The Washington herald., 1909-04-03

was negligible quantity IN 1871 10 an an
nual output valued at s65.OOOOoO in 1904
and wage roll Of 100000 a Sear-such
is the story OF American tin plate. At
the same time. the price OF tin plate Is
cheaper than 1t was prior to 1891. when
the bulk Of our supply came from Eng
land.
Prior 70 the passage Of the Mckinley
bin It was the theory OF protection that
the infant industry should be fostered.
When the tin plate schedule was framed
IT was not 70 foster an industry, but vir-
tually TO bring one into being. Before
that time there had been a dnty OF I
cent per pound on tin plate II was not
enough 10 encourage the investment OF
capital In the manufacture Of this COM
modify It simply served as a revenue
raising schedule. Then came the AIcKin-
ley law with its duty Of 22 cents a pound
on Tin plate American capital at once
saw that with such wall erected against
the English tin plate maker there was
every chance of success, and tin plate
establishments sprang I'D like mushrooms
IN the night. Prices were not increased
beyond what the foreign rates had been.
but still the manufacturers grew wealthy
at those rates
-iADAoAiN LtldA lllt ElUWLu WAS 100
rapid 10 be lasting and solid, but a test
was soon to come which disproved that
conclusion The Wilson-Gorman law pro-
Vided q reduction OF II cents per pound,
Just mills a pound higher than provided
before 1880. II the industry had not taken
firm root, this reduction might have suf-
need TO cause II 10 wither But IN spite
OF the great reduction the tin plate busi-
ness continued 70 thrive. and actually in
creased about threefoIG during the three
years the WilsOn-Gorman law was IN
force.
When the Dingley law was passed It
was agreed that the tin plate manufac-
turer no longer needed the accent rate
which had obtained under the Mckinley
law They advanced the rate only three
mills per pound above those of the VIII
son-Gorman law. making It 1.5 cents. or
seven mills less pound than under the
mckinley law. The Democrats opposed
even this increase, declaring that the in
dustry got all the help it then neeIed out
Of the rate provided in the WiIson-Gor-
man law.
II was afterward developed in a strik-
Ing way that the Democrats were even
more right in this contention When the
Industrial Commission held its hearings
several years after the Dingley law be-
came operative President Read. Of the
I'M plate trust, declared that the tariff
could be lowered half a cent per pound
that Is, 10 i eent-without exposing the
American product to destructive foreign
competition. From this II will be seen
that the start given the industry bv the
Mckinley law was sufficient TO carry II
through the hard times that shortly fol-
lowed and to enable il 10 thrive on the
same duty Of cent per pound that had
obtained before the Mckinley law brought
Il into being. Ard at the same time the
cost OF tin plate had fallen from l to 3
cents a pound All OF this was accom-
plisAed, it is 10 be remembered, in less
than ten years.
When the Industrial Commission was
investigating the tin plate trust II called
a Washington, Pa, manufacturer 10
testify. He stated that after the passage
OF the Mckinley law the manufacturers
were able TO make as much as 100 per
cent year on their investment. and
that even with the lower rates of the
WilsOn-Gorman and Dingley laws they
were able to clear a heavy percentage. He
had sold his plant to the trust at what
he regarded as a 30 per cent increase
over its cost. and was then preparing 10
erect another independent plant The
trust manager OF the former plant de-
clared that it had been one OF the worst
managed Of all the plants the American
Tin Plate Company had acquired and
that he was under the necessity OF reor-
ganizing II IN order 70 put il on a paying
basis.
Under the Dingley law the protection on
tin plate amounts to upward OF 30 per
cent The quinquennial census Of the in
dustry in 1906 placed the value Of the
product at 600, and the whole cost Of
labor at $lO,500. 900. II these figures rep
resent the true condition, the wage earn
ers' total share in the proceeds is Is per
cent In other words the manufacturer
gets protection about twice as great as
the entire cost Of the labor involved.
One Of the things against which the
small consumer OF tin plate kicks the
hardest, is the drawback clause in the
Dingley law. Under that provision the
Standard Oil Company and the beef trust
can Import their own tin plate. make Il
into cans, I'LL them, and then re-export
them. receiving upon re-eXportation a
drawback Of 80 per cent Of the duty paid
on the tin plate. In other words. these
large corporations. instead Of being COM
PEELED TO pay $50 a hundredweight on
the tin for their export trade, pay only
u cents a thousand pounds. while the
SlAlaAA NDll1AAlAtls not ndN1lE an export
business large enough TO warrant direct
Importation, cannot take advantage of
such privilege.
Much complaint has been heard about
the quality OF American tin plate, and
also Of the roofing material known as
terne plate. At the recent hearings before
the Ways and Means Committee there
were many representatives Of the roofing
interests who declared that the American
product was Of inferior quality, and that
the duty SERVED TO keep out the better
grades Of roofing tin. thus bringing tin
into bad repute as a roofing material
The makers OF roofing tin Indignantly re-
pUdiate- this view. They declare that
never before in the history Of the country
has dollar bought as much in quantity
and quality as It does to-day. and that
nowhere in the world can a given grade
OF roofing tin be purchased for less
money than it can be here In America.
The Gamers here also found some
ground for complaint They declare that
there has not been enough uniformity OF
coating. Tin-plate Is made by first roll
ing out very thin sheets OF high grade
steel. These are put into a picking vat
filed with acids so as 10 take all the oxi-
dation and grease on them. They are at
once dipped into another vat filled with a
mixture OF pure tin and lead, with a lit
tie tallow added. When the plates come
out OF this they are the tin Of commerce
or tin plates, more properly speaking.
The Gamers do not complain that there
is not enough coating on the steel sheets.
but that it has not enough uniformity
The lin plate manufacturers have set out
10 remedy that trouble. and the canning
trade expects TO see the end Of unsightly
cans.