University of Virginia Library

PHILADELPHIA

On the day following the appearance of Duane's dispatch, Zachariah Poulson Jr.'s American Daily Advertiser reprinted the second sentence and added a paragraph of editorial comment. It pointed to the fact that there was but one type foundry in the United States and that there were "perhaps not more than twelve persons employed."[4] The Advertiser found it hard to understand why, since there were about three thousand persons who derived their support from the printing business, so "many Peters must be robbed to compensate Paul."[5] On the evening of the same day, Samuel Relf's Philadelphia Gazette called attention to this editorial

and noted that the increased duty "must materially retard the progress and perfection of the printing business."[6]

The next day the Philadelphia Gazette announced that it would publish a detailed consideration of the duty in the following issue.[7] Then, launching the campaign, it devoted almost two columns to the attack. The editor stressed the fact that while Fry and Steele, of London, could furnish more than one hundred different sizes of English letters in addition to characters in many foreign languages, Binny and Ronaldson could not supply more than one twentieth of this amount. While he did not deny that the firm possessed the skill required to make the additional type, he noted that the cost of the matrices would have to be borne by the printer who ordered the type. Nevertheless, even

At this point, the editor made a rather unfortunate error. He interpreted the duty to be an additional twenty per cent, not an increase to twenty per cent. After elaborating on the injustice of such an excessive amount, he accused Duane, a British subject, of instigating this increase and concluded with the lament that

Meanwhile, the members of the book trade had been discussing the new tariff among themselves. Finding themselves in general agreement on the steps to be taken, they called for a meeting at Mr. Cameron's, on North Third St., at seven o'clock on Saturday, February twentieth.[10] When they assembled, Mathew Carey was chosen chairman and John H. Oswald secretary. A committee was directed to draft a memorial to Congress, the chairman was requested to ask the representative in Congress to postpone action,

and the chairman was also requested to communicate the measures adopted to the printers and booksellers of Boston, New York, and Baltimore. After a resolution to publish the proceedings of the meeting,[11] the members adjourned to meet and receive the memorial on Monday, February twenty-second.

Duane, of course, did not neglect to answer the Gazette. His two-column reply included a brief resumé of English type founding, praise for the beautiful type of Binny and Ronaldson, as well as the statement that they employed more than twenty people.[12] Some of his remarks emphasized his personal interest in the increased duty. He declared that there were three different foundries in America which were idle through want of protection; he referred to a foundry in Philadelphia which possessed matrices for every type from non-pareil to five-line Pica, with Greek, Hebrew, and other oriental characters and three hundred different species of typographical ornaments. And, in conclusion, he repeated that several founders would resume if provided with protection. The Gazette printed its reply two days later. Its major point was that the Philadelphia foundry was in Duane's possession, having been acquired from Bache: "This is the clue, which at once unravels the mystery of his pretended attachment to the encouragement of American manufactures!"[13]

The Philadelphia book trade continued its campaign, and two papers carried notices of book trade meetings in New York and Baltimore.[14] On March 8, 1802, the following petition was read in the House of Representatives: