Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-12-04
Excellent Reasons Urged Why
Farmers Should Favor the Re-
publican Protective Idea,
AS Well as Why Labor ng Men
Should Take the Same View
of American Economics.
Humbug Exposed in Regard to the
Necessity of the importation
of Certain Kinds Of Wool.

sumo ANNUALLY UIG VI t1oOdG
600. 900, 900 pounds of unwashed wool, of
which we pr )duce about $40, 000,0 and
import in the form of wool, wastes, noils,
camel's hair and in wooden goods the
equivalent of $50, 10000, 900 pounds.
We should have, and with sufficient
protection will have, 100000, 900 sheep
capable of producing all the wool of all
kinds needed in this country. With this
number of sheep large proportion will
be found in the territories of the coarsest,
hardest varieties, and there always will
be g larger number elsewhere of unskilful
wool growers who will produce inferior
sheep of the coarser classes without proper
care. and the 'breech" and hip lock
wool of these will yield a sufficiency of the
coarse, hairy and kenny wools."
1t will now show what our sneep should
be, and with adequate protection will be,
and how we can secare all the needed car
pet woods.
With a hundred million sheep, one-half
should be coarse wool sheep, the residue
should be merinos-the fine wool sheep.
In 1894 about one-half of our then 59,500,-
900 sheep were merinos and one-haH
coarse wool sheep; but under the reduced
CARPET wool duties of the act of 1888 our
sheep of 1889 consists of only about %
per cent. of coarse wool sheep-l0,3 900
and IS per cent. Of nlerlnos-3l l25 900;
the deficiency in coarse wool is furnished
by imports of so-caled carpet woods. In
order to produce the required 600, 000,O00
pounds of wool we need 10000, 900 coarse
wool sheep and $4,000, 900 merinos, Of
the coarse wool class the SOuthdowns,
ShTopshires, Cotswolds, LincoIns, Ieices
ter8hires, Oxford downs, and other downs
would constitute one-half, say 25!G0O,OO0
sheep, producing an average of seven
pounds per head of unwashed woods, or
75,000.000 pounds in all. FullJ one
tenth of this being the chip locks" and
t'breech' WOOL would be ''strictly carpet
wool" not suitable for ordinary good
clothing purposes-making In AL IL ,0W;-
600 pounds.
Of secured Russian Donsloi carpet wool,
and secured American "breech" and chip
lock" Cotswold wool, it is impossible for
any person butFa thorough expert to dis
tinguish the'ene from the other. In
conference between wool growers and in
grain carpet manufacturers held In Wash
ington, D. c., April %, 1899, Mr.. Alex
ander Crow ,lr a prominent carpet manu-
facturer of Philadelphia, stated that
the Costwold wool is the best
carpet wool which can be used
for carpet worsted, that is, for the warps
of ingram carpets. Thus the VCotswold
and similar long wool sheep produce the
long combing wool required for the warp
of these carpets Every man who owns one
of these sheep is thus directly interested
In having market for the '''breech' and
chip lock wool of these sheep for carpet
manufacture He is interested IN Spro-
tective tariff which will keep the foreign
competing product out.
ar nn0 nO2 oo,n,o ,1,,ool cbao->
should.consist ofsthe ooarsest breed of sheep
called Common sheep with some quarter
blood and crosses with Cotswold sheep.
producing,an average of five bpounds IN
washed wool per fleece, or In all 5000,
600 pounds, all of which would he good
carpet woods, unexcelled by any in the
world. The .'breech' and hip lock-
woods would be exclusively carpet stock, or
about 1905, 900 pounds. Much of tthe
residue would be suitable ito manufacture
into good cloths, blankets and ladies dress
goods, braids as well as carpets, thus secur-
ing for all who may require it, cheap but
good, durable clothing goods.
Thus every laboring man IN the country
is directly Interested in such protection as
will encourage the raising of coarse wool
sheep. While making the best wearing
carpets. this wool also makes the best wear
ing clothing. This wool would also fur
nish the wool or filling" for ingram
carpets, so far as new wool would be need
ed The filing of the cheaper carpets
would be largely made and properly so of
redyed wool (shoddy) and cow and calf
hair
Mr.. r. Lewis Rutter, of Philadelphia,
connected with one of the largest wool
houses in the city, in an article In the
PHILADELPHIA Press of April %, says:
The assumption that there is true
carpet wool which is only used in making
carpets and cannot be used In cloth for
clothing purposes is an error. There is nc
line of division 10y which an expert can
distinguish between carpet and clothing
woods, because the latter are used for both
purposes. A few years ago the largest
firms in the city received large amounts of
coarse wool from Colorado and Mexico
suitable for carpets as well as clothing.
Many of the fleeces weighed from eight to
to ten inches in length. This wool was
from Mexican sheep improved by coarse
wooded rams of English blood. A duty on
low wool will encourage our farmers
to raise class of sheep of large car
cass.
The coarse woods from semi-barbarous
countries are not necessary for carpets. and
have not been extensively used in England
of late years. because English Qong) wool
was better. English carpets have been
made of English woods classed by our tariff
as combings under class 2 (combing
wools). There is no duty on
merino wool in Canada, but there is a
small duty g cents per pound) on coarse
wool, and that has developed class of
coarse wooded mutton sheep which are
not exoelled in the world, and which pro-
duce feeces of clean washed wool weigh
ing from eight to twelve pounds each,
good either for carpets or clothing. This
makes an excellent carpet wool and is
similar to the English and Scotch wool used
In England forothat purpose"
And this shows how every family in the
United States will be benefited by protec-
ton, which will increase the number of
our long wool sheep. the best mutton sheep
IN the world.
Thus it is certain that with the $4,000,
600 sheep, and which we should have, we
would be furnished with all the carpet
wool our people need, and the supply of
mutton be increased and sheep and abund-
ant healthful, meat food be furnished.
One of the contrivances to humbug wool
growers anu the public generally is the
oft-repeated assertion that there are varie-
ties of wool which cannot be grown IN this
country, that without some of these Amerl-
can woods cannot be worked to advantage,
and that the imported article is necessary
to mix with them. There is no element