Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-05-19
Washing.

The nonsense of washing wool has,
been SO often and SO regularly referred
to that there is nothing new to say about.
it, and yet the temptation to hit such an
absurd practice, is so strong, that as the
season approaches for dragging sheep,
through a cold bath, it is we'll nigh ire
sistible. The whole thing is so absurd
that it does not rise to the dignity Of:
boys play, as a sport, while il partakes:
strongly of a criminal character, in cru
city to both man and beast. But it is
the custom. The time is at hand when
the man and the sheep are to be put
through the trying process in order to
save a one-third reduction. The observ-
ance of the rule to deduct one-third for
unwashed wool, is satisfactory to the
buyer, because he knows it more than
covers the dirt. The wool business is in
the hands of ar entirely toe sharp a set
of men to permit such a rule to operate,
if it was not in their favor as a whole
If it came anywhere near to being equi-
table, it would be considered the 1oosest
of loose ways of doing business. To be
equitable it would suppose that every
sheep had well-defined facilities for get
ting just so much dirt in the wool, and
that every washer had well-defined ia
%cilities for getting just so much out
The latter is nearer true than the for
mer; or rather it is true that very little
is got out by washing. The washed and
the unwashed wool has to go through
the same process of securing at the mill
It is clean only when it is secured. The,
buyer is supposed to buy and pay for
wool and not dirt, and the wool grower
is supposed to sell wool and not
dirt. Every fleece or lot of
wool ought to stand upon its own
merits. II it is very dirty, it will not be-
worth as much as if it were clean, and:
there should not be any difficulty I'M
buyer and seller agreeing upon proper
terms. At least the buyer would be n
abled by his experience to tell what q.
fleece was worth, and consequently he
would not be injured. But as the mat
ter is now regulated it is to the interest
of the wool grower to go through the.
form of washing as .carelessly as posi-
bic in order to a " as much dirt in the
fleece as possible. 1t, therefore, be-
comes a poor course commercially con-
sidered, and a worse one when morally
considered.
All fixed rules of buying should be
abolished. The commonest business
principles and the plainest common
sense demand it. The deduction in
price should be according to the impuri-
ties in each individual case. Then any
body who chooses to wash, would have,
an object in washing clean, or as clean
as possible. He would get pay for ex-
posing the health of the animal and his,
own health to danger. Or if he chose
not to wash clean he would know what
the consequence would be. Under this
system, the practice would not be ma
terially different from what it is now.
except as TO the operation of a senseless
and arbitrary rule. A buyer does not
now ride up to a wool growers door,
and order him to bring out his fleece, as
he is prepared to pay the ''market
price" for 1t. The price must be agreed
upon now, and it will depend upon tho
kind and condition of the wool. The buyeH
and seller may not be able to agree.
The n may think the wool bad and
the other may think it good. But after
they have agreed, if the wool has not
been washed, OFF comes one-third. We
repeat that the question of purity might
just as well be taken into consideration
as the question of kind and quality. It
is high time that we practiced common
sense in this matter. Western Rural.