The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-05
BUEK CLAIMS FREE TRADE |S BANE OF MINERAL DISTRICT Shut Down His Furnace Two Years Ago and Is. Only Now Resuming HIGH PRICES HERE DESPITE FREE TRADE Claims War Has Virtually Enforced Protection Which Will Cease
 When Peace Is Finally
 Declared
To the Editor of The Herald:

To the Editor Of The ASe-derald:
 The daily papers, as we'll as some of the trade journals, have given some prominence to our preparations for blowing in the Chattanooga furnace, | and I assume that it Is of some inter- | est to the readers of your paper. In my opinion it may, therefore, not be amiss to make the idleness of our plant during the past two years an object lesson, for it furnishes such a lucid illustration of the fallacy of free trade and how it demoraliZes one big branch of our industries Gron and steelmak- ing), the successful opera tion of which l is admittedly essential to general pros perity on account of the enormous amount of labor it employs. Two years ago prices of iron and steel were nor nal and our furnace, ore and coal mines were in full operation, as were a good many other furnaces through otu the country, many of which, sub- sequently, were compelled to shut down. for Congress in it's wisdom and all sincerity, believing it best for the well fare of our country, foisted upon us free trade, which had the imm mediate result of flooding this country with goods made by cheap labor in foreign countries, with which we could not possibly compete, and the money that before was brought to Chattanooga and other cities in payment for pig iron, etc. was sent out of the country to convert the minerals of India, Bel gium, Chilli Nova Scotia and other for clgn countries into finished products and our labor in vain sought employ ment with the inevitable result of a great business depression
 But someone will say we still have free trade and we are prospering. This Is and is not true; that is, we are prospering, but not as a result of free trade, but because free trade has been made imperative by the war, for no steel and iron made goods are at pres ent brought into this country, except from India and ore from Chili and Cuba which automatically restores the con- ditions we had under protection" and as a proof that this country needs not the protection for our industries but for American labor, the wheels of in- dustry are today humming, mine la Dor is everywhere employed and busy sending from the bowels of the earth minerals to be converted into money which remains and circulates in our own country, and contentment and hap . piness is depicted upon the faces of everyone.
 But some of the advocates of free trade will probably say right here that Buck advocates protection because the shoe pinches him" I admit that the successful operation of my business primarily benefits me personally, but 1t cannot benefit me without benefit ing at least 500 men that are em- ployed by our company, and it cannot benefit them without benefting some grocerymen, butchers milkmen, dry goods stores and many other retail dealers, and in turn they benefit the wholesale merchants, who send their orders to the factories. Fortunately, for myself, I have some experience in other lines of venture and could engage in some other occupation, but why should I when I can to better advantage de- vote my talent experience and money to the conversion of minerals right here at our door into gold dollars. which manifestly is of greater advantage, not only to me, but to the whole commit nifty than if I should engage, say. in some line of business that may already be well represented.
 But what of the 800 men employed by us? The hardship upon them will manifestly be greater. Our free trade friends, who say that the iron and steel industry no longer needs protection and should be able to compete with foreign labor, evidently are not aware how low foreign labor is paid. and it will, no doubt, surprise them to learn, as it did me when as a result of investigation, I found that in India, for instance. where English capitalists have exten sive and complete iron and steel plants, the laborers are paid only cents per day, and the moment our free trade bill was passed these Englishmen en- gagged by cable the most experienced American constructing engineers to plan and erect with all possible dis patch duplicates of their plants, and today rails from India are being un- loaded in California, iron ore today is being brought from Chile and Cuba to Pennsylvania, and those countries are being built up by American money, which should be spent right here in the vicinity of Chattanooga and Birming , ham to develop our inexhaustible miner al resources. And but for the war, not only India, but also Chile, France, Ger many, Belgium, etc, would be doing the same thing and causing idle plants galore and depression in place of pros perity.
 It may also be of interest to state here that over year ago there ap peared in the Journal of Commerce of New York an interview with the presi- dent of the Thomas Iron company, one of the very oldest iron making com panies in the United States, stating that on that day they were closing down the last of their eight furnaces, for the
 
 leaving them without any furnace in blast. On the next page of the same paper the Associated Press announced the arrival in Philadelphia of the eighth cargo of pig iron from Nova Scotia.
 Next to farming and the railroads, the iron and steel industry pays out more money for labor than any other business, and when this is brought to a stand still the purchasing power of the country is enormously decreased business stagnates, and the laborer, for whose benefit in the reduction in cost of living free trade was adopted, has TO money with which to buy the iCw priced. imported goods from abroad. On the other hand, the rich. who do not need a reduction in the cost of living, do get some benefit. But even to them this saving is more than offset by the shrinkage in values of their invest ments and curtailing of dividends dur ing times of depression. So I cannot see that anybody is benefited by free trade. and now that this has been clearly demonstrated, our congressman, who fortunately for them. did not feel the recent depression as their salaries of course were not reduced by Uncle Sam, while we through bitter expert ence and at great loss have learned great lesson. should be urged to re- store protection before the European war ends, and thus prevent the in- cyisable result of the depression that will be ushered in with the importation of foreign pauper labor made goods.
 c. E. BUEK,
 President Chattanooga Iron and Coal