The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1883-05-04

THE New York Tribune of Monday
contains a long interview with Senator
Morrill, on the subject of tariff revision.
The Senator. who recently returned
from a tour in the South. thinks the
tariff Legislation of the last Congress
generally acceptable to the people.
Speaking of structures by Senator
Sherman of Ohio on the action of the
Senate conference committee. Senator
Morrill, said
Senator Sherman appears to complain that the
reduction OF the duty on woods Is greater than
that upon woolens. | think this is an error,
and that the general reduction on woolens is Il
larger percentage, and ten-fold greater in the
aggregate. The specific duty of 10 and II cents
per pound is the only trustworthy protection the
wool grower ever had, or can have, and that
is still to remain the same; while the highest
rate OF ? cents per pound will hereafter apply
TO woods valued at over 80 cents instead of over
30 cents per pound. The former additional al
valorem rate of III and 10 per cent was abanuon-
ell ON the recommendation of the tariff com
mission, whose report Senator Sherman pro
nounces, and most properly, "admirable and
the chairman of that commission, Mr.. Hayes,
has long been the efficient and consistent adj
vocatc of duties upoa woods, as well as upon
woolcns, while Mr.. Garland of Illinois, the
president OF the Wool-Growers' association,
was also a member of the commission, who
could not fail to look after wool intelligcntly,
and he concurred in their report. That 1t had
received Just and proper consideration was
never questioned until tie bill had been in the
Senate for weeks. The Senator is evidently
mistaken in his calculation, and forgels that
the duties upon all inland charges and COM
missions on wooden goods, a very material item,
have been removed, while wool suffers no such
rcduevsn, as such charges on wool have never
been dutlable. The schedule of the tarin
commission, not being precisely like the old
law, makes an accurate comparison a work
of some difficulty, but ! have a large number OF
examples furnished to me by eNperts in the
trade, which show in almost every instance
that the reductions are much greater upon
woolons than upon wool. ! would give you
these at length il they were not so bulky. Any
tlrln on wool would be of no value whatever
unless followed by an ample duty ON woolens.
The specific DUTY which remains on wool of 10
or IL cents a pound applies wholly to unwashed
wool, which, if washed, is doubled, and II
secured. tebled. With the duty OF 10 cents on
unwashed Cape and Buenos Ayrcs woods,
costing from II cents to 10 cents per pound, the
average rate will be from 81 to over 10 per cent.
These are the woods which would compete with
the woods ofTeNas and California. The fact is,
the duties upon No. ] clothing woods have been
almost wholly prohibitory, and the change made
will practically hardly b. percepublc. If 4
less price should follow, it will arise from
larger importation of wool i'll the form o.
manufactures, or from increasing home com
petition among woolgrowers, that is to say
from the constant increase OF production undel
a protective tarif, such as that exhibit, u from
1860 To lSsO, or I'M increase from $4,000, 600 pounds
10 24O,OOO, 900 pounds.
Mr.. Morrill, also had something to say
of the profits of wool-growing, as fol
lows:
Where lands are high-priced, sheep husbandr,
affords very small profits. The greatly improved
breeds of Mcrlno sheep, however, hold out soml
encouragement, and at the recent sheep-shear
lng at Middlebury, VI, some unwashed ileecel
OF The beet stock reached the astonishing weigh
OF hlriy-eightp pounds. In ONO the total clip o
wool IN 1860 was about O,0sO,OOO pounds, but il
1850, with only about l,O0O,0W increase in tn
number OF sheep, the production of wool haC
risen To 2a,OOO,OOO pounds. In 1850 there wer,
over l,OOO4OO sheep in Vermont, producing lesi
than 3,5OO,OOO pounds OF wool, but in 1850, viii
loss than 5Oo,OOO sheep, the amount OF wool eX
ceeded s.5OO,OOO pounds. In the same time TN
weight OF the fleece In Ohio had doubled.