The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1890-08-22
BACKED UP BY sHopoY.

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A late number OF the New York Dry
Goods Economist the leading paper of
the dry goods trade in the United States,
furnishes very interesting evidence of
the attitude of the regular wooden man.
ufacturers and of the shoddy manufact-
urers toward the Mckinley bill
OF the shoddy mon it says: "Manu-
facturers of goods from wool substitutes /
applaud the measure before Congress
and are championing its proponents and |
abettors."
But the wooden manufacturers are by |
no means enthusiastic in their support |
of the Mckinley wool schedule. The |
Economist says: THE tariff measure |
now before Congress, or such portion of !
it as applies to wool and its manufact- |
ures, has been opposed by a greater |
number of wool manufacturers and more
practical logic than has ever been sub |
mitted against any previous customs rev.
enue measure. The wool manufacturing
industry has been waiting for eighteen
months for Congressional relief which
at this moment appears further of than
ever. The manufacturers are suffering,
inasmuch as their mills are partly or
wholly idle, and their output barely re-
imburses the costs of manufacture. Free
wool is wanted to employ the wooden
goods machinery of the country, for I'M
til that can be started up both the man
ufacturing and the wool-growing inter
est must languish. When will Repre-
sentatives be placed in Congress who
will execute the wishes of the masses?
From this summary it will be seen how
the wooden goods interest is handi-
capped"
But the shoddy men are backing up
Mckinley, because they look forward to
great boom in the shoddy business
when the new Tariff bill becomes law.
The shoddy mon, too, are right They
see that McKinley's heavy duties in
wool will make it more difficult for the
| people to wear good wooden clothing
and will force them to clothe them
selves in shoddy. That is why the
makers OF humbug clothing are in favor
of Mckinley.
The shoddy men know good thing
when they see it; they know that the
Mckinley bill is a measure which will
add immensely to their gains; and
therefore they are throwing up their
hats for Mckinley and would doubtless
be glad to support him for President,
just as they supported Harrison and
Two years dBO
While the shoddy men look upon Nc
Kinley as their friend they felt quite
the other way about Roger q. Mills two
years ago when he was making tariff.
1t will be remembered that Mills had
the boldness to put wool on the free list,
claiming that this would result in
cheaper and better clothing for the peo-
pie. But this action of the wild Texan
excited the deepest hostility Of the
shoddy men, and they became at once
his sworn enemies, for the shoddy men
are utterly and forever opposed to any
man who wants to let the people have
good, cheap wooden clothing. They
therefore ranged themselves in opposi-
ton to Cleveland in 1888. During the
campaign of that year circular was
scattered abroad by the Republican Ma
tional Committee, signed by seventeen
rag and shoddy men. The following is
taken from their circular:
Dear Sir: You are doubtless aware OF the
fact that.the Mills Tariff bill, which has been
passed by the Democratic majority of the
House If Representatives., places on the
free list WOOL wooden rags of every descrip-
ton, and all grades of shoddy. 1t also
abolishes the weight duty on wooden goods
This bill. there fore, rs far as it affects the
industry in which we are engaged, is a free
trade measure. and as such we are decidedly
opposed to it No manufacturer of shOddy
in this country could, under these eircum-
stances, compete with the English or Ger
man manufacturers, and, therefore, their
business would be entirely ruined. and all
the shoddy nsed in this country would be
imported from Europe Our customers thus
ruined what would become of our business
1t also would be ruined, and we and those
dependent upon would suffer.
There is only one way to avoid this loss to
ourselves, and that Is by the defeat of the
candidate of the free trade party, Grover
Cleveland. We have determined in the
, coming election 10 support the candidates
OF the protection party, Harrison and Nor
, ton Their election We consider to be indis-
I pensable to the maintenance of our bust
ness.
t And in August 1883. the following
: news item appeared in the New York
Press, one of the highest of high pro-
= lection papers in the country:
r The manufacturing firm of j. G. Fenning
. & Co, at Ludlow, n. Y, shut down theiI
works yesterday, throwing out OF employ
ment some forty operatives of both sexes
: They were engaged In extracting wool from
I delaines and other rag materials to be used
Z In the manufacture of shoddy CLOTH They
= say that the passage of the Mills bill In the
Lower House of Congress admitting WOO
: free of duty has deferred them from con
t tinuing their industry.
d Quite natural that they should sup
/ port Mckinley now-''all in the family
8 you know" The past few years have
: witnessed a very great advance in the
Y use of shoddy in this country. Accord
: ing to the census of 1870 our shoddy
: mills used 10000, 600 pounds of raw
i shoddy. In 1850 they used 50, 600, 0Ot
= pounds, and the census just taken viii
Q show an amazing increase for the pas
3 ten years There are now more than 10t
2 shoddy mills in the United States, and
: about $50, 600, 900 is invested in handling
i and manufacturing shoddy.
i The use of shoddy in clothing has in
: creased enormously of late. The cen
: sus of 1850 shows that los pounds o
n shoddy are mixed with 11S pounds o
pure wool to make our so called wooleI
: goods But it is in carpets that shodd,
h has made the greatest strides in displac
|, ing wool. In 1870 carpets were made o
s 80 parts of wool to 20 of shoddy; in 1888
s there were 6S parts of wool to 80 part
r of shOddy. later estimate is made b.
4 the Dobsons, q large firm of carpe
4 makers in Philadelphia According t,
this firm. in So. O00, 900 pounds Of carpe
r materials there are 10, 900, coo pounds o
!. clean wool, 30, 900. 600 OF shoddy ant
!. s5, 900. 600 of other mixtures
Tariff HumOr.
Our tariff laws are not without
: strain of humor now and then Tit
4 absurdity of them sometimes crops on
in way to make every body laugh, ex
u cept the man who gets hit by them.
: Two instances OF the kind have re
y Gently come to light A Canadian whC
lived very near the line between Cana
/ ID a1d Nau Xorlr Ctata rocautl-