Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-04-22
WAR AND CARPET WOOL.
Probable Effect of AnglO-Russian Hos
tilities on a Very Necessary Import.
From tho philadelphia NelCs.

Probable Effect of AnglO-RussiRn Hos
tilities on Very Necessary Import.
From tho philadelphia Netos.
If war breaks out between England and
Russia one of the first effects, in the
opinion of competent authorities, will be
to cause an advance in the prices of car
pet wool and carpets In America. Phila-
delphia manufacturers and importers are
watching the news from London and St.
Petersburg with wide open eyes, and are
listening intently for the cable-click that
will first give inumation of a formal de-
claration of war. Nearly 90 per cent. of
| the wool used in the manufacture of car
| pets in the United States comes from
| Russia and the various half-civilized con-
! quered States along the southern borders
of the empire, so that if this supply of
wool is suddenly cut off carpet men in this
country will have to pay higher prices
for their raw materials, and conse-
quently will be obliged to charge more for
/ their goods.
u don't anticipate that any advance in
the prices of carpet woods will be caused
by a war between England and Russia, if it
! takes place, before the summer clip next
August" said Mr.. James DobsOn to a
Nel0S gatherer yesterday afternoon.
''The great bulk of the wool we use for
carpet purposes comes through Turkey
and from Constantinope. If Odessa,
Taganrog and the other Russian ports on
the Black Sea should be blOckaded by
England, we could get no wool from that
quarter. Then Moscow is quite large
wool mart, and most of it's wool is shipped
from Riga to Hull. Still, even if Riga
were blockaded, you see that much Rus
sian wool could be brought through Ger
many by rail. There is ample railroad
communication now between Germany
and Russia. A good deal of wool could
be brought through in that way and ship
ped from Antwerp.
e'Nine-tenths of all the carpet woods of
! Russia are consumed in the United States.
And this is the market where Russian
| wool has got to be sold, because the Eng
lish manufacturers use the woods grown
in England, and prefer them because they
are. finer and cheaper. The duties here
on English woods are four times as high
as on Russian woods, consequently Ameri-
can manufacturers are prohibited from
using them for carpet purposes; we would
have to get wool from Oriental ports. The
English woods are better than Russian,
and we would use them if we could.
eve use but very little American wool
in our carpets-probably not more than 20
per cent.
During the last Franco-Russian war
we mad two cargoes Of wool LAID up at
Constantinople for six months in Russian
! vessels. 1t came here eventually, and
was not damaged by its detention. At
that time the carpet woods brought
through Turkey advanced IN price about
20 per cent. [ do not know that there was
an advance in carpets.
''Prices for carpets were good deal
| higher then than at present. They were
over 80 per cent. higher during the Turco-
Russian war than they were to-day. IL
wool advanced % per cent. now there
would have to be an advance in the
| price of carpets. for we are manufacturing
now with almost no profit at all. There is
little or no margin now IN the carpet
trade"
A representative of the large wholesale
wool house of Henry Schmidt was asked
as to the effect on Russian carpet WOODS II
war ensued.
s'There has already been an advance in
the price OF Russian carpet WoOl5,'' was
the reply. sit is on account OF the war
news, Some classes Of carpet woods nave
advanced 5 per cent. If there is war
there must be adecided offspring in prices
tor a good many reasons. There Will be a
great difficulty in forwarding and ship
ping from Russia; the cOmmOtiOn caused
by war in Russia, Georgia, Circassia and
tributary States would almost entirely
prevent the clip.
"Russian woods are now extremely
cheap, lower than, they have been for
some time. All woods OF this kind are sold
at private sale, not at auction, so cannot
quote prices.
III war is declared the effect will be felt
here Immediately. Ii the war assumes
large proportions, there will be small
clip in Russia, and very little will be ex-
ported The amount of the advance can
not now be estimated, but it may be very
large. -.-. $500.
woods had TO be found by the manufacture
ers of the United States they would have
to get woods from different places. Colo
RADIO, New Mexico and Mexico would
supply q certain amount. Considerable
would probably be imported from China
and the East Indies. Very little OF the
wool raised in the eastern part OF the
United States could be used for carpet
purposes, as it is too fine and costly.
| Hardly any wool would be brought from
France, as not much coarse wool is raised
there. In Portugal some classes Of carpet
woods are grown quite largely. The du.
ties here on Portugal carpet woods are
about the same as on Russian woods. The
woods of Portugal are extensively I'M
ported in the United States now, and the
Ek1DAldu NbbiH are 0nEAA III ldt ~ ANAohbA-
ties. The impOrtatiOns from these sources
could be increased. Then there are some
coarse wCols brought here now from Scot
land. The duties are much lower on them
than on English woods, and they arenOC
washed and are inferior, and manufacture
ers here could get much more raw mate
| rial from Scotland.
"There has been some talk OF an in
| creased rate of insurance on vessels in the
event of war. l have heard it stated that
the insurance companies would not only
demand war rates on Russian and Eng
lish ships il active hostilities are begun,
but an Increased rate on neutral vessels.
This war rate would make a large differ
ence in the prices Of Russian carpet woods,
for almost the entire amount is taken in
English vessels"
'NIR." MUST BE DROPPED.