The Minneapolis journal., 1903-04-17
WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK
The Tariff and small industries.

t5N INC 8ElH ana Snalt INDUSTRIES
TO the Editor Of The Journal.
When reading your editorial on the pres
ident's speech,fiins Tuesdays Journal. as
being disappointment to many, it,
brought to mind a.Spart~of that speech,
that struck me very forcibly, namely. the
fear he expressed, that a.treduction a Of the
present high tariff would injure the small
manufacturer. Having had experience in
that line, I think that it may do good to
relate my experience to you and your
readers.
In the year 1874, r. p Russell, r. J.
Mendenhall, myself and others of this
city, formed a company for the purpose
! OF manufacturing screws. We built fac
| tory, made the machinery and started the
manufacture of screws.
| The price Of screws in the United States
gradually fell until they were much
cheaper than in any other place in the
world, 20 per cent cheaper than in free
trade England.
At that period the American Screw
company Of Providence, r. L.. the screw
trust or monopoly which had paid semi
/ monthly dividends on their. stock of 60
4 per. cent for great many years, paid no
! dividends for five years. They wrote us
letter, asking us to see the member of
congress for our district and have him
favor high tariff for screws.
| Why!ss What did we care about pro-
lection from those that sold them 20 per
cent higher than we did? We never had
thought of foreign competition. We
never heard any one mentiol8Iny trouble
from foreign competition, but we had
many warnings of trust competition
which we were told often amounted to
criminal competition.
Why did the American Screw company
want a high duty on screws? They were
nghtlng for monopoly and monopolist' S
profits, and after they were rid of US,
| and ofI1ors e.
to- make. enough to pay for what it had
cost them to buy or freeze US out, by rails
ing the price Of screws as high as the
tariff would keep out foreign competition
Ihes higher the, tariff the greater the
stake fought for, and the greater the
temptation to use crooked ways to kill
a competitor. .tss.
hundreds Of infant Industries all thru
the west especially, have been put out
OF existence or stunted in their growth
oy the benefcence of high protective
tariff.
Some time ago glass manufacturer of
OttaWa, ILL.,, told me that the glass trust
OF flttsburg, Pa. took all the pleasure
that there was in business out of his.
Altho 1t was his money that built the
factory and run the business. all that he
had to 40 was to obey orders. The ring
at F1ttsburg told him how much glass to
make, What he should sell it for, and the
amount Of wages that he should paw his
men. He had to obey orders or be froze
out Il asked him If there was no way
by which he could become independent OF
the ring at Pittsburg. He said that the
only thing that he could think of was to
40 away with the tariff on glass. On be-
ing asked how that would help him he
!; said that if there was no. tariff on glass
the ring at Pittsburg would never attenapt
TO freeze him out, for if they did thew
would never get back the money spent in
so doing.
i The protection that the small uanufac-
tutrer needs is the protection of their in
1ant factories from the unfair and offer
criminal competition of the rnonopolists
) or the east. The cost Of transporatio
and other expenses in selling goods in :
dlstant market is generally ample protec.
ton for him in his home market agafns,
foreign competition. In a monopolv =
nlgh tariff is absolutely necessary to bal
ance the high cost of it's maintenance
Wltnout governmental shelter most mon
) opolles are short lived.
Take away the influence of the tr,st.
l and monopolists from washington then al
the lear OF injury to the laboring man ant
, the small manufacturer by a revision q
> tne tarif would vanish Immediately.
3 80 "F,.'7F@E=4 w. H. Fruen.