Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-12-03
The PRINCE OF pAUPEas.
All Kinds of Favors Contribute -
the Welfare of the steel
Trust.

Andrew Carnegie once said that steel
is either a prince or a pauper. He
meant that the industry is either very
prosperous or very much depressed at
any particular time; that it goes
from one extreme to the other. But
this billion dollar trust is also the
prince of paupers, for it asks for and
receives more and greater favors than
ever before fell to the lot of any other
individual or corporation.
In the first place, it receives from the
United States a tariff bone which
amounts to about SIS, 900, 900 a year.
That is, fully SIS, 000, 900 of it's $133,-
DOC, 900 of net profits last year were due
to the tariff On steel products, absolute
ly unnecessary to preserve the indus
try, and serving only to enable the
trust TO extort SIS, 100000 a year from
our citizens, who are compelled to pay
40 per cent. more for steel than is paid
by foreigners who buy steel of the same
trust. If bills are introduced in con-
gress to reduce the duties on steel, or
to in some way relieve the oppressed
consumers, the steel trust writes to or
sees Congressman Dalzell, or some of
its other representatives, and the re-
publican leaders at once decide that IL
is unwise to touch the tariff at present;
that it would disturb our prosperity to
stop the robbery by the trusts; that
he republicans can be trusted to re-
wise the tariff when there is great need
of it; that it is best to leave this ques'
ton until after the presidential cleo
ton; in short, that it Is best to
stand pat" And so the steel trust
continues it's SIS, 900, GOO a year graft.
In the next place this steel trust is
always getting special favors from
those %semipublic institutions, the rail-
roads. 1t is not generally known that
Andrew Carnegie, like John d. Rookie
through secret and illegal rebates
from the railroads; yet such is the
fact. At no time, for 20 years, have
the railroads not been giving Illicit
rates to the steel manufacturers. Pres
ident Schwab testified before the in
dustrial commission that the railroads
always gave specially low rates on
materials to be exported. This is il
legal and against public policy, but the
interstate commerce commission Is
powerless to compel the railroads to
give the same rates to allssomers. AS
a result we Americans not only pay 40
or 80 per cent. more for steel, but have
to pay additional freights on other
goods to make up for the lower rates
charged on steel transported for for.
eign markets. 1t is a beautiful system
for the steel trust. 1t catches u
going and coming. And now the rail-
roads are said to have granted the re-
quest of the steel trust for a 20 per
cent. reduction on all finished steel
products transported to the seaboard,
1t is also expected that the steamship
companies will be good to this great
beggar and give it specially low rates,
This will enable the trust to sell al
wen lower prices in foreign markets.
Willy II hCSpo up luOSS dI llOlIC'
Again, the steel trust has for more
than a year been getting special favors
of the iron and steel workers, who
have been working at reduced wages to
enable the trust to sell goods for eX-
port. Now the trust is asking all its
employees to work for wages from ten
to 40 per cent. below what they are at
present receiving, in order that the
trust may make more goods for foreign
markets and may continue to pay divi-
dends on it's highly watered stock. 1t
would be cruel for the wage earners to
refuse this favor, which will save this
pauper over SIT, 900, 900 a year, and
wages will surely come down; in fact,
they have already been reduced in
many mills, Many workers, however
have been laid off entirely. This saw
ing is said to amount to over SO 900, 900.
By cutting salaries 80 per cent. another
saving of $12,0 O0, 900 is to be made
showing that $40,0 200, 900 a year are
now paid in salaries.
Altogether the steel trust, through
special rates from railroads, wage re-
auctions averaging 20 per cent, salary
reductions of 80 per cent, men dropped
from the pay rolls and by other eco
nomics, hopes to save $56, 900, 900 a
year. With these savings this trust
hopes to weather hard times and to
avoid bankruptcy, although continuing
to pay tens of millions of dollars a
year on stocks that are all water.
if there are any other favors which
have been overlooked, and which this
beggar really wants, the present
friendly republican congress will
remedy the oversight. Nearly 100, GOO
investors are interested in steel stocks,
and have lost more than $4C0 600, 900 OF
their hard earned savings. 1t will not
do to let them lose all. This generous
country, it's obliging consumers, the
kind wage earners and the sympathetic
railroads will rush to the rescue and
will see that the steel trust does not
make less than 80 per cent. profit on
all steel sold. Less than this would
prevent it from paying dividends on all
stocks. This trust must be kept afloat
somehow, or the country will be lost.
BYRON w. HOLT.
OPINIONS AND POINTERS.