Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1903-09-16
SUPPL ENT

THE MANCHESTER DEMOCRAT,
Wednesday, Sept. IS, 1908.
use on the farm. in the work shops,
steel bridges, plows, nearly everything
in common use in the home is pro-
duct in some way of this industry.
Tax on Steel Rails.
appeal to you at this hour-tell
me if you can how you are benefited
by the tax on iron and steel? will
give you one Illustration. The duty on
the steel rail is about $500 per ton,
that means that the foreigner in order
to enter into competition with the
United States steel corporation, must
pay all the original cost in the refin-
ing of the ore and its manufacture into
steel, shipping it across the ocean,
then pay the $500 ton before ne
comes into actual competition Win
American steel.
Do you know what it costs as shown
by the trade to make steel rails in the
United States? Statistics show be.
tween $3.50 and $40 per ton. and ii
they wished at less sum. That Is,
they could sell the steel rail in the
United States at $40 per. ton, and make
a profit, satisfactory to any legitimate
trade. But 1t does not SO sell. It's
price is $500. Why? Because the
foreigner must pay the $500 tax
before he can offer his rail and to this
Is added transportation charges.
You ask me now, what does 1T cost
to manufacture the foreign rail in the
foreign country and place it ready for
shipment The same authority that
gave us the price of the American rail
al New York states the price Of the
English rail at Liverpool. The cost
OF the English rail placed in the dock
ready for shipment is about $19 per
ton. The cost of the rail is the same
in both countries. This is true. for
the trade journals state that the Eng
lish buy the American steel in Eng.
land, ship it across to the United
States and sell it in competition with
our dealers after paying the tax
How do they do this? The United
States steel corporation undersells
the Englishman in his own country
and in order to drive him out of bust
ress and obtain the control of the
English market, it lays the American
product down and undersells the
Englishman. The Englishman buys
the American product, sends it across
to the United States and completes
with the American, in America, with
their own products. The United
States steel corporation knows that it
has the American market safe. Many
articles made in the United States are
sold cheaper on the continent than to
our own people and still the stand
patter" says that the tariff is not
shelter to monopoly. This corporation
is not losing money on the steel sold
In England, but if it did 1t would make
up the loss in the United States by
selling to the "stand patters." Here
is a direct shelter to monopoly and
not an effort made to reduce the duty
by the "stand patters" nor any at.
tempt made to dissolve the trust. My
Republican friend, If you believe in tar
III revision you will never get 1t from
a partner of the trust, or from men
who reap the benefits derived from d
non.competitive market.
Cummins on Tax on Steel.
Our worthy governor declared in
one of his public utterances that the
duty on steel was the cause of monop.
oily and increased the price to the con-
sumer by nearly one hundred per cent,
and that the duty should be reduced.
II 1t was true then, it is true now, and
1t will never be modified unless you
by your votes say to the men VINO
make the promises, they must be full
filed"
say to you, my friends, that the
duty upon steel rails, in fact upon
iron of all kinds, should be lowered to
"a minimum, if not wiped out entirely.
In fact, submit the duties on iron to
the genius who wrote the Republican
state platform in the year 1903-as to
whether this tax might not be lowered,
with perfect safety to the country. l
heartily endorse every word said by
Governor Cummins on this proposition
and l Join hands with him in the de-
mand then made for revision Of the
tariff on iron and steel and all articles
mononolized nv trust
1t aids in creating monopolies. The
United States steel corporation is one
OF the greatest monopolies Of modern
times 1t is no argument whatever
that the price of steel rails has been
reduced. One of the Iowa congress-
men said the other day that protection
had reduced the price of the steel rail.
How? In 1880 the steel rail was sell
ing at an enormous price and the duty
was $28 per ton, twenty per cent of
the actual value of the rail. Today,
the rail is selling at $2S and the duty
is more than thirty per cent of the
actual value of the rail.
The price may have been lessened,
but the duty has been increased. 1t
has not been protection that has les
sened the price, it has been demand,