Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1906-05-29

Tariff to the Front.
Those Republican Congressman who
are so anxious for proof of the Steel
Trust selling cheaper abroad ths2 here
should read their own party papers
more thoroughly. The government sta
tistics show that $4,000 tons of steel
billets were exported last month, and
the Market expert of the New York
Press says THE major portion of
these billets, however, are shipped back
here in manufactured form. They are
sold here for export at price around
SIS at the mills, while the existing
quotation for billets for domestic CON
sumption is $27."
But this writer, who certainly should
be good enough authority for the most
standpat Republican, further says
Fully 10000 tons OF last months bill
let shipments were consigned to Welsh
mills, where they are to be rolled into
plates, then dipped in tin and reship-
ped here for the purpose of making
cans. The largest importer of these
tin plates Is the Standard Oil Company,
which uses about 100000 tons annual
ly. The Beef Trust is also a very
heavy buyer of tin plates made from
the steel billets shipped from this coun-
try to Wales Although practically all
the raw material used in the making
Of these tin plates is of American orig
In, the tariff holds them to be subject
to a duty of 11a cents per pound, as
the process of making them into tin
plate enhances the value. The Stand
ard Oil Company uses these tin plates
suit that a drawback is given to it by
the government of the full import duty
less 1 per cent" The Welshmen buy
this American steel because it is sold
for less than British made steel and,
according to the above Republican au-
thority for about one third less than the
trust charges our own people.
We have the evidence of w. G.
Raoul who at the time he gave it, Feb.
%, 1904 was President of the National
Railroad Company of Mexico, quoted
by Senator Bacon of Georgia in his
speech on tariff abuses, which can be
found in the Congressional Record of
April %, 1904, in which Mr.. Raoul
said: 'In 1902 1 secured bids on steel
rails for Mexico from United States
mills at about $24 delivered at Tam
pico, while the price paid at the same
time for rails for our road in Texas
was $2S at the mills"
So the Steel Trust was offering to
pay the land and water freight from
the mills at Pittsburg to Tampico, Mex
leo, which could not have been less than
Sc ton, and deducting that amount
from the price quoted of $24 delivered
at Tampico, would bring the price at
the mills to SIS ton or $40 ton less
than the price of the steel rails for use
in this country.
During last April there were no less
than 23,141 tons of steel rails sold by
the Steel Trust for export, so there is
no doubt that the same underselling
10 lOEclSu6IS SLlll COHlInucS. hdllJ
other trusts are doing the same thing.
for we hear of farmers in Canada and
In other countries buying American
agricultural machinery, fence wire and
other American products for much less
than our farmers are buying similar
articles made by the same Harvester
Trust, the Steel Trust and other pro
tected corporations. 1t is very diff
cult to get the price at which these
products of the trusts are sold for ex-
port, for there is great secrecy main
tanned of these transactions, for obvi-
Gus reasons. Still those doubling Re
publican Congressman who cannot ,ex-
plain away the above given transac-
lions will have to admit that the Dem
ocrats have furnished enough proof to
convict the trusts of selling cheaper
abroad than here, which the protect
i've tariff allows them to do with i'm
punity.