Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1886-05-21
PROSPECT OF TIE WOOL TRADE.


The farmers of this section of country
aye now beginning to put their spring clip
Of wool upon the market. So many de-
pressing influences have been at work dur
leg The past three months that the outlook
70, the wool trade is not what could be
wished.
The tariff discussion and the uncertainty
ss 10 what would be the fate Of the clause
ia the MORRISON bill placing wool upon
the free list, made manufacturers very slow
about making contracts and buying wool
o, tariff prices and runnipg the risk ofsell
ing the manufactured goods at 8 loss,
should the MORRISON bill be passed. This
Rad q similar influence upon wool dealers.
Manufacturers not wanting large supplies
Of wool, of course dealers couldn't sell. and
were very cautious about buying any more
So the depressing influence Of this was felt
throughout the trade. Bat this cause Of
depression ia now virtually at an end, as
there are no hopes of the MORRISON bill be,
icg passed.
Another cause Of stagnstion has been
the labor troubles. Manufacturers, owing
20 threatened strikes, have not felt that it
would be safe to make contracts with pur'
chasers Of goods or with dealers in wool.
Where strikes have been inaugursted Of
course the effect has been much worse
Less goods have been manufactured and
there has been less demand, as the great
prevalence of strikes has left the working
men less money to buy with.
Another great factor in depressing the
wool trade in this country is the foreign
im portations. In the month CT March,
for example, S3,573,I34 worth of wooden
goods we're imported, about 100000
more than in March, 1885. This amounts
to a good deal in year and is just so
much to decrease the demand for Ameri-
can wool and American goods. Then there
are the heavy importations Of foreign
wools. During the first week Of this month
ibr.e we're sold in Boston l,2935OO
pounds Of wool, of which 100000 pounds
we're foreign woods, and tee remainder
Sl3,500 pounds domestic wool'. The total
receipts ct Boston since January l, COM
prise 1852 bales OF domestic wool and
So 1851 bales foreign, against 93,G3T bales
domestic and 1909 bales foreign for the
same period Of 1885. A similar
proportion might be found in the sales in
other cities on the sesboard. This great
increase in the imports Of wool is owing
to the chespness at which it can be
raised in Australia, South America and
Southern Africa, where it costs bat little
more than catching the sheep and cutting
it of their backs. The bsSt grades of wool
from the Cape of Good Hope were recent
IL quoted in London at from to 10 cents
per pound and the best grades from Aus
tralis from IL to II cents, while the infe-
rior grades ranged from to IL cents per
pound. These woods, after paying the
duty, can be sold in this country at prices
ranging from Is to u cents Were the
tariff removed entirely. while the mauufac.
turing industries remain protected, and the
prices Of everything going toward the pro
duction of wool kept up. Of course
the wool growers Of the Ohio Valley
could not compete AT al, end the wool
growing industry could only prosper in
Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and other
parts Of the West aud Southwest, where
land is cheap and the climate mild.
Owing to ell these depressing influences
farmers may not be surprised if their wool
clip, though nosss large as it was last year,
brings prices ranging considerably
lower. When the uncertainty from the
labor troubles dies away, as it is doing,
times will be better and the wool trade, as
we'll as all others, will be brisker.