The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1888-01-26

|
and speeds qualification of it by Congress,
SO that 1t shAA give the full measure of protec-
| ton intended by ita trainers
| The wool tariff and the tariG OF wersted
goods was redscsd by the act Of March 8,
1883. II has proved ruipeas to wool grow
ers and wool Eaapufacturers. Our able and
faithful senator, John Sherrnsn, resistsd the
reduction by ali the power CT his speech and
vote and all the influence he eoald COM
mand. The reduction was made. neswith-
standing the Hsniy sad powerful resist
ancss he brought to bear agafsss It.
A writer l'.Taylor'' in the Gecinnati
Enquirer OF Dee. 81, referring 70 the reiiuc-
ton Of the weet tariff, caIts Il ssthe per
cent. reduction In 1888" The Chicago Tn
basre of Dec. 81, uader the hegd of "Del-
amos Dslusi On Weol,n ssss the feddc-
ten "was only one to three cents per
pound" and the Chicago 7fibssss Of Nov.
Is took occasion to say:
Mr.. Lawrence, OF Ohio, weel grower, Ia his
len Nov. III So walled Isudly oyer the
reduction of the tariG on wss4 in 1888.
Why didn't Mr.. .Lawreses state just Whist was
the wool tariff reduction. OF 1888. y was
os1y to cents per pound On the different
grades, that was all.
Will now proceed to show tbe exact re.
daetion made by the act of 1888. by giving
| its provisions, and this viii esTrect he err
ror--the great error-into which these
same free trade writer's have fallen.
The act Of 1888 reduces the duties 10 a scale
"a follows:
"Clothiag woods, value 80 cents par pound or
| less. 10 cents per pound; value cyar 80 cents,
IL ess.s per pound; 1ash ed wool, dsusie duty.
''Combirg vsesl, value 50 eeists per pound Or
lesS 10 cents per bouAd; value over so cents
per pound, II eeaEs per pound
Carpet woods, value II cegts per peuua or
less, ~ cents per pound; yHlae oTer = cents
per pound, eonts nsr psuss.
"Ah classes secured, treble 6aty."
In addition TO this reduction ire Fseea OF
seetioas 2e07 and z9oS Of the Revived Statutes,
rsHisting etsSgss. commissions, DC, made
furtasf material reauetien.
Ohio and the older states preface sub
etahtially DO carpet wool, and tais Is CON-
parativels trus Of all the states. The re-
euesion then Ia only TO be considered on
other woods. They may BE- stated thus:
l. The reduction GA unwashed elash3ng
woods costing 50 cents Per peasd is $40
ceats per pound, which, estimating In
washed clothing weel In 9hio at rs cents,
watch is above the market price of 1857, is
over Is per cent Ga similar unwashed
clothing wool tae reduction is 6 81e cents
per pound, equal 30 80 per cent. On the
present price Ia Ohio, estimated at SO cents.
TIE reduction Ia prepertio1 ateir less on i'm
ported wool costing less thah 80. eents, and
can readily be computed. Ga cenfbfBg
wool. costing SO cents, the reduction is
equA to $40 eeHts per pound, Thus the
reductions are sufficient to take eff q fair
margin fer profit, and render wool growing
usremuRersdve. But this does rot present
fall view of the sexual practical rednc-
tions.
O. The act of 1883 practically makes a
reduction on wools which eonpete With
American eletbing woels Of at least 9 1880
eeats per pound or any fa4f bRess OF eempu-
tation, II not more. Washed long woela OF
the value Of 80 cents per peuBd cas- nov be
I'm ported at duty Of 10 esets per pound.
This can now be made into worsted cloths
sRd supplant or take the place OF an
equal amount of Ohio heriAe eleshfng
wool. When the act OF 1867 was passed
that was net possible. Imported long woods
could not then be made into eleth. They
could net and did not eggplant Ohio cloth
ing weels. The effect of the law . pre-
eissly rs II washed clothing (merine} weols
ecala now be iaportea at 10 cents per
pound. When the act OF 1857 was passed
ssoh wool weuld pay 20 cents specific duty
aud IL per cent. ad vsleren, equal to
80 100 cents, or In ali Is 80 109 cents per
pound, whereas now It lie only 10 cents, or
reduction Of IS 3919e cents per pound.
| The act of 1867 and that Of 1883 both as
same that duty OF 20 cents per potFad on
washed clothing woel Is only the equiva-
| lent of 10 cents on uAwashed. But If affair
difference of DUTY between weshea aud up-
washed wool should be emily the addition Of
one-third On waahed wool, this added TO the
ad vslorem duty of s. 10 csHss given by
the act Of 1867 n lakes the reduction Ia prse-
teal effect equal toe 1885 cents per peuud.
S. But this ts not the worst feat&re CT the
act of 1883. l. admits wersted cloths ut a
less rate u duty than the duty on the raw
wool of which they are mace. The effect Is
that wersted cloths are being imported at
SO low rate of duty that our worsted
manufacturers are being closed UP by
| foreign competition. Wool is thus brought
| in In the fern of wersted cloths, aHd OHIO
and similar woods are thus being suppanted.
| American manufacturers and wool growers
are both being driven cut Of oar own
| markets, our money goes abroad, and our
! industries are threatened with destruction.
| An examination of table OF the recent
| special report on wool by the chief of the
bureau eff statistics on woei. &c, SHOWS
| that the imports of emily FIVE of the classes
OF worsted goods were in 1888 OF the value
of S799, e43, with total weight Of goods
| 7So, 267 pounds, requiring weel to produce
| them 1897, 1873 pounds, but the Imports of
! 1885 increased, showing simiiar goods OF
the value of So, 294, 43s, with total weight
| $751;, 81 pounds, requiring wool 10 pro-
6uce them 1883, 3o5 peuBds. Wish i'm
pertatiens Of worstsd cloths increasing at
this rate, the manufacture of wsrsted cloths
In sais;country will seon be destroyed, and
with it the demand for nearly all Of our
| clothing woods.
| N5r is tais all. When the wool tariff
OF 1857 was passed carpet wsols were not
used in the manufacture of clothing.
| Edward A. Greene, prominent Wool
dealer OF Pbiladelphis, In q published letter
Of May 8, 1887, says:
The grestest wreng 30 our wool growers,
| however. is the importation Of carpet woods, of
which So eOe,0o pounds were in persea last
| year. Not over ss,e0e.00o pounds of these
| woods were used for carpets, the balance being
used for clothing purposes.
| It was In view of this fact that the Ma
tienal Wool Growers Convention at st
Louis in May, 1887, ameng other things re-
| solved
not evadsd bss undervaluatiens and other
| frauds, has failed 10 give procession to weol
| growers to the extent Intended in sosd faith
BY Its fssIaers. They intended TO give al nloth-
| ing wael, as specified in the act, protective
| duties higher than on carpet weeas. But more
| than half Of all so-eaped carpet woels, now
| imported ct q low rate of duty, are used in the
Manufacture of clothing goe3s, thus defeating,
| 10 thas extent, the paspese OF the act ef 1883.
| And to add b the evil, the act Hn poses no
higher duty on these carpet weols washed than
| u7washed. The result is that sdeA weols are
generally imported washed, thus paying
duty of but litsie over eae-ha1ft the este speei-
fed for unwashed wool, equal erly to shout
| ~ eeHts ser pound, and SO laefeaning their
| importation, sspplaating to a large extent,
American elothtGg wool, and depriviRg 1t OF
| the psstectioH intended to be afforded TO IL by
| the act OF 1873, 20 wit A Guty of at least 90
| cents per pound en- washed elothfag weal. In
| like manner taa set OF 1883 iG poses ne higher
| duty on washed than on ue washed com bifig
| weols, Importers have taken advantage Of
| ths to generally inancrt such woots washed,
| thnsi giyinSl 10 eur.AnerieaA leng woods but
| little over half the protection specified In the
| act of 1888 on uawsshsd waeis.
! 1t Is indeed high time that the wool grew
ers and wool manufacturers all ever the
country should foilsw the example which
Carroll county has set Ia having meeting,
IS the newspaper report before me says, OF
about 800 woel growers aud those interested
in weol from all parts of the county, de-
manaing shat protection which shall give
permanent prosperity to our wool growing
| and wool manufacturing industries Re-