Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-06-28

should It be protected.

A careful estimate places the NUMBER OF
Wool growers in the United States at ABOUT
seven hundred thousand, and fully f1ve hund-
red thousand men are employed by them TO
assist in caring for their fiocks and doing
other farm labor. A majority of these deck-
masters, as well as their employed help, are
heads Of families: therefore If you add to their
number their wives, children and other de-
pendents, you will have population OF AT
| least four million persons more or JOSS
interested IN the growing of wool; or ABOUT
one-fifteenth of the entire population OF the
United States. There are no doubt fully one
hundred and fifty thousand other farmers
! who keep small number of sheep. but these
could not be fairly Chased as growers OF WOOL.
These seven hundred thousand farmers Will
average to own or possess at least ono huno'
red and sixty acres OF land each;-mAk1ng Q
total of one hundred and twelve million
acres;-devoting the more desirable parts OF
| their farms to the raising of grain. hay, etc.,
IA good share of which is required for the feed
ing of their horses, cattle, hogs Sand sheep
during the winter season. and selecting the
Door, rough and billy portions for the pas
turing of their sheep; thus putting TO proflta-
BILE use their entire farms.
The number of sheep in the United States
is now estimated at fifty million head. and the
crop of wool at about three hundred and nifty
million pounds, and worth on the average of
last years prices about twenty-five cents;
making the total value of the wool crop OF
the country seventy-seven million dollars.
There are sold annually for export and
home consumption from thirteen to fifteen
million sheep for their mutton, bringing on
the average about three dollars per head;
making the total value of wool and mutton
sold each season about one hundred and
twenty-five million dollars.
If you remove the duty from wool. and 80
make the growing of it an Improbable busi-
ness, it would render almost valueless the
portions of these farmes devoted to sheep
raising, and thereby would decrease the aver
age price of the whole farm at least two dol
lars and half an acre. making loss
from this source alone of two hundred and
eighty million dollars.
Sheep would also decrease in value fully
fifty cents per head, making another shrink
age of twenty-five million dollars.
Wool would decline from seven to eight
cents per pound from the average price of the
last fifteen years,-adding another loss of
twenty five million dollars, and the farmers
would be SO impoverished by the low prices
obtainable for their wool, that out of actual
necessity they would be compelled to reduce
the wages of these five hundred thousand
persons employed to assist in the caring of
their fiocks and doing of other farm labor to
the extent of at least fifteen cents per day
or about fifty dollars per year; making still
further loss of twenty-five million dollars
from this source alone.
Now for the sake of reducing our revenue
between five and six million dollars. we must
impOverish one-ffteenth Of the en-
tire population of the United States, and 50
force this large body of people to follow q
business that will yield no profit, and COM
pei them to raise wool in competition with all
the poor and poverty stricken nations on the
earth. where land and labor are fully one
half less than in this country; and in doing
this, we inflict upon this most honorable and
American industry the following
Osses, viz,
Shrinkage i'm the valve of lands $3.50 600 900