The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1888-08-10
The American Struggle 10 Prodece Wool
md Mnnlnns.

TIDul lIC SViyhA"l iNi'S@ A' '''S
land has exerted herself to prevent the
establishing Of wooden manufactures in
this country. The American effort to
establish this important industry has
been as long, but no more earnest.
Hostile to the development of any and
all American industries, England has
always shown u special antipathy to the
manufacture on American soil OF so
much as yard of wooden fabric or a
single wooden hat. The reader who
would refresh his mind on this subject
and follow it into its details, has only to
turn to Bancroit's History OF the United
States.
The England OF that day was not
preaching Free Trade crusade. She
was, indeed, the most protective OF ma
tions, and nothing was more the object
OF her fostering care than the wooden III
dustry from the ground up. In the
thirteenth century she prohibited by
statute the export OF raw wool, none Of
which could be sent out OF the country
at any price. No wooden fabrics OF for
cign manufacture were allowed to be
worn. She continued ier prohibtory
wool legislation until 1860, when she
concluded that the prohibition was as
absolute rs absolute power could make
it. The statute OF 1860 remained in
force so late as 1924, when England
adopted another policy because she
thought she could make more money by
it. Meanwhile the only change had
been in the matter OF raw wool, which
in 1902 had tariff OF Cd n pound put on
! it. In 1924 the tariff on wooiens was
reduced from Cd to Id per pound, and
raw wool was let in free OF duty.
While England was doing all she could
to build up her own wooden industry,
she was doing as much to strangle in its
infancy the like industry in America
In the old country, by the statute Of
1878, no corpse could be buried except
in shrond OF wool, an effort not SC
much to warm the corpse as the home
industry. Six years later she annulled
mn act OF the Virginia Assembly TO en-
courage wooden manufacture in that
colony. In 1899 she put heavy penal
ties on the export Of wooden manufac'
lures from the colonies or from one
colony To another.
In 1881 the home Government set OH
foot Enquiries to ascertain to what ex
tent colonial manufactures were in
Ijuring English manufactures. In 100
becoming desperate, and seriously alarm
ed by the progress OF the colonial indus.
try, England prohibited the export to
the colonies fanny implements for man
ufacturing woolens.
In 1924 the tariff on woolens was in,
creased by the Congress Of the United
States to help the domestic wooden man
ufacturc. England, in order 10 offset
this statute, reduced her import duty on
foreign wool in 1925, so as to enable her
manufacturers to furnish wooden goods
to America Notwithstanding the tariff
laws OF 1924, and she competed successfully
,ciM our factories. "-rWool and Manu-
features of W0ol;" p. L.: Bureau OF Sta,
tistics, Washington, D. c., 1881
At every step England has fought the
development of our wooden industry,
She is fighting it now us vigorously as
she did in the colonial times when the
patriotic men aud women Of the colonies
wore rude fabrics OF home manufacture
rather than submit to the monopoly OF
England, which was indeed grinding
monopoly" The history OF Chs long
and determined struggle is full OF in.
struction for the Americans OF to-day.
American voters can settle the question
for England or for the United States.