Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1907-05-23
CONTROL ABSOLUTE
TARIFF PROTECTION UPHoLpa'
STEEL TRUST.
President of Big Monopoly Tells
How Opposition Is Crushed When
Competitors Become Active
Factors in Business.

How thoroughly competition in iron
and steel has been abolished by the
United States Steel corporation by its
treatment of rival manufacturers is
perhaps hardly realized by the public.
AS the steel trust produces SIS per
cent. of all the iron and steel in the
country its managers can undersell
any competitor and in fact did do so
in 1904 when the demand for iron
and steel was much less than now.
h way competition is prevented has
just been described by Ebert H. Gary,
the president Of the steel trust, who
said:
While we are friendly to our COM
petitors, and are willing and ready to
assist them in every way, they know
we will not permit them to cut estab-
lished prices. We make so many
things that a single competitor could
not live If he invited our opposition.
II he manufactured structural iron,
for instance, we could reduce our sell
ing price to a figure below his cost of
production and drive him out of bust
ness. In the meantime We would be
making our usual profits on the rest
OF Il products. If a maker of rails,
however, can get $29 a ton when we
charge S28, that is his good fortune,
and We don't object. But if he &C.
cepts $27.95 he is likely to hear from
u.s."
The monopoly of prices by the trust
will not perhaps ruin its competitors
while the product of all iron and steel
factories are in such demand as to be
sold in advance of manufacture, but
when this extraordinary demand let's
up and there is a surplus awaiting a
market, the steel trust will have its
competitors at it's mercy.
AS the steel trust is protected by
the tariff from competition from
abroad, it therefore dominates the
market in this country and can die
tate prices that all American con-
sumers must pay, The only way to
force this gigantic corporation to
ter,ns, is to reduce the tariff ON it's
products, so that to prevent compe-
titton from abroad, it would be com.
PEELED to reduce its profits to a more
reasonable basis. AS the steel trust
officials boast they can produce iron
end steel cheaper than anyone else
can, the Republican stand-patters'
chatter that to reduce the tariff would
injure business is merely an excuse
to continue protecting the steel and
other trusts in charging unreasonable
prices.
AS iron and steel have become a
great necessity and enter into the
manufacture of such a number of
articles of daily use, it is a great
drain on the consumers to have the
price SO largely increased. Stoves,
tools, machinery, nails, tin plate,
chains, fire arms, horse shoes, wire,
household utepsils, roofing, cutlery
and all other manufactures of iron
and steel are taxed under the present
tariff from 20 to "a per cent. Every
one pays their share of this tariff tax
either IN the imported articles or in
directly through the enormous profit
the tariff allows the steel trust and
other manufacturers to charge by pre-
venting foreign competition. Whether
you are a farmer, a merchant, a me
chanic or a laborer, do you want this
protection to the trust and ether man
ufacturers of iron and steel products
continued at so high a rate? Would
not much less rates of duty be to
your interest? If so, why not remem-
Der it when election time comes?