Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1884-04-12
FRANK HURD ON WOOL.

during rue Gecate on MT. COuVeTsc oni "
raise rhe duty on wool, last Monday, Mr..
| Frank Hurd, OF Ohio, made q speech wor-
thy Of remark. The press synopsis Of it is as
f0iloWs:-
Mir LUrd said he opposed this motion be-
cause it proposed TO restore the duties on
wool and thereby increasing the price OF
foreign waai required in domestic manufac-
lures. The question thus plainly presented
was: Ought the price OF wool to be increas-
ed BIZ legislation. There were three classes
interested in the. answer to that question
first, those who consumed articles made OF
Wool: second those who manufactured
WOODEN goods. and third. those who produced
raw wool Itself. The manifest effect on the
first class would be 20 increase the price of
it, wooden goods, for the price Of the mater.
al Of which an article was made could not be
increased without increasing the price Of the
article Itself. Ought the price Of wooden
goo1sto be incrased To that question there
ought 10 be but one answer. At all times and
Under all circumstances In our northern
climate wool was an indispensable article OF
daily consumption. It was a shelter to the
hou5eiessta covering to- the shivering, and fuel
when iile light of1re was extingnished. To
the s7orEingmen, artisans and mechanics,
labor without tie protection Of wooden
clothing would be hsufferable and their con-
Sition miserable indeed. II these remarks
were true ordinarily how pain ally true now.
This had been a winter of unexampled severity
More than halfa million men were out Of
employment and strong men everywhere
were seeing their families starving because
they could not get the work they were anx-
ious to do. Had the house Of representatives
nothing more to say than this, that necessi-
tie. of-life should be increased in price ? The
very proposition was a mockery Of their mis-
fortunes. To pass this bill would be to do an
unforgiyabe wrong TO millions. It was not an
auspicious time to make clothing dearer to
the poor. If bounties were needed for any
industry. in Gods nnEue take them out of
the oTeriowiug treasury. not out OF the SUI
fering poor. iApplause.l What effect would
il have on the manufacturing interests I
That: interest everywhere was In q state Of
| depression, Many had reduced the hours
OF labor; many had shut UP Tor a time; few
were running all the time and to full extent
and capacity. In the midst of this depression
did the house propose TO add to their burdens
by increasing the price of raw materials :
One of the chief causes OF the present depres-
sion was the high price of foreign wool.
To-day, even as The law stood, the price OF
foreign wool 20 American manufacturers was
nearly 60 Der cent. higher than 1t was at the
port of shipment. In American mills 300,-
005, 600 pound. were used In 1890. Of this
10,0C0,0 600 pounds was imported. There was
enough power in the mills TO produce nearly
twice as much rs they did. American mills
could manufacture 600. OOO, 900 pounds annu-
ally. The high dirty prevented the manu-
facturer from getting the wool he required
to h i've in order to make up for the deflcien-
cy OF home production, and by this very
tariff he was kept out OF the market, of the
world. England sold abroad Sl20, 000, 00U
worth Of wooden goods annually. America
sold abroad scarcely S4eO,0e worth. Pass
this bill. and i~ncreass the price Of foreign
| wool and The housi III add to the embar.
r~assinent Of every wool manufacture compel
further reduction Of wages and lock still! more
tightly against him tee markets Of the world.
This was attempted to be justified Oh the
| ground that the American farmer would gel
a better price fer his wool. This he denied
! What was tie market for the farmer ? Nc
man bought wool and brought 1t to his own
home, aud made bus own clothes. 1t was the
American manufacturer who created tue
market, and Just as he prospered or was de-
pressed was the price Of wool high or low
!Applause.I 1t was natural that men In
prosperity should pay better prices than mer
whom adversely had overtaken. He .lHurd,
charged that the low price Of American WOO
YVES largely attributable to the high price o.
foreign wool. There were three grades o.
wool in the marEc.-superane, intermediary
and carpet. OF these America did not pro
d1ce superiine or carpet WOODS, and there
fore nc duty Oh them could be Of any benea
to auy farmer. AS to the intermediary grade
this wss the situation. The woods. OF the
foreign countries had q texture and fbre
which American wool did not possess aRt
American manufacturers needed them in or.
der to mix With the American wool. No mai
could make a good suft Of clothes out of clott
made OF American wool only. Set foreign
| " AA%N y ASaCSS hS uots a1o UAOkO "
eign wool would be Imported and that woulG
mske a greater demand for American wool
Every pound of intermediary wool imported
would make more available every o, unc
raised here, Foreign wool did not come Ii
competition with Americsn wool, but Wa.
supplemented 10 Its essential value. From
1S43 to 1863. farmers got five cents per pound
more than they did during the period OF higt
protective. tariff. In England when the
proposition WAS made to take the duty of Of
wool it wes sntagoniZed by wool-growers
but the result had been the price of WOO
steadily advanced. He believed if wool wa.
put on the free list to-day with a correspond
ing reduction in duty on wooden goods. thu
result would he Il large increase of manufac
lures; d large Increase in the number Of oper
lives employed; Al least 10 per cent. increas,
IN the price paid the farmer, and q reduction
of 20 per cent. TO tbs people who had to buy
wooden goods. He had been requested b,
the legislature Of Ohio to vote to restore th,
duty on wool. lie had respect for the legis
lature as q body and ior its indi idual mem.
bers, but he would not vote to make wOOleI
clothing dearer to the laboring population o
the country if every democrat in Ohio asked
HIN to DO 50. loud applause on the demo
cratic Side.l In conclusion he said: "Wo,
10 the party that proposes TO obtain power b,
making the expenses of living heavier AM
the struggle still harder to those who ca,
scarcely carry il on now. The path to victor,
for sach Il party is through the misfortune
and >uiierings of their fellow-men. If LITE,
INTO power ii will be on the arm OF taxatIo,
end monopoly. The laurel leaf will be en-
twined with the poison vine, which viii
cause them 70 wither. For one, l do no
care that the party to which I belong shal
come iato power. unless it shall be to Civ,
freer trade 10 the people, better investment t
capital. larger wages to labor and create
glory to the American name" lContiuuou
applause CT Democratic sIde.l
Wade Bros
Large furniture house, next door 10 Grang
store Is uo% we'll filed with goods, carpets
vail paper, window shades, bedroom suit,