The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1890-05-29
Sound Tariff Talk

The Washington correspondent Of the Cincin-
matt co0,ncfc'at7 Gazette, under date of May 18th
has the following FROM Hon. JOS D. TAYLOR
member of Congress from that State, which hits
til centre ana congresses into q brief SPACE n
Whole volume OF good, practical sense Read it.
This is probably the best tariff bin ever nre-
sented to Congress- but it is Objectionable in two
respects. 1t places hides on the free list and
does not give adequate protection to the wool
indl ;try. The people in this country are 1es-
tined in the near future to have as the settled
policy OF this country, the protection Of all
American industries or the protection of none.
The hybrid, half hearted politicians who now
seek pfotectloh Tor tfer own industries ana free
trade for other industries will be swept from the
arena of politics as the enemies of trade and
business. Congress has recently appropriated
$l,W0,Wo to find out the amount of the Indebted
ness of farmers but no remedy was suggested
which would help them pay their debts The
great need of the farmers in this country is 100,
00N,G)0sheep yielding annual wool crop of $780,
000,0N pounds. 1t is proposed by the Ways and
Means Committee to raise the duty on tin plate
high enough to insure the manufacture in this
country TO the extent of home cOnsumption
This is right, and although we do not now pro
duce sheet of tin plate, shall gladly vote to
give it this much projections and want to see
the lme measure of protection given to wool
The rock upon which the wool industry is ant to
be wrecked iscarpet wool. There was imported
into this country last year nearly 1OO0OOOC0
pounds of carpet wool, one third of which was
used in the manufacture of clothing and as this
class of wool is generally secured, it was fully
equal to 150,000,0O0 pounds of unwashedwool eve
~ pound of which could be raised in this country
and would be raised here if the duty, which is
now only two and a half cents per pound was
made equal to the duty on other wool. The duty
on all imported woods should be twelve cents
per pound, and for the present the carpet man
ufacturers might be allowed a rebate of six
cents pound on wool actually used in the man
ufacture of carpets. If had fifty million
coarse wool sheep and fifty million fne-wool
sheep we conld raise all the carpet wool and all
the fine wool we need, as well as an abundance
of good mutton. This would not only enable
the farmers to pay their debts but it would
greatly add to the general prosperity Of the
country. 1t is no wonder that agriculture is de-
pressed, when we imported last year $24Q 0D0
worth of agricultural products, and when our
imports OF wool have increased from 14d0O0 900
pounds in 1883 to 49,, 100000 pounds In 1889; and
when our imports of wooden goods have in
creased from $3s,0a0,000 in 1882 to $52OOOOO0 in
1889, while our fiocks of sheep have decreased
from 81 900 600 to Az 000n the same Time 1t is
no wonder that prices and values are going
down every year when vast sums of money are
going out of the country to purchase what we
ought to produce at home. The quantity of
money in the country is the measure of value, |
and we can easily increase values by keeping
oar money at home, by building up home indus
tries and thus furnishing employment to our
own people. The fact that we are and will he
fora generation to come, a dehtor nation, and
the fact that the tide Of Immigration has in
creased from 10000 year to G0,000 month";
makes it absolutely necessary that we increase j
our duties and build up new industries in order
that we may furnish employment for our rapidly |
increasing population.