Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 June 1892 — Tin Plate Facts and Fancies. [ARTICLE]

Tin Plate Facts and Fancies.

During the debate on the McKinley bill we heard many promises made by McKinley and others in regard to the marvelous effect the increased duty on tinplate would have in building up this industry here. We have heard how sorry McKinley has been since he made such rash promises and will not ask him to face his record. Since the passage of the act the tin plate liar has been abroad and has has kept the newspaper reports busy looking for phantom tin plate factories. At last there is some evidence that minute quantities of tin plate are being made in this country, and we can begin to detect a grain of truthfulness in the statements of political tin plate manufacturers. The following is from the New York Daily Commercial Bulletin of May 13, 1832: “Early in January the Tin Plate Manufacturers’ Association issued a circular giving the weekly product of each establishment in the association. It will be interesting to compare the statements then made with actual facts as determined by Col. Ayer. The following is a comparison of the capacity as given in the manufacturers’ circular with the actual production as given by Col. Ayer, in the ease of the six concerns which make their own black plates: Weekly production boxes of 138 pounds. Concern?. Manfrs. Col. Ayer. Bros 6,000 64.6 Ht. Louis Stamping Company.. .3,000 333.3 P. H. I.aufman * Co 1,000 121.8 L'. S. Iron and Tin-plate Co 3,000 86.2 Wallace, Bonfleld ,V Co 1,000 3T.6 Apollo Rolling Mill 157.7

Another evidence that tin plate is being produced in this country is contained in the Iron Age of May 12, 1892. This journal devotes six pages to illustrations ! and descriptions of the St. Louis Stamp- ! ing Company. This usually conserva- 5 tive journal allows itself in its ardor for this new industry to say that “tin plate j produced by this company, from the 1 process bac k to mine and forest, will | give employment to 600 person at a j daily expenditure of from $1,500 to SI,BOO j for labor and traiftportation.” Putting! this statement alongside that of Col. Ayers we observe that this com-* pany is producing 533 boxes of tin plate per week, in which the total cost is about SIO,OOO, that is, 1 nearly S2O per box. As imported tin plate is selling for between $5 and $6 per box, it is safe to say eithei that this tin plate company is not established up- i on a sound economic bais or that the i era of tin plate exaggeration is not yet past. That the duty on tin plate is a tax is | certified to by every number of the Iron ' Age; e. g., on page 940, of May 12, « find IC coke tin, 14x20, quoted at $5.30. On the opposite page we find this same grade quoted in London at $2.94, leav- j ing a difference of $2.36 in favor of foreign consumers—just about the amount of the McKinley duty. As we consume . about 7,000,000 boxes a year we are tax- ■ ing ourselves at the rate of about SSO j

per day to provide work for a few hundred laborers, many of whom have been imported for work in this new industry. This is what our protectionist statesmen call a good Investment and noint to with pride.