| Show FURTHER FACTS ON oil THE rhe WOOL QUESTION A PROMINENT wool grower of this territory who owns very large flocks of sheep was asked by the writer what do you yon think of the WWI wool tariff he replied emphatically and without hesitation it ought to be lowered undoubtedly but bat why was the next question he answered because there are few wool growers while everybody uses woolen goods the many should be studied rather than the few that is the gist of the whole question esti oll that is the position the wo uber T MEWS has taken on this aub eject t the argument against free wool or the reduction of the tariff upon the raw material is if that it would ruin the home wool grower for the benefit of the foreign producer we have questioned this and espre expressed sed the opinion which is ie shared share d by many persons who have given biven the subject much thought that the ibe repeal ol of the wool duty will benefit the home grower because the chief imports of the raw material are of a kind not prod produced deed in this country and are needed to mix with the native wools and that thus a full and free supply lyof of this absolutely necessary material will secure a full market for forthe the home supply the probable effects of a reduction or repeal of the wool tariff in future may be fairly judged by the past A As a matter of fact 1 the prices of domestic wool have rul ruled ed higher under a low than a high tariff during daring the four years preceding the low tariff of 1 1846 the average price of domestic c clothing wools was 34 cents in that year tue the duties od on this raw product were reduced from 42 to 30 per cent the following ten years wonderful to relate saw the average price of this class of domestic wools advance from 34 to 41 cents in 1857 the duties were further reduced to 24 per cent and j during durina the next four years the average price of it clothing wools advanced from 41 to 42 cents the average price during toe the last year in which this tariff was in force being over 47 cents during daring the 17 years of comparatively low tariff upon clothing wools the price ot of the domestic product averaged 43 48 cents adut P during the 27 years of toe tile war tariff period the average price was only 41 cents these figures are compiled by the financial chronicle ot of new york hou G W griffin united states consul at sydney new youth south wales has baa furnished some facts bearing on this question w fully sustain the position loat a high tariff has hai depressed the woul industry ins instead teaI of protecting it he states that from 1884 to 1887 there was a decrease in the production of wool in the united states of and he offers the following reasons tor for this reduction in 1840 the sheep in the united states numbered about la Is 1880 the number had bad increased to but in ili 1840 the bulk of the sheep were grazed ia tile the new england eastern states and none in the S jut ernand ern and western states in 1880 the southern ad abd western states grazed one third of the whole number nu 11 anber while the new england and eastern states scales only grazed halt the number they had in 1840 the highest point was reached in 1884 when the number of sheep was of that number more than half were grazed in the southern and western states and only OW in new england and the eastern states 1 showing that chat aft the increasing population on drove the he shee sheep out oat of the eastern eastern and new england eaglan states towards the more sparsely settled southern and western states and territories the land being required where population was wag denev for agriculture and being too dear to proda ably graze sheep since 1884 1881 even the Souil southern lern and western states seem to have hare become unable to sustain their former number the result being toe the total number of sheep la lathe tile united states has decreased from 1884 to 1887 by about As the population of te b united states stakes is increasing very rapidly the annual increase being estimated at nearly aud and coutaa ally pushing out west and south I 1 it t is not unreasonable to suppose that the reduction in the number of sheep which has been going ou on iu in the now new england and E eastern astern states has now set in in the west and south this certainly cannot be attributed to the mills bill tile the free wool ques tion is thus stated in brief the present average protection on woolen manufactures is 08 68 per cent on raw wool the mill men have to pay 41 per cent so that the actual protection at af lorded forded the manufacturer to is the difference between 68 and 41 per cent 27 per cent the mills bill while it puts raw wool on the free list advances the average duty on an manufactured woolens from 27 to 40 per percent cent and thus gives the manufacturers 13 per cent more protection than they have under the present law free wool therefore would give the woolen manufacturer a chance to supply the home market instead of allowing european labor and capital to furnish nearly halt of tu woolens we consume more than talt it would promise new life for a depressed industry enlarged employment and better wages for labor and relieve the consumer sall the people from a needless tax amounting to many millions mr breckenridge of kentucky one of the ablest men in t the he house of representatives in a speech on the mills bill made these petti pertinent nent remarks 1 ave I no doubt that I 1 speak the experience of the e great majority of farmers when I 1 ier lk er that a small nock flock of sheep is ot of i dwelt I 1 an advantage to a farmand ator that th for the amount invested the profit on a deek of sheep merls is 8 the very largest r return of tha farmers ter far mers operations the vast majority ol of those hose who own sheep do not dalae enough wool to clothe their families toe the difference between the cost of their clot bifi by virtue of our tariff and what it would woold be it if wool were free would in ia oo 00 great majority of cases cover caver mor more e tb the entire of their clip certainly more than any possible difference between toe the vane value of wools as protected 11 it if all our oar adversaries ver saries claim for protection protection were true and the price of wool as free fre t so the wool is more interested in the tb revision prevision of the tariff and the reduction of at the duties upon woolen goods tb tiie e basis of free wool than lie he is in the ol 01 I 1 the present tax bat as thare uta only a million of flock masters the fifty dra are million of people scatter scattered ed all through america who are sot not interested 1 1 la the ownership of these flocks are corn com belled pelted to pay an aa increased cost for all the woolen goods which they are dobli obliged TV to use 11 that the question on the broad basis of statesmanship legisla tion for the country wd not for for a see tion for the abe whole people peonie and not for a class thus our position is i bat free wool is not likely to ruin the wr woo growers of this country that it my may not greatly lessen the price of tb home grown raw material which W will I 1 11 be needed to mix with the I 1 foreign ore I 1 product and that in any case the N I 1 of the country should be the pa paramount consideration I 1 |
