St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1869-01-29
nm sheep Farming has Faifed.

men are mentioned in three townships Oh
Lorain. who are slaughtering $4,000
,hee, at this time. They are bought up
hocLs good. bad and Indifferent, at
;.,. ut % cents head, and remorseIessly
slain. mainly for their pelts, Further
west. the same state of things exists.
The advice of the Farmer to those hav-
mo flocks of good sheep is not to throw
them away in the manner mentioned.
What Is the cause Of this great ''Sheep
panic 2" The los price of wool. What
makes wool 50 low ! The depression OF
wooden manufactures. What l. the
cause of the low price OF woolcns The
influx of foreign manufactures. y lew
wears AGO, when sheep farming was prot
table. the wool-growerS Of Vermont
made themselves believe they wanted Il
tariff to protect their interests. Hon,
Justin =. Morrill, was elected to Congress
with the understanding implied, II no;
expressed, that lac should introduce bill
or the modification of the tariff IN such
way as to protect the interests OF the
vool-growing class. Snch law was
.nactcd, and what i the TesuIt 1t Is
simply this: The tariff amounts TO a
prohibition on all classes OF wool, such
-, i crown in the United States.
The practical working of this tariff
las been to prohibit the importation to
his country of all wool from Bucno:
.lyres and Australia, those great wool.
reducing countries, except class Of
wool from the Province of Cordova, mot
FUSED clsewherc,) used for combing pur-
IJses BY this prohibition, American
layers cannot import the wool i"oni
i,ese countries, where formerly million,
ui pounds were purchased annually, and
irounht TO the United States. The pro-
ulcers in these countries have been forced
e. sell their wool. AMI their only cuSto-
1u,rs being from England, France and
i,,rmany, and these countries not having
Il formerly buyers from this country a
competitors. they have been able to pur-
rhase this wool for les than onc-halt ii,
,rmer value-cven as low a. from !oul
90 seven cents pound, This wool be,
..,- taken to those European countries
Were labor costs very little, it IS manu-
i,cturcd and sold in this country at pr
c.- ruinous to our manufacturers and
to-day the best German doeskins can b,
>iI here cheaper than Benjamin Green
hanks can manufacture shcep's-grey
This is the reason so many factories hay'
-'pped, and why so many operatives arr
out of employment. and >utfcrin. for I'll,
1.oces,aries Of life.
Statistics slow tins important fact
=. at rhen tie tcrifhas beeD tie forrest, 'roo
h,> been tie hyie<t. By removing the du
t. on wool. thus allowing American
buyers to enter the wool-producing coun
tries of South America and Australia
!'le price of wool would advance there
tne manufacturers OF Europe must pa,
Jhis advance, consequently their cloth
would advance, and this would put il
,,,or,ti,r a,,.I, ,ur ,,v,, r,1uut' lrfpri =
living employment to thousands now
lie, and thus supplying our own marke
instead Of sending gold abroad for thcs'
tlbrics
If wooden manufactures advanced IL
price. of course there would be Il CORES
ponding advance in the price OF wool
AID we should not read of sheep bciu,
bought in Ohio ut ''sixty-fivc cents
head" and ''rcmorsele>sly slain," no
would they be sold in Bangor at fit,
cents each, a. was stated in the Boston
journal OF last week.
We have attempted to show in this al
tcle that a theory and its practical work
ings are sometimes at treat variance
Before the present prohibitory tariff wa
nacted, Vermont farmers were Sellin
heir wool at one dollar From forty t
,orty-iive cents Is now lis market value
Then the theory that protective tart
would enhance it, value was plausible
but a trial has deprecated wool MOI
than one-hali.
We believe Vermont took the lead o
he tariff question, and that it was thr,
her influence that it was imposed.
her wooI-@rowers and manufacturers al
satisfied that its practical workings al
bad, and detrimental to their best inte
ests, why not petition our lIonorab
Senator TO use his influence in rcmovir
the burden he 50 unconsciouSly, and vii
their consent, placed upon them, and u
on our whole country. When torel2
wool was permitted to enter our COUNT
free Of duty, sheep farming and the ma
utacture of wooden goods was profitable
as soon as the prohibitory tariff was el
acted the former business was ruined al
the latter >tagnated.
RAILROAD MEETING AT CRAFrsBUR'
AT the railroad meeting held at Sour
Cratt-bury on the 10th inst, $4,000 We