Rensselaer Republican, Volume 23, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 October 1890 — THE NEW TARIFF LAW. [ARTICLE]

THE NEW TARIFF LAW.

shiploads of Goods arrive UNDER EXCITING CIRCUMSTANCES. Heir It AffteU Enrope-Said to be Closing Many Foreign* Manufactories—Rumors of an lndnstrlal Alliance Against It. fl?* — “ A telegram from New York on the sth says: The most intense excitement has prevailed in and about the custom house all day. Whole troops of importers and brokers kept coming and going. As 3 o’olock approached the numbers increased until finally the rotunda of the custom house was filled with a solid mass of humanity, which perspired,, jostled, pushed and yelled. All carried large sums of money. They were on hand to enter goods that were expected to arrive late this afternoon. They wished to get their entries in under the old law, and stood ready to rhake their entries the moment the vessels were sighted. at Fire Island. By the decision of yesterday the custom house was to have closed on the stroke of 3 o’clock this afternoon. All goods arriv ing after that hour were to come in under the Hew law, and the duty was to be charged accordingly. The mass of importers and brokers in the custom house was so great at 3 o’clock that Collector Erhardt deemed it inadvisable to close at that hour. He announced that the time would be extended until 4 o’clock. Each moment after 3 o’clock the excitement beeame greater. Those in the ro~ tunda appeared to be going crazy. They shouted, yelled and made futile efforts to move about. The scene was not unlike that of the Stock Exchange. The clerks in the various divisions were swamped with business. ,Not for years has such a scene been enacted in the custom house. Every few minutes whole delegations of importers and brokers invaded the collector’s office and importuned him to keep the custom house open until midnight. The collector was in a His office was jammed full of importers, who waved rolls of bills iHrttaetr hands and shouted to him not to close the customhouse. The pressure on the collector became so great that finally he sent a telegram to Washington. It was directed to Secretary Windom, and requested advice as to what the collector should do under the circumstances. The importers expected vessels to arrivo at 5 o’clock. In a little time there came an answer from Washington. It was fiW the Secretary of the Treasury, and informed the collector that he could use his own discretion in the matter. Upon receipt of Secretary Windom’s telegram, Collector Erhardt and his seven depnties held a consultation. They decided to keep the custom-house open until 12 o’clock Friday night. The importers cheered. At 5:30 p. m. the City of Chicago was entered and a great pari of the waiting crowd was relieved. At 6:05 p. m. the steamer Regulus, with a cargo of laces silks and velvets was entered. There was still due the Etruria, the Thingvalla and the Zaahdam, and news of them was anxiously awaited. At 10:30 p; m. it became known that the Etruria had been sighted off the outer bar at9:34p. m. At one minute of 12 the captain of the Etruria had not arrived. Ten seconds later, wlihn half the lights were out, a carriage came on a rush to the door and a great shout wont up. From it jumped Captain Haines, who was immediately behind the counter and entered his vessel just before the clock struck midnight. Three cheers and a tiger were given for the captain. The captain had come up on a special tug and was driven at a break-neck pace from the dock to the custom-house. The receipts at the custom-house Saturday were $1,154,583, the second largest amount taken in there since the war. The receipts for th e week were over $6,000,000.

HOW IT AFFECTS EUBOPB. A London cable of the sth says: A Vienna dispatch says that Germany and Austria have come to a substantial agreement to discriminate against the exports from the United States, and that Italy, the third member of the triple alliance, will probably join the movement. The accession of Holland to the arrangement is certain, an economic alliance against North America having been first suggested by that country. In pursuance of this new policy, Austria and Hungary have already relaxed the prohibition on Servian swine, and changes of a restrictive character are pros posed in the existing tariff on products imported from the United States. A reci procity arrangement between Austria and Germany is [impossible, as the industries of Austria could not stand German competition, at least so the Austrians themselves believe. Both in Germany and Austria the industrial conditions have been much disturbed by the new American tariff bill, and* many thousands of working people heretofore employed on goods for the American market are out of employment, with winter close at hand. Thousands of these are preparing to emigrate, but the many who have not the means to emigrate can not escape suffering. On the continent the prospect for the f poorer classes this winter is very bad. Col. Vincent, the noted advocate of protection for Brftish industry, has been interviewed in relation to the Mckinley bill. He' says in substance tnat Great Britain cannot longer afford to throw her markets open to countries which place an embargo on British products, and he will urge the question of fair trade with renewed energy in the coming session of Parliament English industry is already beginning to feel tho effects of the new American tariff law. Manufacturers were kept busy up to the latest moment possible making goods for America, to be shipped in advance of the new law going into operation, and man y are now busy in filling orders which meanwhile accumulated from England and for* elgn countries other * than the. United States. This will keep such establishments active for several months to come, but this good fortune is not universal, end

from many quarters come evidences of commercial disturbances more or less serious in their effects. In the Staffordshire nail works the employes have been subjected to a 10 per cent, reduction in wages, and a similar blow has fallen upon the s mall army of laborers in the steel works of "Barrow in-Furness. The Yorkshire mining and manufacturing operatives contemplate a considerable reduction in the number of their employes, and have dispatched traveling agents-in all directions to endeavor to secure new markets in place of the American. The button makers of Birmingham have sent agents to America to see if it would be practicable to retain their market in that country by establishing factories there in conjunction with their English houses. The Yorkshire Post, a leading organ of the industries of that region, says: “It is useless to live in a fool’s paradise and to attempt to persuade ourselves that the loss of our market is a good thing, It may be true, as claimed by optimistic theorists, that the absurd tariff now being put in force in America will so injure that country’s export trade as to permit England to secure markets now interferred with by American competition. But this is a contingency for the future only, and does not diminish the gravity of the immediately present situation. It does not meet current fixed charges on capital, nor putbread into the hands of his discharged workmen. ’ ’ It is believed that Leeds will almost entirely escape any bad effects from the new law. Her cloths are of too highly finished and expensive a character to be much affected in demand by slight variations of price, or to be competed with by American goods. Bradford, however, with faer lower grades of stuffs, will be hard hit, and the worsted and coating industries of Dews bury will be almost wiped out.