Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1886-01-07
TALKS TO FARMERS
At the Belmont County Farmers Club
Paper of Hon. w. n Cowden, on the
Wool Tariff.

mers' Institute:
As l cannot be present in person, j
write you few thoughts as they occur
to me, hoping they may be useful in stim-
ulating you to better knowledge of our
situation as wool growers, and thus lead
US to such proper remedy for the dis
aster that has SO completely prostrated
our business. and paralyzed all the caps
itsl employed therein.
need not remind You that this disas-
ter 10 the legitimate result of the tariff
legislation of March 3, 1888; such was
the prediction of all thoughtful men at
the time of the passage of said tariff act
but all must acknowledge that the ruin
has been more wide spread and far
reaching in its results than the most san.
guine feared or expected.
Let US see what the wool growers of
Belmont county have lost by this reduc-
ton. You haye sold your wool at an
average loss, compared with the years
before the reduction. of cents on every
pound of wool produced in the county
for each of the last thres years. Or an
aggregate of sc, 500 each year, on the ba.
sis of The production of 1888, and for the
three years, under the tariff of 1883, three
times $500, or S19,5O0. That is, each
year there should have been this amount
more brought into Belmont county in
farmers of Belmont county should have
had $1,000 more each of the three last
years to pay to the printer. blacksmith
store, church, school, to apply on mort+
gage, to purchase the comforts of life
to educate the children of the county
sc. Who found what you lost? Wool
en- goods are no cheaper, Il mean the
better kinds,) SO that the consumer has
not found what we lost. The q. S. Gov
ernment has not found it. In short, this
money was legislated cut of your pock-
cts, into the pockets of the foreign grow.
er and importer-into the pockets Of the
woolen manufacturer. l have said the
better kinds of wooden goods were not
cheaper than before the reduction, for
the reason that there was an actual in
crease in amount of protection afforded
them under the last tariff. It is true
that during the last year all kinds OF
goods have sympathiZed and have been
affected by the world wide depression in
prices, but the better class of wooleH
4 O00de bSvo ham lose offoofaH khon
other commodity.
One-half of the money above referred
l e 80 being lozt- by the farmers of Bel,
mont county, is due directly to the
change of tariff and the other half il
due to the advantage the reduction gave
to the importer and manufacturer tc
manipulate the market. In other words
by the reduction of 1888, we lost control
of our own market, aud are now at the
mercy of others, and this state of things
| will continue till the tariff is restored on
wool, or until there is an equalization OF
tariff duties.
1t is true that wool, even at 80 cents,
is as profitable as beef, pork, hay, wheat
or corn at prevailing prices. But these
all are below the cost of production, and
cannot long thus remain. This week. al
East Liberty, there has been quite a
boom ia cattle and hogs, which will con.
tinue till they reach their normal price
which is the average cost of production
for the whole country.
/ Wool cannot and will not thus sympa,
thise with the revival of business, be-
cause another law governs-another fac
tor comes into the account, and wool
must be sold at the average cost of pro
daction for the whole world, plus the
tariff and cost of transportation, sc. As
wool is produced more cheaply in bar
borous and semi-civiliZed countries than
In the U. s., it is certainly evident that
wool can never get above the importing
point.
What then is our duty as wool grow
ers? Should we not by every legitimate
means secure such legislation as will
place the importing point so high that
our business will be as profitable as
other occupations2 We do not ask fol
a prehibitory tariff on wool, but only a
tariff high enough to allow US to go into
the markets, created by eur own taxa
tion and civilization, on an equality with
the foreigner. This request is but sim+
pie justice, and No government should
ask its citizens to take anything less
Should not every wool grower use his
influence and vote to secure such legis-
lation as will thus protect his own inter.
ests =? Other organizations thus use thsil
influence, and why should not we?
A pressing duty is now upon US, and
our industry will be weighed in the bal
ance" this winter in Congress, and we
must be prepared to SO advocate our in.
terest before Congress, as to secure the
needed protection to our industry. Each
political party in their last National
platform. promised if elected, to ''revise
the tariff" or correct the inequalities Oi
the tariff" and thus every member OF
Congress is pledged, and We may look
for tariff fight at this session. Wool
growers must be prepared to make such
a showing of the needs of the industry
as will secure relief, or our interests will
certainly be neglected and suffer. If we
do not organize and attend to our inter-
ests, should we not suffer? Whom dc
we expect to attend to our interests il
we do not? But you say we have elect
ed men to attend to our interests. Yes
but the average Congressman don't know
what our interest is, or what we should
demand or have, and hence the necessity
of having lobby at Washington tc
make the proper statement to msnbers
of Congress. Thus and only thus is leg
islation secured.
! No member of Congress can read NJ
the needs of all the industries OF couH
try so great as ours. In the coming con
test we have some vantage ground. Ev
cry member of Congress elected from
Ohio pledged himself before election tC
Il support our wool bill, and may be relied
upon, and many others in other state;
were so pledged; but against this van
tage we have as before, the solid influ
ence of the National Wool Manufsctu1
rers' Association, and the solid vote Of
| New England to contend with. It viii
take a fight to protect our industry
4 win the farmers of Belmont county dC
their share In this contest? Ohio is ex
!, pected by all the other states to takt
the lead. As state. Ohio now occupies
1 q noaitian of hnnor and alSn a DO9ftiOr