford made the state
mert that as long as the heavy import
duties on steel continue in the United
States British shipbuilders will be able
to get American steel for s. to $40 per
ton. cheaper than the price the same steel
sells for in the United States. In other
words, English shipbuilders are able to
build ships for less than they can be
built in the United States because they
can buy steel from the steel mills of the
United States for less-very much less
than American shipbuilders can buy it,
Senators Hanna and Frye ought to
make an answer to Sir William Doxford's
statement at once. or else the country
will wonder why, instead of trying to
pass a bill giving subsidies 10 ship build
ers and steamship companies, they do
not try 20 have the duties on steel pro-
ducts reduced.
is 1t not curious state of affairs that
American steel products are sold at low
er rates in foreign markets than in home
markets? And yet our legislators do not
seem to think they are called on to rem
edy this condition of affairs. The entire
country is being taxed to an extraordl-
nary extent to build up great fortunes
such as that of Mr.. Carnegie while the
great mass of the people are barely able
to earn living wages. 1t is certainly time
that the tariff was reformed. There is
no longer need for protective tariff on
steel or iron products. It is probable that
the plants of the billion dollar steel trust
could be reproduced for one quarter of its
capitalization, and yet it is expected that
it will pay big dividends
And one of its means Of increasing its
income is the charging of enormous prices
for all Of its products consumed in the
home market. There is no doubt that steel
can be made in this country-in fact that
it is made-at less cost than in any other.
That being the case there ought to be
no delay in removing duties from steel
products. The first thing Congress should
do when it meets next winter is to take
the duties off these products 1t is an
outrage that the American consumer of
them should be compelled to pay more
than the foreign consumer.
is it not somewhat remarkable that in
the debate last winter on the ship-sub-
sidy bill no mention of the fact was made
that one reason why it costs so much to
build ships in this country is that steel,
although manufactured at less cost than
elsewhere in the world, is sold in the
home market at much higher price than
in other countries?
Instead of taking the protective tariff
off of steel products, and thus protecting
the American consumers of steel, it is
proposed to put still heavier burdens on
the people by paying bounues to ship
builders and steamship companies Why
not encourage the shipbuilding industry
by making the billion dollar steel trust
sell steel products to the ship builders
at as low price as it sells them to Eng
fish ship builders? If that were done
there would be no need for subsidies to
encourage ship buildings.