New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-03-03


Washington March 2.-Secretary Rusk has
sent an interesting letter to the secretary OF
the Home Market Club of Boston. in reply to a
question as to the capabilities of the United States
&C a wool-growing country. The statement is
,ucd and readable one, and Will no doubt attract
much attention. The letter is follows:
recruitment of Agriculture, Office OF the secretary
Dep"'' Washington d. c., February rs, leSo
Sir your letter is received. making inquiry whether
our country lacks conditions of soil ana climate or
producing every variety OF WOOL, ana tnat 700; ~
commercial quantities. ana as larry io"'"''0
branch of agriculture J., A., tuouooc ana
This inquiry is suggested by the foiowlmg d quo
We have tried all sorts of wool tarlis IN wears
past yet have they caused ,he ne
rssary TO give the required finish to woollen and
wor nmnl,iS The feat IL * physically impossible
Certain woods require for their PRODUCTION oonu'1ns
Of climate and soil which we do not possess ana 'ha'
This country possesses marvellous range of eli
matte conditions, having twenty four degrees oil lat
,nde between twenty-five and forty nine degrees, with
attitudes composing levels from the semi roplcal TO
ing the climates Of both coas.s E SOILS rang o IRON
those of geological formations OF thc carry eeVlosc
a. broad so varied in soil and climate is properly
designated as the Western World and the United states
compasses all its possibilities, except those OF strictly
tropical and absolutely Polar areas.
il cam therefore. produce with no limitations OF
Sheep in the world. The families of the merno race;
originating In spain, all thrive in this country ana
The mutton breeds OF Great Britain the breeds pro
ducing medium and long wool flourish here ana
which sheep husbandry is fostered almost exclusively
for the wool production The coarse wool type o1 Is
first TO Mexico and thence to all southern domain
and formed the foundation to most of the hocks IN
Missouri. There have also been impOrtations OF
Asiac and African sheep In the south We actually
rrronps in the customs wool classification. viz. the
carding. the combing and the carpet woods. Inc
toned to the manufacturing demand, for very obvious
reasons, which have nothing TO do with soil or
soacn Or pepas on the %ee C
our manufactures of wool have had natural
%sHnfact1re was very generally distributed through
the districts then settled The rise of the factory
throughout the world; The development of
Han1tacturs by machinery was rs SLOW be,
years the carding processes only were in
vogue single generation ago there was little oombng
known. Few carpets were then made here. Both in
dustres have since had remarkable development.
for foreign carpets exists ccpt to supply the fan
oies and whms Of the fasdious. who want particular
+ now sought abroad with winch to manufacture the
supplies Of other countries. Thus our progress in
o%er to mseT R has sI Secn really apd and
every stage Of progress has created demand for greater
variety Of wool which there before Involvement
to produce. The Saxon mernos, for instance. bear,
ing the finest wool in the world. were imported and
irtC Wncn our were prfs~'u 10 supply
the requirements OF the country for cloths of medium
fne woods, aud were not yet ready 10 produce fine
hrOadcOths aud therefore could not offer prices that
would foster increased supply Of that grade. Hut
there Is no climaticdxnculty in their production.
AS 20 carpet woods. the principal reason why they
have not been produced in sufficient quantities j. be
cause they have been discriminatory against in tafif
rates. For instance. the imports of clothing woods in
>sss's9 paid an average duty Of 49o3 per cent:
worsted woods duty Of 42.5 per cent and carpet
woods duty Of only o6l6 per cent The average
duty per pound was 1855 cents for clothing woods.
1000 for worsted. and 3.1s for carpet woods, This
is not all Of the discrimination. The Classification
which Includes in the third class all woods except Eng
lish and mernO. is drag net for all other woods Of
the world covering Of quality and STYLE wide
enough for extensive variety OF manufaci res
Resides there Is admitted IN this class valuable line
Of incidental Socaed waste products q! manu-
factnre. worth very much more per pound. In rs
cleansed state than the imports ~ clothing woods
Naturally. under these Determinations The carpet
woods constituted II per cent Of all imports. Thus
the third class is a loophoe for the admission OF a
great Of wool through which the barriers for
The protection ~ wool growers are practically broken
down Very respectfully. J. " RCSk. Secretary.
To Albert Clarke secretary Home Market Club
Boston, Mass.