Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-08-14
STILL PuLrlne wool

~ cSAo-1 ovOk8O1e Reply FROM the
6enafor-HoW tho SENATE Committee
1ieaded To the "DemAnd'' OF tho Wool
GroWers-The Shoddy Men Clamor For
Mckiniey's High Wool Duties.
Mr.. Louis Windmue11er, large wool
importer of New York, wrote recently
to Senator Plumb protesting against .
duty on Russian camePs hair and against
increased rates on coarse and mixed
WOOL such as are used in carpet making.
1t was shown by Mr.. Windmueller that,
as we have no camels, it would be fool
ISM to place protective duties on camel's
nalr to build up a new industry, and
That the same is true of coarse carpet
wool, since next to none is produced in
America The only effect of these
duties, therefore, would be to increase
the price OF carpets to our own people
In reply to this letter Mr.. Windmueller
received the following letter from the
Kansas Senator:
UNITED STATES SENATE,
WASHINGTON, d. c.. July a. 1890
Louis Windmueller, Esq. New York:
Dear Sir: 1have read what you say about
the duty on Russian cancels hair WIN give
this matter full consideration and excent
for something which do not now foresee
VIII support the position which you take
do not object to the rectifcation of the in
equalities of the tariff but have not been
able to convince myself nor have 1 been
convinced by the reasoning of others, that
there should be any general Increase of the
duties now imposed, especially upon art icles
which go into general consumption among
our people Yours truly,
PRESTON B. PLUMB.
1t was Senator Plumb who introduced
the resolution in the Senate to require
the Finance Committee to give reasons
for changes in the tariff. But this reso-
luton called out such q rigmarole of
glittering generalities about creating
new industries" protecting American
interests" meeting increased COMPETE
ton abroad" and so on, that it would
have been as well if Senator Plumb had
never introduced the resolution at all
With regard to the wool duties, for ex-
ample. the committee said: "The de-
mand from the representative wool
growers of the country that the rates
upon wool should be largely increased.
has led the committee to recommend
the adoption of the classificatio herein
suggested, which it is hoped will result
in a uniform and honest classification Of
wool"
That is funny. The wool-growers ''de-
manded' largely increased rates upon
wool, and the committee gave them ''a
new classification" But this was by no
means giving a stone instead of bread,
for the new classification results in a
large increase of duties. though the
committee neglected to assign any
reason for that increase beyond the
demand from the representative wool
growers of the country"
This affords another example of how
| the protected interest of the country are
allowed to write their demands in to our
tariff laws. The theory of protection is
that the lawmakers examine the con-
dition of the country and then decide
that protection" is needed, and this is
accordingly given In point Of fact, the
thing is never done in this way; but the
hungry interests come fiocking to Con-
gress to impose their demands upon a
committee that usually knows very
little about trade and industry and is only
too willing to have its action guided
by men who know what they want This
is the way tariff bills to defend "Ameri-
can interests" are concocted. 1t is the
| men who want to fill their own pockets
| who rush before committees of Congress
| and prate about protecting American
| labor from disastrous foreign compe-
tition.''
AS the Senate committee had no rea-
81
1.-The demand of the representative wool
growers of the country" Mr.. Wind
mueller undertook to show the Senator
that there was no good reason to in
| crease the duties on camel's hair and
coarse wool; and he undertook to show
up also the iniquity of the uniform
and honest classification" which the
committee said it had given at the de
rr,and of no q
ers of the country"
The present rates and the increases
are as follows on coarse woods: On wool
valued at IL cents pound or less the
duty is 81 cents pound, which is
equivalent to "a. so per cent ad valorem,
and this is changed by the committee to
80 per cent. for woods valued at Is cents
q pound or less; on coarse wool worth
more than 10 cents pound the duty is
cents, which is equivalent to 80 IS per
cent, this being raised in the present
bill to so per cent on wool above Is
cents pound
So much for the duties; but here is
where the uniform and honest classifi-
cation" comes in and effects doub bling
up of duties in q way to delight the DO
ntical shepherds of Ohio who made the
demand" The bill provides that if
any bale of wool of one class contains
any portion of wool of q higher class the
whole bale pnust pay the duty of that
higher class: and further, that if any
sorting of the wool has taken place the
duty shall be doubled.
This Is what the political shepherds
''demandedD and what they got Mr..
Windmueller shows that inasmuch as
all carpet woods are sorted before i'm
portation, the rates put down in the bill
will have to be doubled; that is to say,
on woods worth Is cents or less the duty
will be "a per cent on the higher grades
100 per cent Our political shepherds
know how to make demands" for their
Own interests The plea that the polit-
ical shepherds make is, not they have
any carpet woods to sell, but that these
imported carpet woods are sometimes
used to make cloth for the peoples
clothing from the shepherds
standpoint is thing to be stamped out
by the iron heel of Mckinley Tariff
bill Carpet woods must be made
SO expensive that the wicked manu-
facturers shall not be able to put
them into our clothing, in order that th e
political shepherds may get higher
prices for their wool. This will mean
n far he 1,,,% -I,,%