New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-04-19
EFFECT OF FREE TRADE IN WOOL.
PREDICTING THAT THE PRICE or THE FOREIGN
PRODUCT WOULD RISE AT ONCE.

PREDICTING THAT THE PRICE OF THE FOREIGN
PRODUCT WOULD RISE AT ONCE.
Boston. April 1s tSpeciaD.-The wool question is
discussed by several prominent manufacturers In The
Evening Record The president Of the National AS
sociatroa of woollen Manufacturers, William Whitman
said In answer to the inquiry:
"what will be the immediate effects OF the repeal
OF the duty on wool proposed in the Mills bnl'
at will operate first to reduce the price OF our homo
wool materially and to raise somcwbas tho market
price of foreign wool. That this result Will follow
repeal win not be denied by frankspokcn men In tho
wool business, and have no doubt that buyers would
be guided by this conviction In their purchases. If
they were satisfied that this bill was soon to become
law large orders would be placed In the foreign mar
ket to take advantage Of the rse and orders at homo
would be restricted the absolutely Immediate neces
stiles Of the trade The fall at home, am convinced,
would be much greater than the corresponding rise
abroad and the two movements would Continue until
a readjusted market level was reached. AS our homo
product Is only about one-sxth Of the total world
product II is Inevitable that the falling OF here should
be greater than tho appreciation abroad In the hna
adjustment of tho price lovcl'
"What effect would this falling of in price at home
have upon Tho wool growing industry Of the country ~
"As to that replied Mr. Whitman 4" speak upon
the positive decla and Assurances OF the chosen
representatives OF the wool growers and OF Individual
growers In private advices. With the present cost Of
labor breeding and raising, such fall AZ would result
from this repeal would DO prosrang blow to the in
dustry. To what extent It might recover Die the
changed conditions Is purely speculative and undc-
termlned points
"would this disaster be limited to tho woolgrowers
alone2'
Not at all Such change as is proposed would
deprecate the value of existing stocks Tho relative
proportion of such stock to the annual production Ia
far larger the woollen industry than in the cotton,
for example. Large advances have been made by
commission houses TO mills on tho strength OF such
security In no small measure, for the ready money
capital Of the mills alone not sufficient for the needs
Of this business. All such advances, say would bc
inlperillcd we'll the investments OF the mills by
such sudden capsizng Of the market, bringing depro
citation. instability and uncertainty
@what do you think of the economical propriety of
maintaining protection for tho wool growers IN
AZ have never advocated protection for any indus
try which cannot be appropriately carried by the
OF the natural Of this country with proper
remuneration for the labor employed. Now the fact
that our ogrowing industry has reached It's present
proportions, and that we produce here more than one
Sixth of the worlds product, is solid irrefutabo evil
dence that II Is desirable to maintain and foster such
industry soil. With such product already
at hand at home t would Do economeaily nn%ise In
ply when the future price and product abroad be-
yond our foresight and calculation to measure. BY
competition here the price of domestic wool has fallen
and the present low price IS almost unexampled.'
When Joseph Sawyer, of Sawyer, Burt & Manning,
ton of free WOOL he replied: There is doubt that
American woolgrowers would BE- unable to raise
wool In competition with other countries where sheep
farming Is cheaper II the tariff taken off wool,
there would, In my opinion be pondng advance
in the price Of wool In other parts OF the world for
there would be Just much less produced I'm this coup
try. The foreign supply could be cornered We have
seen that done repeatedly At time we had some
South American wool aGoat, and between tho time Of
its shipment and the time of its arrival in Boston IL
had doubled In value owing to corner In tho market
The tariff on wool, by encouraging its growth in this
country, secures a balance. "
Another effect Of killing the wool growing interests
OF this country would be to stop the production of
kind OF wool that IS not grown elsewhere, stronger
and better wool for fabrics than any that can he
got from abroad still moro injurious effect would
he the lowering OF the grade of many foreign woods
for II Is by importation for breeding purposes OF high
class sheep from Vermont and other States Of fhn
Union that the sheep farmers OF Australia and Souh
America are able to produce good wool as they
do now '
visit TO tho celebrated Harris Mrlls. at woonsocrct
f. L. brought ont the fact that tho price of wool has
actually been reduced under the operations Of the pro
tective dufy il was rrmarltei that Edward Harris
the founder OF the enterprise. dead was wont 10
IN the early days that when Ohio Xxx wool cot
down TO so cents pound. he would put into ne pur.
chase all the money he could raise and ali he cnuId
get trusted for To-day that wool can be bought for
81 cents pound. ~