Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1883-09-20
The. Wool Question Again.

4 Democratic document 10 being cir
eulated through the State, in which the
attempt is made to prove that Repubil-
| cans are the enemies and Democrats the
friends of proper protection to the wool
growing interest. If the Democrats had
| ever favored protection to wool of Amer
lean growth, some llttls degree of faith
| might he attached TO their present pro-
| fesslons, but the history of Congressiou-
| al legislation shows that the worst enc
mics TO the sheep husGandry of this
country have been found in the Demo.
| cratic party. The tariff OF 1916, which
was Democratic measure, imposed =
duty of only 80 per centum ad valorem
| upon foreign woods, and in 1857 the
Democrats abolished the duty on wool
valued at twenty cents, or less. per
pound. and reduced the duty on higher
grades to "a cents ad valorem. In the
| Forty y-1ifth Congress the wool bill de
stroyed all classification, and fixed the
duty at 35 per cent. ad yalorem. In 1880
the WAYS and Means Committee of a
Democratic House reported bill fixing
the duty On woods Of the first and sec
Ond classes at 81 per cent. nd yalOrem,
and 20 per cent. On class three and SINH
lar woods. The same bill put woolen
rags, shuddy, mingo, waste. and fiocks
on the free list. la all their tariff leg
islation the Democrats ssrer imposed 4
duty on woods AS high as ths present
tariff imposes. On the 5th day OF Au-
gust, 1882, before any debate had taken
place'on the general tariff bill, Demo
cratic Senator, Mr.. Bayard, of Delaware.
offered a resolution in the Senate redu-
cling the duty on all wool to % per cent.
ad valorem,- and the duties apun all
manufactures of wool, or Of which wool
should be the component part, To so per
cent. ad yalurem. Bayard really initia-
ted the assault npon the wool growing
interest in the last Congress. and his
| fellow DemucI as neglected no opportu-
nity 10 strike blow at the wOol-grew-
ers of the country. Mr.. Beck, of Ken
lucky, smother Democratic Senator, sus-
tanned Bayard' resolution, and Senator
| Pendleton, of this State, voted for il. In
February, 1883 when the general bill was
under discussion, Mr.. Bayard renewed
his effort to reducs the duty on wool to
25 per cent. ad yalorrm. In. the House
Mr.. Hewitt, of New York, advocated the
admission OF all raw materials, wool
| lllCluueU, Tree, Anu MI. OpIluteT, VI LII
nois. arother leading Democrat. declared
himself in favor of rapid reduction of
the tariff rates on wool, and the Hnal
placing of the entire product on the free
list. Seuator Sherman sought to have
the duty. on WOOL placed at y and II
cents per pound. instezd of 10 and II
cents, but his amendment was lost
through the determined action Of the
Democrats, aided by few Eastern and
Western Republican Senators. This
brief history plainly indicates the course
of the Democratic party on the wool
question. As body the Democrats
have always been opposed to the wool
growers of the country, and their pres
ent pretended sympathy is but hollow
mockery. They have no intention to
raise the duties on wool, and if they
were allowed full possession of the gov
ernment they would reduce the industI y
to the low position it occupied before
the civil war. They are merely in search
of votes, and hope to hoodwink the
wool-growers of Ohio into their support.
cleveland Leader