Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1864-06-24
Congressional.
pgrIEs oN wool ANp wooLENs

SPEECH OF HON. J. s. MORRILL,,
In House Of Representatives, June 2nd, 1864
Mr.. Morrill,, having reported new Tariff
bill, opened the debate BY an explanation o
the bill, which Of course is designed to adjust
duties on imports to the internal tax act, sc
as 70 hNrmonize the system Of taxation and
preserve the protection to domestic produc.
tions incident TO duties on those Of foreign
countries. We extract that part Of th,
speech which relates to wool.
One question has more perplexcd the Con.
gress Of the United States than almost any
other that am aware Of, and that is the ad.
justment Of the duties on wool and wooleps
30 as to obtain revenue and at the same time
to distribute justice to all parties Some en-
coursgement has been intended always to In.
crease the production Of wool. But up to
1860 the increase on the growth Of wool was
less than the increase of almost anything else
Of which the Genius makes any return. From
1850 to 1860 the increase was less than ten
million pounds Population increased thirty
five and wool only fifteen per cent. The Ia
riff Of 1851 was intended to obtain some rev.
enue upon the importations of such wool as
comes into competition with American wools.
To this end duty Of three cents per pound
was placed on all woods costing between
eighteen and twenty-four cents, and nine
cents per pound on all above twenty four
cents per pound Wool below eighteen cents
was Intended to cover only coarse wools for
carpets, Of which very little is grown here,
and on this only Eve per cent was placed.
| then thonght that the coarse woods should
have been fixed below fifteen cents, but 9TH
ers thought differently. In fact, at that time
all the wooden manufacturers, save one, that
! knew, gave the tariff of 1851 the cold shoul-
der. /, bad very little support from them,
although in the duties upon woolens spe-
cihc duty upon tie pound Of wooden cloth
was proposed, reckoning two pounds Of
American wool as equivalent to one pound Of
cloth and this was intended to cover and
did cover all or nearly all the duties proposed
on wool The wooden manufacturing estab-
hshments have since prospered and ! am re-
joced that they have prospered Before this
time their capital invested was not worth
seventy-hve cents on the dollar Of first cost.
Now they are generally worth par or pre-
MUM. We now manufacture many millions
more Of wooden goods than ever before, and
our importations are at least eight 70 ten
milions less, though still very large. The
wool-grower has so far prospereG, also, as to
increase the stock Of American grown wools
more in three years than three decades before,
and yet he has not kept pace with the wants
OF the wooden manufacturers. The clip OF
wool fer 1868 may be estimated at eighty to
eighty-6ye million pounds, and will not be
with the ten millions produced in the sece-
ded States) much less than one hundred mil
lions for 1864. There is much Of last year s
clip Of wool now on hand unsold, and at a
time when we cannot afford to hoard it and
send away gold to pay for foreign woods.
This shows there is some defect in the law
that must be remedied. and that the manu-
iacturer is in better position than the wool
grower. This more clearly appears from the
trade in wools
Pounai.
Wool imported from abroad in 1858 was 72s57 933
Wool imported under the reciprocity treaty was ssOo63
Ass Oie
To this must be added the amount Of waste
or shcddy in 1862 il was 6 1921 OF pounds, J
estimated at 5000, 900 pounds, making s2,-
s3S 046 pounds, or nearly as much as was
raised in the United States the same year,
which it may be liberal estimate to call
IS, 900 900 pounds, and this makes l67 $685.
NHp ppuHAes
The capacity Of our wooden mills in / $50
did not exceed 100000 900 pounds Of wool,
and the addition Of new machines and in
creased speed does not now probably 90 be-
yond 100000 900 pounds, and they cannot
be supposed to have actually worked up much
over lac, 100000 pounds. Supposing there
are 5000, 900 Of loyal people to clothe, and
that it requires four pounds Of wool for each,
il would amount. with the not less than
40,0O0,o00 pounds worked up into Army
cloths. blankets, &C., to l40 100000 pounds
manufactured in the United States. This
would leave 20,OO0,O00 pounds or more OF
domestic woods Of last years clip on hand to
serve no other purpose than to depress the
price Of this years clip. Ought such state
of facts to continue
OF the immense amount OF imported y
woods, (74,sSs, ,046 pounds,) almost equal to
the whole clip of the United States, there
was valued above eighteen cents only 1917
s6l pounds leaving 67.22O,ls5 pounds
valued abroad upon average of seventeen
cents per pound-which paid duty only OF
FIVE per cent, less the free wool under the re-
ciprocity treaty.
| will give in tabular form the amount OF
wool and woolens. domestic and foreign, con-
sumed in the United States: