The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-12-29

The swansea incident is m instruct- ivs obissf lssson in the unscruaulcns.
 methodB Of the great combinAttons of capital which have grown up under the sa.dow ss: Se ss 1sJs a Sss Ma ss wsh ss
 ufacturers refused to Dc brcwbeeten hy
 tho representatives of the steel trust
 We do not doubt the desife ef tho truet
 Happily It's power does not match its
 nsssy iasssy@ns' duty .ssinst @ the impofsation cf
 Welsh tin-plates, 1t Is no thanks to the
 now part and parcel of the United
 States Steel Corporation--that they
 have captured their own home. trade.
 us tn plstss nss fop their
 market, it has, on the other hand, made
 it practically impossible for them to 1
 build up an export trade. Tn all neu-
 everything betore them and. under the
 rebate, they still supply to the Amer
 icahs a considerable quantity of tin
 plates--this year t will De not much
 short of soc,ooo pounds i in value--fos clue os
 ous and food commodities. For the
 steel trust to talk of smashing the
 Welsh industry when they can not dfs-
 lodge the Welsh makers from their
 All they can do to harrass the Welsh makers fs hv underselling them In the neutral markets. Now, owing t0 pro. tsction and swollen capital, the cost of
 misunderstanding tin plates in America is much greater than In Wales. The trust could only undersell the Welsh makers at ruinous loss. First they would lose on their steel. and next on the financial position is not so healthy as to enable them to embark lightly on such an adventure.
 supposing the threat were a real and "A A~ l..f {. x H tarir rsforrner Is entitled to ask us Would you stand idly by and allow .
 thriving industry to Dc led like a sheep to the slaughter? Certainly not. We
 free traders Without phrase. What is called the Humping ground' process has never had any terrors for us Dumping" may cause temporary incon. venience to some British trades. but on
 the balance the advantages derived from 1t far outweigh the disadvantages. For example: If the Americans sold their steel In this country below cost, 1t would no doubt be inconvenient. to hand, 1t would help every trade-engi- l neering. locomotive building. ship building, and tin-plate making--to which steel serves as raw material. 1 But let 1t be shown that any indus 1 try in Great Britain has been deliber- ately picked out for destruction by for- | oign producers aiming at a world mon- l opoly, and we shall be quite ready to consider ways and means of dealing with such il1egitimate competition. I Were there any reality in the threats of 1 the United States Steel trust to smash I the Welsh tin- plate industry. we would l strongly counsel government action. | Belief in free trade does not necessitate acqufescence in the methods of commer- 1 cial hfghwaymen. 1t happens that very simple and effective method of I dealing with the threatened "tactics- Of l the steel trust lies open. to the hand of l the British government Tin, an in- dispensabie requisite of the tin-piats | industry is only produced in the Brit | ish Empire. In short, we have a men- opoiy of this valuable metal; and the l government could neutralize any hos | tile action taken by the steel trust 1 by the simple expedient of forbiddins | the export of tn to countries outside l the British Empire. We do not for moment suppose that it will be neces- sary to resort to thit. for us. unnat- 1 ural policy. It is beyond the power of l the steel trust UT any combination of 1 trusts and cartefs to "snash'. the Welsh l tin-piate industry. The weapon which l the trust enissary has ieveIed at the I Welsh manufacturers is empty In every barrel. Even if the barrel were load l ed we should know how to deal with | our adversary.