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Show FREE TRADE AND WOOL The ense as to Free-Trade and the price received hy American sheepmen for their wool was well stated by Representative Mondell In a brief speech In the House, June 11, as follows: "Tho Democratic prophecy of a lower cost of living has not- been fulfilled. And all the gentlemen from the mid-West now are making a virtue vir-tue of the fact that tho prophecy has not been fulfilled. They promised the consumers of tho country lower prices pri-ces nnd cheaper living. Thoy say that condition has not yet arrived, that os h matter of fact the cost of living has not gone down; and that Is supposed sup-posed to bo an excellent argument In the agricultural districts of the West. Tho fact Is, referring again to wool, tho wool producer of tho country, whatever price he may bo receiving, Is receiving less by C or C cents a pound thnn ho would receive If he hnd tho duty that we had under the Payne bill. And that is evidenced by tho fact that for a Borles of years under the Payne bill tho price of wool In the country was from 5 1-2 to 7 1-2 cents n pound above the price c-rf a like foreign product. In other words tho tariff on the fine wools gave us an Increased price of from 5 to 6 cents. While It Is true that foreign wools hnvo Increased In value, that our wool clip has decreased In quantity, quan-tity, and that those two things have increased tho price above tho very low price of last year, the fact still remains thnt wool Is lower thnn It was on tho averago under Republican Protection nnd very much lower thnn It would bo today If it wcro Protected. Pro-tected. Thnt Is tho s'mplo truth of the matter. mat-ter. Tho wool growe-s of the United Unit-ed States would bo many millions of dollars bettor off If tho former pro-tectlvo pro-tectlvo tariff on wool had been rc-tnlncd. rc-tnlncd. Freo wool Is to them a costly cost-ly proposition. |