Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-02-10
WOOL AND THE TARIFF.


Secretary Albert Chapman of the YER
ont Sheep-Breeders' and National Wool
towers associations writes as follows
the Boston Advertiser under date of
iddlebury, Jan. %:
sit will not do to take Vermont alone
considering the effect of the tariff upon
DOL growers, except you also take into
bnsideration the peculiar relation she
hs gradually assumed to the industry in
he United States. For years the bulk of
er sheep breeding has been blooded
heep to improve the larger flocks of the
Fest and Southwest, hence the tendency
as been to smaller flocks here of super
pr blooded sheep, shearing much heavier
eece than the average of the sheep else
there.
"After this superiority of Vermont
heep was established and recognized the
RATS upon her flocks of fine-bred sheep
commenced and increased very rapidly
ntl the enactment of the tariff of 1888,
which reduced the duty on wool from
hree to five cents, which so damaged the
vool-growing industry everywhere in the
Jnited States that the demand for YER
mont sheep declined to so great an eX-
bf raising blooded sheep in Vermont.
"To go back and show the influence of
he tariff of 1867 upon wool growing in
the whole country, we will take the num-
Der of sheep in 1880 as 40, 900, which
Under the operations of the same tariff
had increased to 50,626,626 in 1884. If
the same rate of increase had been con-
tinued to 1887, there would have been ov-
er Ga, 900, 900 now. Instead of that, after
the margin of protection had been taken
|bff by the act of 1888, as soon as that act
: II the number of sheep, small at first,
but during the last two years much more
rapid, until in 1887 the reduction amount
Jed to about 100000, leaving the number
IA, ,3l4. Previous to 1884 the increase
had more than kept pace with the in
crease of population. Since then it has
not only failed to keep pace with the in
|crease of population, but fallen back and
lis rapidly decreasing, and we are now
|sending just so many more million dol
lars abroad every year to supply the de-
ficieney 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 to that
time that had been attained for three
years previous to 1884.
"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 soph
istries of the Republican or other free
trade papers can set these acts aside OIL
reason away their force.
81 have thus given the effect of the ac
of 1888 upon the wool-growing industry
of the United States to show why it has
had so disastrous effect upon sheep-breed
ing in Vermont, and upon which | cal
give some very instructive figures t.
prove that | am correct. Previous to tn,
passage of that act the breeders of Yer
mont did what they could to prevent it
passage, but they were told by some of thu
leading papers and by the statesmen who
had that bill in charge that we did not un
derstand the case, that that small reduction
would not make any difference to tn,
wool growers elsewhere, and the demand
for our blooded sheep would be as grea
after the passage of that act as before
and that as the wool-growing proper ha,
been removed to the cheap lands of tn
West, we should not feel any damag
from the reduction. If | remember right
the Springfield Republican gave us lee
ture of that tenor at that time. But tn
bill was passed, it being considered a
that time to be party necessity to max
a concession to the free-trade sentimen
to save the party from defeat in 1884.
is hardly necessessary for me to stat
here that its effect upon the Republica
party has been about the same as upo
the wool-growing industry.
Sand what has heen the effect upon til
Merino sheep-breeding industry in Vel
mont? / will take the shipment of Mer
no sheep from one station, where a larg