West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1903-10-15
CARNEGIE's EVIDENCE,
Another Big Nail Driven In
Projections Coffin.
TRUTH ooKEs OUT IN ENGLAND.

'Rctired" MaEnate Exposes the In-
iauity of Our Outrageous rariR o.
steel.
The publication few weeks ago of
the History Of the Carnegie Steel Com
pany," by ]. s. Bridge. formerly privats
secretary OF Andrew Carnegie, drove q
big nail I'm the coffin OF the protected
steel trust. 1t contains letter from
sfr. G. NJ. schwab to Mr.. II. @. Frick
which states that the cost Of making
steel rails I'm this country was less than
s12 a ton In 1890 and that their cost
IN England was then SO a ton Steel
rails were then selling for SIS n ton
here and for $50 for export, the duty
Of ST.S4 enabling the trust to make this
difference In price.
Andrew Carnegie drove another nail
in protection's coffin on Sept. /. when
he spoke I'm England at tho conference
of the Iron and Steel institute. He then
recounted the wonderful growth of the
iron and steel industry, especially In
America. which now produces nearly
half the steel OF the entire world. Dis
cussing the very low cost OF producing
steel in the United States. he said:
There have been made and sold
without loss hundreds OF thousands Of
tons OF four inch steel billets at three
pounds for penny. To mako that
40 - ut, nd i...a 49,,
pounds of material were required
three pounds of coke. mined and trans
ported sixty miles to the works; one
and onc-half pounds of lime. mined and
transported $50 miles, and four and
one-half pounds Of ironstone. mined at
Lake Superior and transported 900
miles TO Plttsburg. being transferred
twice-once from the cars into the
ship and again from the ship into thA
railway cars. This was done during
the day OF depression. when everything
was at the lowest"
Three pounds for penny" means
$14.90 ton. In 1907 billets sold for
S14 ton for awhile. without loss
means with reasonable profit, and
reasonable profit means 10 per cent to
20 per cent TO such men as Mr.. Car
negie, whose mills made net profits of
$35. 100000 the year before they were
sold to the steel trust. Henry Have
meyer. president of the sugar trust.
once said that he considered Is per
cent n fair profit and that he would
not invest his money where he would
get less.
But observe that Mr.. Carnegie did
not claim that steel was ever ''made
and sold without loss' at ''three pounds
for penny" In any other country than
America. He knows that 1t is made
cheaper here than anywhere else on
earth. In view OF these facts. why Is
there duty on billets OF from $6.72
20 S13.14 ton? What purpose can II
serve except to protect the billion dol
lar steel trust and to enable 1t to
charge unreasonable prices for its
products? II compels the thousands
OF manufacturers who consume steel
TO buy of the big trust or to go out OF
business. Is 1t any wonder that, as
II. @. Dun e Co. report, the manufac-
turing failures I'm August, 1903, amount.
ed to S7.74S,6S5, against $2.762, ,1S0 In
August 1902, and that practically all
the excess over tho losses I'm August,
1902, was provided by few large fail.
ures In iron and machineryT Is Il not
fhoA ffxc A..
manufacturers out OF business and that
1t Is killing them with the tariff club
put into its hands by a Republican
congress-?
Ard II these outraged manufacturers
object TO being pounded and, as they
did last winter, go before congress and
ask for liberal drawback duties on
steel. so that they can at least obtain
steel for their export trade as cbeaply
as their foreign competitors, what hap.
pens2 The president of the steel trust
simply tells Mr.. Dalzell and Mr.. Payne
of the ways and means committee that
II does not approve of the Lowering
drawback bill. and that settles II.
When the steel trust says, Stand pat;
we want no change I'm tariff duties
the Republican leaders in congress say,
Hands or the tariff" and the Bah
cockitcs and the Iowa ideaists sub
side.
The discipline Of the Republican par
ty Is admifable-to the trusts, who pay
campaign expenses and pocket the tar
ifs graft.
Over 10000 tons OF steel biIlets In.
gots. etc. valued at over $1,000. 600
were imported for the year ended
June 30. 1903. The duty on them was
about S3GO0000. These figures testify
20 the death struggles Of numerous
manufacturers trying to escape from
the grasp Of the tarIff protected steel
octopus VIII the present congress
come to the rclIef OF the thousands OF
surviving manufacturers, or will It, like
the last ono, obey the dictates OF tho
steel trust and stand patT"
There Is little hope, for President
Roosevelt has decided 20 "stand pat
this year and next Some time per.
baps, when ordinary manufacturer
are dead and when consumers are bIed
almost TO death. he viii think II advis
able to take up the tariff questlon-if
Wall street and the trusts think II pcr.
fectIy safe to do 80.
Oh. for IN Andrew Jackson IN the
White Honse to read the riot act Ia
these doinlneering. dlctatorial and bull.
doing trustsl