The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-11-06

duty upon all woolens of 40 pc. cent. This
made the reduction upon woolens something
over 30 per cent. but as wool, which now bears
duty equal TO from 80 TO 40 per cent. was to
be placed on the free list, there could be no
just ground OF complaint on the part of the
wooden manufacturers, as IL gave them a better
selection of foreign wool at a lower price to mix
with the domestic article, while the consumer
of the goods was greatly benefited by the re-
duction of price, which the reduction of the
tariff would necessarily cause. But the enemies
OF the measure insisted that 1t would destroy
the wool culture in this country. There was
also another objection which applied to the
whole bill, and which | shall notice more at
length before conclude, and that was that the
bill was sectional and Disseminated against the
North and in favor of the South. This charge
was intended, of course, to excite sectional
prejudice against the bill irrespective of its
merits, and many persons were, without doubt,
influenced by the charge who never looked
into the bill to see how far il was sustained by
the facts.
But ought wool to be placed on the free list;
and what would be the effect upon the wool
growing interest in general in the United States?
Under the tariff laws Immediately preceding
the present law, there was duty of 10 per
cent. ad valorem all clothing and combing
wool land we raise no other in addition 20 the
present specific duty of 10 and II cents per
pound. The act of 1SS3-the present law
took of the ad valorem duty and left the spe-
cihc duty remaining at the same time under
the pretense of raising the duty on woolens.
1t changed to some extent the classification
and increased the duty on the manufactures
OF wool. We raise no wool in this country,
lhave already suggested, except what is called of
the first and second classes;' that is, clothing
and combing wool, and We do not raise either the
finest or coarsest of those classes and if foreign
woods are excluded from our markets our man.
ufacturers can not supply themselves with the
proper assortments to meet the demands of
our domestic market much less to be able to
sell IN foreign market, and therefore you
have seen by the complaints made by New
England manufacturers, that they are unable to
maintain themselves under the present pro-
tective tariff of over 20 per cent; il is plain if
the wool markets of the world were thrown
open 10 them duty free, that it would greatly
stimulate the production of wooden goods in
this country, and as a consequence create a de-
mand for American woods to be mixed with
the foreign wool While it is possible that
there might be some reduction in the price it
is certain that it would furnish a much better
and steadier market and il is also certain that
the consumers of, of whom the wool-growers in
the northern and northwestern states form
very large class, would be greatly benefited by
the increase of the quality and the reduction of
the price OF the manufactured article.
The Senate Substitute Wool.
But in this connection wish TO call your
attention to the senate substitute as it affects
the wool tariff. The present tariff on wool is
wool worth 80 cents and under and II cents a
pound on all worth over 80 cents pound.
The senate substitute proposed uniform rate
of IL cents a pound upon all clothing and
combing wool. This has the vice which the
protective policy seems to cherish of making
the coarser article pay more according to its
value than the fine. 1t is at best
but an increase on coarse wool OF
cent pound, while, as have
shown you, 1t adds cents pound to coarser
,.,1a f,1h- 4loT alD III
become law you might sell your coarser wool
at cent pound more than you could under
the present law, but you would be compelled
to buy your wooden clothing at cents pound
or from 10 to Y cents yard more.
The most i'm portant question Tor you to solve In
this connection is whether in the future you
have the greater interest in free wool and cheap
clothing, or protective tariff on wool and dear
clothing, for, under all circumstances, you
must have wool clothing, and for much of the
year plenty of it. If you will look into the
history of wool growing in the United States.
do not think it will take you long to decide,
for you will see that the centers of wool grow
ing have been, and still are undergoing i'm
portant changes under causes wholly aside
from tariff laws. In the early history of our
country the center of wool growing was in New
England. Then it was transferred to the mid
die states, then to the northwestern states, and
within the last ten years ii has crossed the
Mississippi and gone into the southern and
western states and territories, there to re-
main. In 1875 there were 33.0O0,OO0 head of
sheep in the United States, in 1887, 10000
600, being an increase of 100000 head,
but in that time Ohio did not quite hold her
own while in the other northwestern states,
including my own, there was a loss OF over two
million head. At the same time, there was a
gain in the South and West of over twelve
million head; and to-day there are more sheep
in New Mexico than in Ohio and Indiana and
yet the same tariff laws are over both sections.
The reason for this is obvious, when you take
into consideration the fact that in New Mexico
they have cheap lands and mild climate, and
here you have high-priced lands and a climate
in which you have to provide shelter and food
for almost half the year. There they raise
sheep in herds of tens of thousands with but
little other cost than shepherd and a shep-
herds dog. Here you keep them in compare
lively small focks, as part of your farm stock,
and have to devote special care to them, both
winter and summer. And, while l have no
doubt you will continue TO keep small tlOcks OF
sheep, it will not be long before-whatever
may be the result of the tariff question-you
will raise them not for the fleece, but for the
mutton. You could not grow wool in compe-
tition with cheap lands and mild climate, if
the tariff which protects you against foreign
woods was 100 per cent higher than 1t Is.
The charge that the Mills bill is sectional and
discriminates against northern industries is
the most groundless OF all accusations that
have been brought against II, and yet the most
distinguished men in the republican party
have not hesitated TO make it. have noticed
in the public prints that Senator Sherman for
whom have great respect, and of whose abili-
ties there can be question, has in the pres
ent canvass made this mis- chief point of attack.
To support this charge it is claimed that it
undertakes to adjust the tariff on wool and
woolens. on sugar and on rice, in the interest
of the South, on the assumption that rice and
sugar are southern productions, and that in
placing wool on the free list 1t was the design
of the authors of this bill to iniuriously affect
northern industries for the benefit of the
South, wholly ignoring the fact that the South
and Southwest are now the chief wool produc-
ing sections, while the North and Northwest
are the consumers. Wooden clothing is an
absolute necessity to us, while it is not to the
South. II placing wool on the free list will
tend to reduce the price of wool grown in the
United States, then Texas has greater inter-
est in opposing it than Ohio, because more
wool is grown there than in this state. If il
tends TO reduce the cost of wooden goods. then
Ohio is more interested in that reduction than
Texas, for vastly more woolens worn in
this state than in Texas. II there is any advan-
tage to either section by the changes which
proposed in wool tariff by the Mills bill. Il
is in favor of the North.
The rice question is not OF sufficient import
ance 10 take much of your time in considering
il. There is but a small margin of land in one
or two southern states in which rice can be
raised at all. The South, as a section, is as
much a consumer of rice as the North. IL is
an article of food and comes as much, or more,
in competition with farm products OF the North
than of the South and then it must be remem-
bered that the present tariff, which our repub-