Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1904-02-11

No farmers dog ever made more
hard siding champions of foreign in
dustrfes are making over the loss by
the Krupps to our steel rail monopoly
of an order from the Mecca railway for
10000 tons of steel rails. The price at
which the order Is said to have been
taken is 500. SO per ton at Beirut. This
probably gives the steel rail monopoly
aboat 500 per ton in this country. The
hearts of Miss Krupp and the other
heirs of the great German gunmaker
are supposed to bleed for the poor
downtrodden American railroads, which
are forced, to pay these same monopo-
lists 1923. per ton. for all the rails they
put in their own tracks that the trust
may sell rails abroad cheaper than
!. Ki'llpp...
This interference with the krupp
profits has stirred Representative Rich
nrdson, well known publisher from
Teli.ressee, to introduce bill in con-
ereSs putting all trust made articles on
the free list and reducing the rate of
duly on all articles which we sell
abroad more cheaply than here. But
no chipmunk ever eluded the farmers
dog with more energy than Representa-
tive Richardson in fleeing from prop
osition to apply prohibition or increase
of duty to foreigners who do to us what
every American manufacturer should
do to them, land do it first" However
base the motive of the steel trust may
have been,. the action will result in re
muncrative employment for American
labor and Representative Richardson's
bill is designed. to take bread out OF
our laborers' mouths and reduce the
profitable sale of farm produce in this
county in order that European manu-
facturers may make more money.
Let. us look at these sales to Arabia.
At $50 per ton they bring 100000 into
this country. Secretary Shaw says with
substantial accuracy, "A foreign mar
ket for. $1,000,000 of manufactured
products means a domestic market for
at least SS00000 of labor" On this
basis the sale Of. the Mecca rails means
$500. GOO for American labor, or enough
to keep 5000 men Employed a month at
$40 each.
As much concern for railroad inter
ests under the operations of the steel
trust is continually expressed by openly
and :Surreptitiously free trade papers. u
glance at the statistics in 'Poor's Man
ual of Railroads will be instructive.
Comparing 1896, the last full year be
fore the Dingley bill, with 1902, we
find that in 1896 the average charge on
our railroads for carrying one ton of
freight one mile, or the ton mile rate,
was .S21 cents and in 1902 the rate
for the same service was .I64 cents,
or loss to the companies Of .OoI OF
mill. This, applied TO the tonnage of
1902. means that the railroads of this
country handled their freight for $780,
213000 less than they would have re-
ceiNed at the rates of 1896. The fall in
freight rates was per cent, and in the
passenger rates the fall was per cent.
The total difference between the rates
received on the business of 1902 and the
rates that We're charged in 1896, applied
TO the same amount of traffic, amounts
10 over 500, 100000. And that sum must
have gone into the pockets of producers
and consumers.
On the other hand the average price
of steel rails for 1896 was $2S. as it WAS
in 1902. The dividends paid in 1896 on
railroad stocks were $S1.52S, 154. and in
1902 they were $l51,O19,537. a gain of
about 50 per cent AS no calamity
hoWier will ever refer to these hSures
or admit that he has heard OF them,
they. with freight and passenger earn
inSs, ARE put in tabular form:
Per cent
increase
1909 1000 opaoso u
Freight rates,
per ton mile 0.s2l O.76i - 694
Freight earn .--o 80, -. ., ,o- o,o0
,,,sss,, rsto. ''' ~
-. ,,ua =: . 200 ono n 20