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Show THE FACTS AGAINST HIM. Laft evening our twilight Republican Republi-can friend attempted to show by merely making the assertion and adding in brackets that "no one can successfully refute it,"that high tariff adds general prosperity to the country; and then it goes on to illustrate by referring to the tariff on tin plate that went into effect on "Wednesday. On this proposition we say as we have said before that protection do s not and cannot add prosperity to the country. " It has decidedly the opposite effect as reason and logic will demonstrate. We invite everyone again to read any work on the science of political ecomony and then conclude for himself. After making the rash assertion above referred to, our friend goes on to say that companies have organized for the purpose of making tin plate "so soon as they can get their shops built and supplied with machinery." machin-ery." Headers of our contem. will recollect that just two weeks ago that this paper asserted that tin plate could be bought for $3.35 per box after July 1st, but now it "hedges" and puts off that day till "so soon as they can get their shops built and supplied with cheap machinery." But now listen to the opinion of one who is necessarily as well informed as any one in the United States on this lin plate business. busi-ness. The telegram tells us that it is the voice of one of the largest tin plate consumers in the United States. He save: - "One year ago Mr. Cronemeyer stated in the ways and means committee room that if the party in power would pass the bill he would guarantee that before be-fore duty was exacted American tin plate would be produced in quantities sufficient to supply the demand, and at prices no higher than the English article. The" year has passed, and what is the situation? Not a box of tin plate is produced in the United States for sale to the trade. Xow what lias the country gained during dur-ing this period? Since the agitation commenced tin plate has advanced from $1.00 to $1.2-5 per box. We have imported im-ported not less than 5,600,000 boxes and paid the Welsh makers, I am very safe in saying, not less than $7,000,000 more than we should have paid had this item been undisturbed; and before January 1, 1S92, we shall require fully 2,000,000 boxes more, costing the American consumers con-sumers another $2,500,000 in extra duties, du-ties, and without an American tin plate mill prepared to relieve the demand to any appreciable degree, for with my knowledge of the present position of the industry, I feel very sure that 1891 will see precious few American tin plates offered for sale. All claims to the contrary, I am sure we shall not have in this country next month over two months' supply of such plates as are required for our great canning industry. in-dustry. Trash there is in abundance; in fact, Wales has cleaned house, and dumped her worthless stock in here at an advance of fully 50 per cent over what she could have obtained for it one year ago. Thousands of boxes of re-' cent arrivals are rejected stock which she would have been compelled to market mar-ket elsewhere had we not offered this premium for it here. |