Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-05-11
RAW MATERIALS
Which Shall Il Bal Ckssper Whisky
and Tshacso Or Chespened Rec
essaries Of Life.
soma latsrsstiaS Fas.s and Figures About
Wool Priees and Expectations Under
High and Low TariHs. gT
Kansas City Tine e.

1
he tariff debate, or will 1t be cheapenen
necesssries of life and free raw materiSl
70 indicated by the Mills bill and the
Presidents nessager TIE Mills DILL is /
very conservative measure, one Id which
every industry IS dealt fairly with, yNot
one of them would be iIjured In the
lesst should the bill become law. They
would be greatly benefited BY being
relieved Of high taxes on raw ma
teyi.ls which their foreign rivals are not
burdened with. 1t is evident to all think
ing persons whohsva taken the trouble 20
investigate this question that our inebil-
ity to compete with foreign rivals in the
markets of the world Is not due 10 supe-
rior wages paid our operatives as claimed
by prote ctiOnists, for statistics demon
stTate that there is little If any addition
10 the cost Ct producing an article on &C
| count Il wages.
The fact that the American operative
works more hours and sccomplishes
much more in given time than his for
eign rival, magnidcenlly illustrates the
faIlscY Ct the protectionist assumption
that our inability to compete with
Great Britain is due to higher scale
Of wages paid to American LABOR.
rhe real cause is to be found in the
fact that owing to "protection" the
Americans machinery costs nearly double
Ina, Of Great Britain, snd Ia fact nearly
every article winch he uses is made cnor
mouslY high through the operation OF our
iniQuitous tariff laws. Cletpened ma
cniIery and free raw materials are ell
that is needed, and his alone can render
| 1t possible for us to compete with a conn
try like England.
Tariff reform is not promulgated
through the iu1uence OF British gold and
the Golden CLUB. Such nonsense Is in
tended to mislesd those who are yet In
darkness. l. is not q British movement
in any sense. 1t is an American principle,
With the settlement of America Nss born
freedom and independence. Tariff for
revenue is only natural outgro WITH of
the principles as set forth by JET.
ferson In the Declaration of Ia
dependence and the federal CONSTITUTE on
which followed. Then let Us silence the
irrelevent and utterly false assumption
that revenue reform is q British move,
mens, agitated in the interest Of Egg
land, promoted By British gold, st the
hinds of the Golden club and their
American allies. Nothing could be
more absurd or farther from the
truth. With cheap raw materials
and the abolition of our Infamous nsvigs-
ton laws, revolution OF our manufsc-
turing Industries would follow, which
would haus the eject of wrestling from
Great Britain goodly amount OF the
trade OF South Anerics. Australia, Csn-
trll America and Mexico, which she now
practically controls. 1t will BE- seen that
nothing could be more fstai to ESglend's
com mercial interests than q radical re-
ducsion Ct our tariff lsws.
But the slightest animation Of reducing
the duty, as, for instance, on wool, is the
signal for q howl from the protectioplst
camp loud and herce, tainted with vitu-
perstion and f,lsehood. There can be
given no Intelligent reason why wool
should not be plsced upon the free list,
for If past experience and history
has taught anything 1t hiss taught
the lesson that tariff laws
have but little Influence upon the price of
domestic wool. This conclusion is based
upon g careful examination OF statistics
covering period of si1sy-one years-1S2+
to 1885. Under the very high tariff from
1924 to 1882, the average price OF fine
wa hed clothirg fleece wool per pound was
so 9 cents. Importations were 2. 683, 4fS
pounds. From 1888 to 1912, with duties
nigh and increes sing, the average price per
pound wss 81 Z cents. IDpnr.stions for
he decade we're 10,300,669 pounds
From 1s4S to 1886 with Duties steady
and high, the average price was
80 5 cents, while importstiors in
creased to 1854. 1873 pounds. From
1s47 to 1857, with low duties, the
average price Yves ~ 9 cents. Imports-
| tinns were 1896, s26 POUNDS From
1853 to 1861 the average price wss 81 8
cents, with high duties Importatlons
still Increased TO $1,000 762 pounds.
From 1861 to 1864, duties still high, the
average price was ~ cents, while
importations reached the enor-
nous amount of 70.134,3I1 pounos.
From 1876 IN 1883, with the very high
| duties OF 1867 restored, the sversge price
TOR nine years was but 40 8 cents, with
importatiops still enormous, being 81. =
liz, $50 pounds. In order that q prStec-
tive tariff may be of any benefit to Hnfsri-
can wool growers it must at least nkpdAce
two great effects-retars imperialism And
give higher prices for domestic goG. II
it fails short Of this we must Al iGefee
| tnat IL ls OF DO vslue 10 the pfQS ucerysput
a burden, and should be ayeIkhed. Asl
US first observe the aboYa hgureS in
reference to importatiors. Theakri 4 has
no stable effect upon 1.-The Volume
of importations, whSther to in
crease them II low or diminish
them If high. The smallest Importation
of any one yesr for the period WAS in 1880
under very high duty, and the largest
importation OF any one year Was under
the very high tariff of 1880. l. Is note
worthy fact the tariff Of 1867, to which
the protectionists point with so
much pride, utterly failed from
its inception to its expiration to
check importation. There is another fsct
that governs importations Of wool. Our
industries cannot flourish nor even exist
without foreign wool. 1t will be remem-
bered that there are many grades, from
very coarse to that with the hossiness Of
silk. 1t has also been ordained BY nature
that no one country shall produce ~. OF
these grades. It therefore folloW a q
mstter of necessity that we should IN
port certain grades which we do MT AID