Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1866-05-16
The Tariff ON Wool.

A Philadelphia correspondent of the
Steubenville Herald, writing from Phil
adelphia, under late date, discourses as
follows on wool matters:
If the wool growers of the West only
push with energy the effort now being
made to increase the tariff on Foreign
Wools-especialy the low and medium
grades-they will be successful. The |
mere Fumor that the Ways and. Means
Committee of the lower House6f Con-
gress have decided to report increased
rates on foreign staple, put up the price
Of wool in Philadelphla, New York and
Boston, in the week just past, fully five
cents per pound. Large lots were taken
at this advance with vastly more readi-
! ness-we might say eagerness-than in
smaller purchases made fortnight since
at the then advanced figures. -s -
If, then, this prospective increase of
the tariff, rates has such an influence on
prices now, what may we not expect
when surmise is reduced to inexorable
LAW.
The temper of the present Congress IS
unquestionably right on the tariff ques-
ton; but, to make assurance doubly sure,
let every citizen who has any influence
with members use it unsparingly. Keep
the wool before their eyes. This interest,
which annually enriches the country, by
adding quite one hundred million dollars
to its wealth, has Been by far too modest.
Let the wool growers then work nOs0, and
by letters and petitions strengthen the
already favorable foot hold they haVein the
National Assembly. The members from
Pappculvania Navu Tar5ary IVa5fa~,, Navv
York, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana,
Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Mis-
souri, and portion of Kentucky delega-
ton, can all be relied on. With this ar
ray it Will be wonderful, indeed, if Just
be known now, however quiet the lamb
like opposition may seem-that the free
traders lin Wool) VIII contend with great
tenacity, to the last moment, to have
matters remain as they are. 7t
In our capacity as wool Commission
Merchants, we have taken occasion to
impress upon our Kentucky correspond
ents-Who ship US largely low grades of
tub and unWashed wools-the great ne
cesity of calling the attention of their
Congressional delegation to this subject.
In Eastern and central Kentucky COM
mon and quarter blood wool is raised in
larger quantities than is generally known,
and the aggregate is annually increasing.
If the Wool Growers Convention, to as
semble in your city this week, issue an
address touching this question of an
amendment of the tariff on wool, it is de-
sirable that copies be forwarded to the
leading citizens and journals of that
State. al
Auxiliary to this leading interest of
the West, is the establishment of facto-
ries for the manufacture Of wool in that
region. We do not mean mammoth
costly corporations; their unwieldliness
generally makes the stock unproduetiye,
and they seldom "payo until they. pass
into the hands of second or third owners.
It is the modest, unpretending wooden
mill of the neighborhood which is q prof
liable investment. We could designate
many such in Ohio, where every yard of
all-wool and mixed goods are sold as soon
as finished. If every county in your
State had from one to FIVE such factories
within its borders to work up the low
grades into blankets, flannel, jeans, sat-
inets, &C., what a demand it would Gre
ate for these coarse woods at home. Be
sides the employment it would give to
thousands of persons-thus creating a.
home demand for provisions and bread
stutts by abstracting this per cent. of Ia
Dor from agricultural pursits, the great
tax of transporting the raw material to
the East and paying freight back again
to the West when made up into fabrics
suitable to the wants of the community,
is saved by these local manufactures
More than this, for every thousand
pounds of wool sent East enough proYis-
ions and breadstuffs must soon follow for
the support of the operatives who do the
manufacturing for these unreAecting
wool growers in the West. The cost Of the (,
transportation of this food is paid blythe West !
en- farmer Just as he pays charges for freight,
and commissions on his lgooL, which he ships |
near th0sIsaed miles east because he has no |
market at home for Tie J2esess of his sheep.
Wheat growers would hardly be con-
sidered sane if they shipped the grain
from Ohio to New England to be manu-
factured into flour, and then purchase
the latter at the manufacturers own |
price. If this is folly in one product, !
why not in anotherl
Create additional customers then for |
a portion of your Western woods by en-
couraging the erection of wooden mills in
every county in the State. Besides saw
ing the enormous tax in the way of trans
portation, commissions and dealers prof
its, you thus diversity labor and keep the
local capital of the community actively
employed. asg