Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1905-12-14
JUoaLE THE STATISTICS.
How Republican Leaders Manipu-
late Reports to Fool the
People.

Il 10 extraordinary now some other
wise intelligent men allow their minds
to Be warped by what they consider the
needs of their partisanship. For in
stance, Mr.. McCleary, of Minnesota,
was called by the protectionists to
Massachusetts, before the election to
defend the tariff that fosters trusts.
which the people of that state are get
ting heartily sick of. He undertook to
refute, what even some republican con-
g.essmen have been obliged to admit,
that the steel trust has been selling
steel rails in England and elsewhere
cheaper than here. Mr.. Babcock. when
he was preparing the ground for a raid
on the surplus of the steel trust. to be
used to convince the voters that only
a republican congress would preserve
their liberties, declared that he had
seen an invoice of American steel rails
sold in Scotland at $21 a ton. Mr.. Nc
Creary says that cannot be true, be-
cause the past six years, according to
Statistics" the price of British steel
rails has averaged $29.04 a ton, against
the American average price for the
anne period of $2S.62.
If these McCleary statistics were cor
rect how can he possibly urge the ne
cessity Of continuing to protect the
steel trust by a tariff of 1884 a ton on
steel rails, which are sold here for
$2S.64 and in England at $29.04? How
could English steel rails be imported
and pay the freight and charges and
compete with rails produced here when
they cost more in England than rails
are being sold for here. What possible
reason can there be to charge an i'm
port tax of 1884 a ton on foreign steel
rails. when, according to McCleary's
Statistics" non could be imported
and sold here except at a great loss.
Under Mr.. McCleary's own showing,
why should steel rails continue to be
taxed?
But the trouble with these McCleary
Statistics" are they do not tally with
the official figures given in the United
States Statistical Abstract" for on
page 215 for 1904 is found the exports
and value of steel rails for the past
six years, namely, for the years 1899
to 1904 inclusive, the average value per
ton for the six years Is given at $24.39.
Then on page 100 of the Statistical Alb
stract is also given the imports of steel
rails, for the same years, and the aver
age value is stated at S23.49 per ton,
and for 1904 the value is only $22.31
per ton. These prices are taken from
the invoices and bills of lading and Is
therefore the price charged for export
in each country. To this price for
American rails, would have to be added
the duty of 1874 per ton, besides
freight, to show the cost here to those
who imported rails, which would bring
the total cost to not less than $50 a
ton. The lesson Of these figures is
that statistics used by republican
speakers are untrustworthy if not in
tentionally intended to deceive, for as
Mr.. McCleary was a schoolteacher be-
fore he was a congressman he should
have been competent to do the neces-
say addition, satisfaction and division
to discover the real facts. The figures
given by the government also show
that the steel trust sold steel rails
during the past six years to it's for
eign customers for the average price
of $24.39, when at the same time it was
charging at home $2S or more. That
during the same period the average
price of rails in Europe was $23.49 and
in 1904 the price was $22.31 for export
which we may well believe produced
a good profit to the manufacturers.
The actual cost of producing steel
rails is estimated by experts to be
about SIS a ton, so the absurdity OF
any duty on steel rails, except to en-
able the trust to extort from us, is ap-
parent. Some people may think that
as the railroads are the only purchas-
ers Of steel rails the taxpayers of the
country are not interested, but it must
be remembered that every n pays his
share of the freight to the railroads
on nearly everything he, or his fam
lily, consume, and the high price Of
steel rails adds to the cost of freight
So in the end the people pay the tariff
and ever much more in enormous prof.
its on every ton Of steel rails that tbs
railroads buy and also on the Other
products of steel that the steel trust
produces, amounting in all to nearly