New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1866-06-15
THE TARIFF ON WOOL.

that they have but one common interest and
quence have combined 70 ask for protection. Bitter
experience has taught the wool-grower that when tie
manufacturing ineres, anguishcs woolIasng is never
proh,able and tho manufacturer has also learned that
when woolrasng is not profitable the West affords him
q poor market for his goods.
Heretofore the manufacturer has thrown every obstacle
in the way Of the farmer 10 prevent bis obtaining the least
sembancc Of favor from legislative onactmons On the
other hand the farmer willingly conceded tariff to
the manufacturer believing that whatever benefit the
manufacturer obtained was Jus; much taken from bis
own interests In fact the farmer looked upon the
ourer his greatest enemy ready to take every advant
age Of his circumstances, 10 obtain his wool at the very
lowest price, 70 reduce woolgrowing 10 the starvation
point, aud to sell his goods at the very highest rates
Wool-grower opposed manufacturer, and manufacturer
opposed wool-rower; and during this suicidal warfare,
the interests of both suffered severely but the country
suffered much more, because gold has been continually
drawn away when il should have been retained at home
Before the Rebellion woosrowing and manufacturing
were scarcely considered worthy the notice OF statesmen
True they were occasionally made sort Of political shut
tecock sometimes sent high above every other interest
then suffered to fall and lie almost eess at the bottom
of all enterprises All wool costing less than 20 cents per
pound was admitted duty free In 1891 for the purposes
Of protection and of revenue this materially changed
and all wool costing than Is cents at the place whence
exported paid duty of per cent ad valorem exceeong
Is cents and exceeding II cents per pound cents per
pound exceeding "a cents per pound, duty Of cents
por pound. This with slight modification, coniln-
uod in force till February 1864 By the taTH OF that year
all wool Of the value of Il cents per pound and under al
the last port place of exporaon pays duty Of cents
per pound exceeding l. cents and not q cents per pound
cents per pound exceeding cents pr pound ana NOT
exceeding 81 cents per pound 10 cents per pound and 10
I'M,
per pound and 10 pct ceu ad yaorem. When wool Is IN
ported secured thon three times the amount OF the above
duties Secured WOOL it should be stated is term used
when it cleaned ready put upon the cards and oilers
materially from what We cali washed wool tie latter term
being applied wool when the sheep have been brook
washed previous 10 shearing.
This tariff has the appearance al first sight of aordnG
ample protection. One not familiar with the subject
would probably conclude that three cents per pound must
be sufficient duty all wool which costs i cents per
pound as this must be very coarse kind which our lag
mcrs do not care much about raising that SIX cents per
pound on all above L per pound aud not above y
cents per pound, DO enough FOX me iium WOOL
kind which our farmer produce in large quantities from
class of sheep ver hardy and producing heavy ccce for
IL will be from % 20 30 cents per head Then we have the
two clauses 10 cents per pound and Opor cent ad yaore
and u cents per pound and 10 per contad vaorcm These
applying to very fire WOOL just what our farmers want;
they nocd protection fine wools for these sheep only
produce from to three pounds OF wool per head which
is worth about 70oent per pound This would be from 81
TO 80 cents per head But the facts do not bear out such
reasoning And first. le' note the interval that elapsed
not only between the passing Of the bin and IFS taxing
effect but also that between the time when u was first
contemplated, and the time when it went into force In
the year 1860 we consumed oniourh foreign wool IN our
manufactures; about 90 million pounds domestic fleece
III ~ ltH.H.l Haffe
bales Of foreign wool in 1863 lO7 $40 bales in 1864 49,
Cos bales; but in 1869 acr tho present trT had taken
effect we imported bat So 10 bales And Sc must bear
in mind that four-ihhs Of the larre amount imported ~
1864 was imported during the first months Of the year,
before the ar1 took e ct. 1t viii be easily seen from
these figures that while We supposed had the benefit OF
good protective tariff in 1863 the great bulk Of Tic for
eign wool upon the market hal been imported under the
previous low iad1 and acting like incubus Oh tho
WOO interests Of the country not osy by filing our waro-
houses aud thus largely increasing The supply hut by pro-
yidng that supply at price which utterly a'tonhed the
farmer in bis western homo no was entirely uuacquaaied
with what importers doing II = true 10 mas be
urged that this wool was bought With gold. So foreign
wool advanced with the price Of gold and much Of It vas
cold for gold The price OF gold in 1853 in favor Of
the importer The large amount Of wool thrown upon the
narke, in 1868 and -6i Kept domestic wool from adj
yaucng with the price Of godi fact which astonshed
every one not conyrsant with The large importai Of
1863 and 1861 The mponaiious OF these two years keep
ing down the mice Of wool in 1851 and also in 1862 nov
tend to deprc. il in 1856 just consider that 10 1862 with
all our increased machinery, only imported half the
quantity OF wool imported in 1873 and only about two-
thirds Of the importation in 1862 This certainly does az
pear like advancing backward
Secondly: Tho low duties OF three cents per pound and
six cents per pound have NOT been confined 70 coarse and
medium woo but the highest duties, with tie exccp-
ton Of one little LOT Of few Thousand pounds, which have
been paid FOR the finest woods have imported and some
Of the finest woods raised in the world have not paid more
than three per pound large amount Of tins wool
is exceedingly dirty 80 that is value is greatly reduced
Some Off when secured will not yield more than p per
cent ready for the cards or one pound in four for what
/ import Now WHY Is this There is reason for every
thing men will not pay four cents per pound for tho
transportation Of dirt and this is what they say it costs
from the place OF packing TO the place Of manufacturing
unless II Yields q profit Now this pound Of wool OBJ
tanned from the pounds of wool and dirt imported at
three per pound pays II cents duty for We cannot
charge the dirt with duty 1t is not worth the cost OF
Interpretations but if to this pound Of clean wool we also
add the cost Of Transporting the four pounds OF wool and
dirt which is l6 cents then have % cents upon the
one pound Of secured WOOL But imported this wool
secured then we should havo 10 pay three times the
amount of the other duties, which in this would be
three times y and three times 10 per cent ad vaorem
that is about 90 cents per pound Can wonder that
our importers prefer to import dirt rather than secured
WOOL pound Of which has not been imported under the
present tariff although it would save complete waste Of
four cents per pound for the transportation Of dr But
tits not all this extremely heavy dirty wool which is im-
ported under the duty Of three cents per pound II will
easily DO understood that there will be much wool Which
J IA n nj