Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 July 1891 — The Twine Trust Still Prospers. [ARTICLE]

The Twine Trust Still Prospers.

When it was proposed last year to make a slight reduction in the bindertwine duty, the twine men signed a paper And sent it in hot haste to Washington, saying that if the proposed duty should be adopted they would be compelled to rshut down their mills. Their alarm was still greater when fifteen Northwestern .Republican Senators united with the Democrats and voted to put twine on the ■free list After a great amount of lobbying by ■the trust and certain Republican politicians, backed up by leading high-tariff journals with profuse and picturesque abuse of men who had voted for free twine, a part of the duty was saved, The old duty on manlla' twine was cents a pound, •and an sisal twine 33* cents. The trust succeeded in saving 7-10 of 1 cent from “the wicked Democrats and Northwestern

Republican Senators. This dtlty : was less than one-third of the duty which the trust had said would close up its works. Now; what is the result? The farmers are buying their twine this year at much lower prices than last year; and is the trust meanwhile shutting up its mills? On the contrary, it has just been announced by a high-tariff organ that the trust has bought the eight cordage works of Canada for $4,000,000. Moral: When a tariff-protected industry threatens to die if you cut down its protection, it is very likely lying.