Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1904-11-01
AMERICAN
CONSUMERS BILKED
Startling Difference Of Cost in Favor
Of Foreign Steel Rail Buyers.

OF the points made by Hon. John
Sharp Williams, in his powerful anti
! trust speeches. none is so unansweP-
able as that which be emphasizes with
the undisputed fact that steel rails
manufactured in this country are sold
cheaper TO foreign than to American
consumers.
Here is the way Mr.. Williams treat
ed the subject in his Brooklyn speech
of October !:
/ Let me read you letter frsm Mr..
| Roaul, President of the National Rail-
| road Company of Mexico. a road which
operates both in Mexico and in Texas.
I'm 1902 | secured bids on steel rails
| for Mexico from omitted States mills at
about $24 delivered at Tampico. willie
/ the price l paid at the same time for
rails for our road in Texas was SIS at
/ the mills"
| Remember that these rails were laid
/ down at Tampico Mexico, for $24, and
that the freight to Tampico was 81, so
that the price at the mills for the rails
shipped to TampicO was $40. while, as
the writer states, the price at the mills
for that part of the order to be used
in Texas was S2S. The extortou in
this case was IS.
Let me read you part of another LETT
ter. addressed to Senator Bacon. Of
Georgia. and dated February %. 1904.
and written by Mr.. j. 4. Wright, an
Indiana Republican:
The extension of our road, some for
ty miles, was decided upon and cash
provided for it early in the spring OF
1901. Owing to the demand at that
time for steel in all forms and the
probability of an advance in price, it
seemed wise to take up the matter OF
the purchase of the necessary rails at
once. Inquiries. therefore, were adj
dressed and mailed TO all the leading
steel rail manufacturers in the coun-
try, asking for tenders OH sixty miles
of seventy-pound steel rails delivered
at Savannah or Macon. the point OF dee
livery to be option | with US.
"After endeavoring in vain to obtain
better prices than those quoted. we
finally accepted the bid of the - Steel
Company, and placed our order with
them for the 561S tons of rails at $29
per ton, based upon delivery at tide
water. This would enable us to ar
range our own freight rate to Sayan-
nah and effect some saving in the cost
of the rails. Ihe order was declined
on these terms, the - Steel Company
refusing to make any price f. o. b. MILL
but insisting upon delivered price.
81 made one more effort. Some
friends of mine were interested in a
railroad project in Central America,
and | preached the subject to the rep
resentative of the - Steel Company
who had come here to close the matter
with me. told him that my friends
had made some inquiry of me as to the
cost of construction in that country,
and l should like to know at what price
! he could sell me steel rails delivered
at tidewater for shipment to Honduras.
He promptly quoted me $50 per ton.
"Allowing a liberal amount for cost
of delivery at tidewater, which, in this
particular case would have been very
small, we American citizens paid to
this American industry So, 900 in eX-
cess of what foreigners would have
been compelled to pay. And $4,000
would have put up very handsome liz
brary filed with standard books on
protection.
"And this was very small transact
tion-only fifty miles of railroad Pay
ments were cash. and we neither need
ed nor asked any concessions in the
matter of time Because we were
Americans interested in the develop
ment of a small section of our country,
involving faith and sacrifices, we were
compelled to pay out, as bonus, in
excess of 5000 per mile"