Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1884-04-24
THE NORTHWEST.
The Wool Bill.

debate in the House, Washington, April
Mr.. Converse secured the floor and
moved to suspend the rules and pass the
bill restoring the duty of 1867 on wool.
Mr.. Hurd said heopposed this motion
because it proposed to restore the duty
on wool, and thereby increase its price.
It did SO directly by increasing the price
of foreign wool required in domestic
manufacture. The question thus plain
Iy presented was, ought the price on wool
to be increased by legislation? There
were three classes interested in the an
swer to that question. First, those who
consumed articles made ofwool; second,
those who manufacture woolen goods;
and third, those who produced the raw
wool itself. The manifest effect on the
first-class would be to increase the price
of its wooden goods, for the price of the
material of which an article was made
could not be increased without increas-
ing the price of the article itself. Ought
the price of woolen goods to be increas-
ed? To that question there ought to be
an answer. At all times and in all cir
Cumstances, in our northern climate,
wool was an indispensable article of
daily consumption. 1t was the shelter
to the houseless, covering to the shiver-
ing, and fuel when the light of the fire
was extinguished. To working-men,
artisans, and mechanics labor without
the protection of woolen clothing would
be insufferable, and their condition mis-
cradle indeed. If these remarks were
true, ordinarily, how painfully were
they now? 1t had been a winter of un-
expected severity, More than half a
million of men were out of work, and
strong men everywhere. were seeing
their families starving because they
could not get the work tn ywere anxious
to do. Had the House of Representa-
tives nothing more to say than this,
that the necessaries of life should be
increased in price? The very PROPOSE
Hon was mockery of their misfortunes.
To pass this bill was to do an unforgiv-
able wrong to millions. 1t was not an
suspicious time to make everything
dearer to the poor. If bounties were
needed for any industry, in Gods name
take them out of the overfowing Treas
ary, not out ofthe suffering poor. Zap
plause. What effect would it have on
manufacturing interest? Interest every
where was in state of depression.
Many mill-owners had gone into insol-
vency; many had reduced the hours of
labor; many had shut up for time; few
were running all the time and to the
extent of their capacity. In the midst
of this depression did the House propose
to add to their burden by increasing the
price of raw materials. One of the
chief causes of the present depression
was the high price of foreign wool. To-
day, even as the law stood, the price of
foreign wool to the American manu-
tacturers was nearly 60 per cent. higher
than it was at the port of shipment. In
the American mills 800, 100000 pounds
Of wool were used in 1880; of this 75,-
100000 pounds were imported. There
was enough power in the mills to pro-
dIce nearly twice as much as they did.
American mills could manufacture
1000, 900 pounds annually. The high
duty prevented the manufacturer from
getting the wool he was required to
have in order to make up for the de-
ticiency in the home production, and
by this very tariff he was kept from the
market of the world. England sold
abroad $12O,OOOoo0 worth of woolen
goods annually. America sold abroad
scarcely $400, 900 worth. Pass the bill,
and increase the price of foreign wool,
and the House would add to the embar-
rassment of every woolen manufacturer,
and compel further reduction of wag-
es, and lock still more tightly against
him the markets of the world. This was
attempted to bejustified on the ground
that the American farmer would get a
better price for his wool. This he de-
MED. What was the market for the
farmer? No man bought wool and
brought it to his own home, and made
his own cloths. 1t was the American
manufacturer who created the market,
and just as he prospered or was depress-
cd SO was the price of wool high or low.
EApplause.] 1t was natural that men in
prosperity should pay better prices than
men whom adversely had overtaken.
He (Hurd) charged that the low price
Of American wool was largely to be at
tributed to the high price of foreign wool.
There were three grades of wool in the
market; superfine, intermediary, and
carpet. OF these America did not pro-
duce superfine or carpet woods, and
therefore no duty On them could be of
benefit to any farmer. AS to the inter-
mediary grade, this was the situation;
The woods Of foreingn countries had