Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1888-09-27

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quality. | do not know the price during
the American revolution, but France was
then fighting with us and France and
Spain were great WOOL growing countries.
Ia tie ICdr IF the rebellion the price lCeilt
ob0ce q dollar per pound. and get lce had
Dears abroad. lce had ships and an al
most UHCbStFucted sea lChereby TO import
the article. In case of war with Great
Britain. even now threatened. and sooner
or latter to occur or with any of the great
European powers. our ability to supply
our own wants by importation is more
than probematic. 1t is hardly necessary
to mention here the numerous complica-
tiOnS liable to lead us into war; the ship
canal: the Monroe doctrine and the atti-
tude of European countries on account of
it: the Chinese question: the seal fisheries
of the Pacific: the mackerel and cod fish
cries of the northern Atlantic; the jeal-
Ousy and greed of Great Britain and her
provinces; the frictionS of foreign trade:
the protection of American citizens
abroad: the greed which other foreign ma
tiOns may have to plunder the richest
people on the face of the globe, etc.
What 1COUld be oar condition if aCe
could produce only one-ninth Of the 1DOcl
necessary to cl0the orr people, and 1Cere
obliged to carry on ertenSice military
operations for a series Of gears amid the
TigOrS Of q Canadian climate, or the
TiyOrS Of oar OICn Northern climate
Would the embarrassments be materially
leSsened ir carrying on a military cam
paign, in the malarial and sickly regions
of Mexico or Central America or even
our own Southern border?
Our circumstances and surroundings
and the demands of civilized warfare are
quite different from what they were dur
ing the American revolution, or during
the war of 1872, or even during the war
of the rebellion. Even if we could get
the wool from abroad during such wars,
which is very doubtful, the cost of it, at
SO, 81 or So per pound, would present a
serious question, on putting a million of
soldiers into the field
What do the modern statesmen of the
country mean by trying to destroy wool
production in the United States, by now
placing it on the free list though it has
been on the protected list since 1916, just
after the close of the war of 1872? This
industry once broken dorm, 1CjU require
nlGny gears and large erpenditureS for
its restoration. 1t is an industry of slow
growth and can not be forced by sudden
effort; but if we should need fortifica-
tiOnS, arms or ammunition for purposes
of war they can be quickly supplied.
Have these new-light statesmen no fore
sight? Do they belong to class of men
whose capacity limits them to a sin
gle idea, and who are ready to break
down every barrier and safeguard, and
blindly overleap every intervening Obsta-
Gle, regardless of consequences, to attain
single object or accomplish single
purpose?
Is their purpose to reduce the surplus
revenue? That purpose could be better
accomplished by increasing the duty on
wool and woolens. Can 1T be that the ea-
perjences Of the late oCGr haze created q
desire on the part Of q ,fe1C diScOnteRted
spirits to 1CeGBell The strong arm Of the
government in gCdr? What can be the
motive for this persistent, unceasing, un-
patriotic crusade, to strike down single
industry, so necessary to our independ-
ence and defense in war, and so necessary
to the health, comfort and to the general
welfare of our people?
Have the teachings of Washington, JEFF
ferSOn, Madison, Monroe and Andrew
Jackson been forgotten? This new-hght
craftsmanship which fosters foreign in
dustries rather than our own, will, sooner
or later, be burned up in the fierce indig-
nation of the American people. The old
adage, "In peace prepare for war;" seems
to be reversed. We have only one breech-
loading rihed cannon of modern make for
our entire army and that is only 2-10
inch bore We have five or six of such
for the navy; no Notifications, but we put
millions each year intO river improve
mentS, to be swept away at the next
freShet.
What more necessary, careful, thought
.fiU preparation IN peace could be made
aCQTEll cLOthi7Ig-InGteTjaI, 2CitHin our OICn
borders, beyond the accidents and peTiLs
Of aCar, for Sirty millions Of peOple9
England is seeking the control Of the
1COOI product Of the 1COrId. Success in
that enterprise 1COUld giUe her more p0aC-
en- O0er the United States, and OCeT the
fighting nations Of the earth, than her
entire armament on the ocean, at less
than 0ne-tenth the cost
1t is the duty of the wool manufactur
erS, as | believe it is their wish, to stop
this higgling about a cent or two per
pound protection on wool, and assist us
to secure full and ample protection for
ing. as we most earnestly desire, ample
and full protection for the manufacturer.
The interests of flock-masters and manu-
facturers of wool, are enc and indivisi-
Bile. Indeed. the two form but a single
industry. We, by our industry, convert
the grass and the grain into the fleece,
and they take the fleece and convert it in
to clothing And thus they and we are
hand in hand engaged in different parts
of common enterprise. The free traders
claim that wool should be put on the free
list, in order to benefit the manufacturer,
by giving him free raw materials, and
thus enabling him to compete with his
product in the worlds market.
The wool manufacturers can not see it
in that light, and they distrust the mo-
tiveS of the free traders. They know that
under the present laws they can import
foreign woods and manufacture them for
a foreign market at the nominal duty of
1 cent per pound for ordinary combing
and clothing woods and = cent and Il of
a cent per pound on two classes of carpet |
woOls-just enough to pay for regulating
the business. Why don't they manufact- |
IRE for foreign markets? The american
are UR1CiLli1lg to be de- |
pe1ldent upon t0reign nGtiOnS for their
l,alO material and they k1lOaC that they
can not compete IN toreign markets IN
til they haoe first supplied their oa0n,
and can not do so e0en then, uptH Amer
lean labor, american capital, american
machinery and American poaoer to drioe
it are as cheap as those prOduced By
foreign manufacturers. Thus they know
that this pretense of benetiting the Amer
lean manufacturer of woolen goods is
mere false pretense, sham and fraud. |
The movement to put wool on the free
list is the first step toward the greatest
change in the revenue system of the Uni
ted States it has ever experienced. The
expenses of the government
have heretofore been paid, mainly, from
custom-house duties, which policy, with
a wise and discriminating adjustment
Of the duties, has been the source
Of protection to American industries.
No30, for the first time IN the history Of
tEis gGyeylly,1e3st, direct tdautiOn is nIrO-