Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-02-04
BURLEIGH K FLYNT, Pubs,
Augusta, Maine.
Wool and Wooden Goods.

A few days since we published a valua-
BILE paper on the tariff question, especially
relating to the duties on wool and waolen
goods, written by Hon. \. W. Beard of
Boston, addressed to Robert Blake,
Massachusetts wooden manufacturer, who
had sent letter to the Boston Free Trade
banquet. in sympathy with some Of the
objects of that gathering. Mr.. Blake is
one of the small number of wooden manu-
facturers who separate from the great
body of the men engaged in similar bust
ness, wishing the farmers may have no
protection for their wool products, while
they are to have a certain measure of pro-
lection by the tariff on foreign importa-
ton of wooden goods. Mr.. Blakie's Brit
ish birth renders il natural that he should
have certain degree of thought
for the Interests of his fatherland, and
for his brethren whom he left behind when
he sought a homc in New England. This
Is not to the discredit of his head and heart
But when il comes to questions of legiS-
lation for the common interests of his
adopted country he has no right to be
other than thorough American. and much
less Is II fitting that he should Join in
movement which tends To place the vast
sheep-farming interest of this country on
a level with the wool-raising interests of
those countries where immense herds of
sheep are raised on cheap lands in the
plantation manner. Mr. Blake seems to
be very imperfectly informed as to the
earlier history and workings of tariff legis-
lation in the United States, and he frankly
avows that he will not make use of
statistics in discussing the questions of
tariff reform Mr.. Beard has replied to
the second paper of Mr.. Blake, and he
has done it SO effectively, so completely,
that We give the chief portion OF what he
writes. Speaking of the wooden industry
Mr.. Beard says:
You say. THE industry was established
under a low tariff and had its greatest pros
perty then. There has not been, in my
opinion, nearly the development in the wool
en manufacturing industry in the last tw enty
years of high tariff that there was in the ten
years of low tariff just before the war
In answer, | stated and now repeat that in
1860 and the years preceding, the great
bulk of purchases of wooden goods for cloth
ing purposes were foreign goods; that we
had American satinets, cotton-warp cloths |
and cassimeres hut even of these not a |
large supply. OF all wool goods made in
this country we had few low grade black
doeskins and black cassimeres. and small
number of mills were making low and
medium grades of fancy cassimeres. Edward
Harris was making limited quantity of
fairly good cassmeres, but their use was
mostly confined to merchant tailors. All |
our coatings, other than above mentioned, |
were imported. Broadcloths were largely |
worn and imported. Notwithstanding the |
low tariff of that time. clothing was much |
higher in price and poorer in quality than
to day, never better cheaper than now. |
| doubt if there is any country where the |
masses can clothe themselves well for the |
same money. | know there is no country |
where their labor will bring half so much
food and clothing as in this tariff-riiden /
one | also said that sin 1850 one could
count ON his fingers the number of mills
making respectable wooden goods in New
England and the Middle States" This last
statement you pick up, and with flourish
enumerate from your memory quite amber |
OF Hiltis, some OF winch Dat GOODS III tne 1
market in 1850 and some made only satinets. /
Yon mention eight mills in Amesbury. The |
mills in Amesbury and Salisbury we're con- |
solidated and reorganixed in 1858 or 1859 |
under one corporation, the Salisbury Com |
pauy, which had in 1850 forty-seven sets of |
WOODEN goods of medium quality and five
sets on satinets. Is this specimen of your
countingf Many of the mills you mention |
were small and their production limited |
How many mills like your own
for instance, would it take today /
to make more goods than all in the Uni /
ted States made in 1860? You do not at |
tempt to controvert the statement that we
had to depend mostly on foreign goods for
our clothing trade. You mention the Mer-
chants Wooden Mill, Dedham, the Washing
ton Mills and others. The Merchants and |
Washington were both reorgonizations at the /
loss of original stockholders subsequent to |
the panic of 1857 and just prior to 1860 |
Their period of prosperity came with the |
tariff of 1861, and their subsequent decline /
came from causes well known to mAnufac.
turers and dealers none better than Yourself |
To these might be added the Salisbury and |