Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1888-02-03
VERMONT WOOL.
CAUSES OF THE RECENT DECLINE IN
SHEEP HUSBANDRY.
The Breeding of Blooded Sheep-The De
mand for the western Market
The Checking of this Demand
Interesting Facts.
From the Boston Advertiser. |


sumed to the industry in the United
States. For years the bulk of her sheep
breeding has been blooded sheep to i'm
prove the larger flocks of the West and
Southwest, hence the tendency has been
to smaller flocks here of superior blooded
sheep, shearing much heavier fleece than
the average of the sheep elsewhere.
After this superiority of Vermont sheep
was established and recognized the drafts
upon her flocks of fine bred sheep com
menced and increased very rapidly until
the enactment of the tariff of 1888, which
reduced the duty on wool from three to
five cents, which so damaged the wool
growing industry everywhere in the
United States that the demand for Yer
mont sheep declined to so great an extent
that it has nearly ruined the business of
raising blooded sheep in Vermont.
To 90 back and show the influence of
the tariff of 1867 upon wool growing in the
whole country, we will take the number
of sheep in 1850 as 40, 165, 800, which under
the operations of the same tariff had in
creased to 30, 626, 626 in 1884. If the same
rate of increase had been Continued to
1887, there would have been over Ga ,00O, 600
now. Instead of that, after the margin of
protection had been taken off by the act
of 1883, as soon as that act went into effect
we UOlt IL Sltduy utCJllt Ill Illt nuIlDtE vi
sheep, small at first, but during the last
two years much more rapid, until in 1887
the reduction amounted to about 10000 900,
leaving the number Al, 1894. Previous
to 1854 the increase had more than kept
pace with the increase of population.
Since then it has not only failed to keep
pace with the increase of population but
fallen back and is rapidly decreasing, and
we are now sending just so many more
million dollars abroad every year TO sup
ply the deficiency in our own crop of wool
that would have been grown here on the
sheep that we should have had in 1887 had
the same.ratio Of increase.continued 10 that
time that had been attained for three
years previous to 1854.
This has been the effect upon the wool
growing industry of the United States by
reducing the duty on wool only three
to five cents pound, and no sophistries of
the Republican or other free-trade papers
can set these acts aside or reason away
their force.
| have thus given the effect of the act of
1863 upon the wool-growing industry of
the Unten States to show why it has had
so disastrous effect upon sheep breeding
in Vermont. and upon which | can give
some very instructive figures to prove
that | am correct. Previous to the pas
sage of that act the breeders of Vermont
did what they could to prevent its pas
sage, DuU lutN were IOltl ny SOIllt vi llt
leading papers and by the statesmen who
had that bill in charge that we did not
understand the case, that that small re-
duction would not make any difference to
the wool growers elsewhere, and the de-
mand for our blOoded sheep would be as
great after the passage OF that act as be-
fore and that as the wool growing proper
had been removed to the cheap lands of
The West, we should not feel any damage
from the reduction If remember right,
the Springfield Republican gave us a lee
ture of that tenor at that time. But the
bill was passed, it being considered at that
time to be party necessity to make a
concession to the free trade sentiment to
save the party from defeat in 1884. 1tns
hardly necessary for me to state here that
its effect upon the republican party has
been about the same as upon the wool
growing industry.
And what has been the effect upon the
merino sheep breeding industry in Yer
mont | will take the shipment of meri
no sheep from one station, where large
proportion Of the merino sheep for breed
ing purposes are shipped, but not nearly
all.
In 1877 from this station was shipped
West and Southwest 29l5 carloads In
1850 there were shipped 60 carloads, and
in 1881, Il carloads, containing G1,7 sheep
beside Il number OF smaller lots shipped
bers for but one year since only, but they
show worse than the falling off of the wool
growing sheep of the United States what
the effect has been upon Vermont In
1856 there was shipped from the same sta
ton only 1917 carloads containing Ia;
merino sheep for breeding purposes, OF
less than one-fourth the number Oftcar-
loads and about the same proportion III
numbers of sheep, nor does this tell
anything like the whole damage
done by the act of March, 1888
to the industry in question. 1t is
perfectly safe to say that the prices OBJ
tanned for the l143 shipped in 1856 were not
over one-tourth that obtained for the GU
shipped in 1881. This shows how the
melino sheep breeders of Vermont have
been affected by the damage done to the
wool growers OF the whole country by the
reduction of the duties on wool three tc
live cents per pound, as that reduction
made wool growing Improbable, not only
on the high priced lands east of the Mis-
sissippi but on the cheap lands of the
West, where much the largest falling OIL
in numbers has taken place, Texas alone
(where Representative Mills assumed tC
say that wool could be profitably
grown without any protection AMI the
wool-growers did not ask for any losing
over 81 100000 i'll but little more than
year.
Yet, when the sheep breeders of Yer
mont in their meetings presume to expires,
their views upon the effect of the tariff Oh
WOOL we are told by the editors of the Re.
publican and other free trade papers that
we do not understand the effect of the tar
if on wool, and should not be forcing oul
opinions upon the country at large, as il
is something that we have no interest in
The simple truth Is there is no surel
barometer by which to Judge of the pros
perity or decline of the wool growing
industry in the United States at large than
the demand for our Vermont blood to i'm
prove the vast llocks of wool bearing sheep
in the West.
The Republican cannot claim patent
on this kind of presenting the case and
asking questions to seize upon some isO-
lated fact and ignore all Others bearing up
on the question is an old trick of the free
trader, as well as OF others that have a
poor cause TO advocate.
ALBERT CHAPMAN.