Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-02-03
DEMAND FOR FREE WOOL.
MR. BENEFITS PETITION A HARD
NUT FOR PROTECTiONlSTS

There We're $50 S!gners and They Were
Among the Most Prominent Manufac-
torers In the Country-some Extracts
from His speech-What the Duties Do.
The hardest nut the high tariff party
have yet had to crack was the recent
appearance of Mr.. Frank p. Bennett, of
The American Wool Reporter, before
| the committee of ways and means with
a petition for free wool, signed by $50
prominent woolen goods manufacturers.
Nr. Bennett i'll presenting this petition
| said, in part:
Among the $50 siSners of the petition
for free wool are Mr.. Moses T. Stevens,
of North Andover, Mass, the largest in
dividual wooden manufacturer in the
United States; Mr.. &. a. Silsbee, treas
urer of the famous Middlesex Wooden
company, of Lowell, Mass; Mr.. Arthur
L. Lyman, treasurer of the greet carpet
mills at Lowell; Mr.. Caller c. Moses,
treasurer of the Worum5o Manufactur-
ing company, the largest woolen manu-
featuring establishment in the state of
Maine: Mr.. Jesse Metcalf, one of the
largest wooden manufacturers and most
influential citizens of Rhode Island; Mr.
James kitchenman, a large manufac-
turer of the city of Philadelphia.
Tie astonishing feature of this anex-
pected list of names in favor of free wool
lies not only in the character, but in the
number of the signers. 1t has been
hitherto asserted, on very high authori-
ty that the only manufacturers in favor
of free wool are a few officers of large
corporations, the number of whom does
not exceed ten. But this list of sigma
lures shows that the rank and file of
smaller manufacturers are as willing to
express their opinions i'll regard to wool
duties as are the great leaders of the
trade. No effort has been made to ascer-
tain the politics of the signers of these
petitions. Among the manufacturers
who petition for free wool in New
Hampshire Mr.. Charles j. Amidon, of
Hinsdale, is very influential RepubEi-
can; Mr.. A. w. Sulloway, of Franklin
Falls, is an influential Democrat of ma
tional reputation.
I'm the state of Rhode Island" con-
tinued Mr.. Bennett, 1.-THE total number of
looms in woolen and worsted mills is
7,461, and of these, manufacturers rep
resenting 4,0S5 looms, or considerably
more than half the whole number in the
state, have signed this petition for free
wool But besides these mills which
represent the 4,0S5 looms, several spin
ming mills containing no looms, but
which have in the aggregate al sets Of
cards, Is combs and "a knitting ma
chimes, have signed the petition for free
wool. Among other signers whom I
have not mentioned in Rhode Island are
the celebrated Weybosset mills, of Olney-
vile, the equally well known Lippett
Woolen company, of Woonsocket, the
Peacedale Manufacturing company, of
which Mr.. Rowland Hazard is treasurer,
and the great Atlantic mills, of Olney-
vile, by Owen Bros, agents.
These Atlantic mills make ladies'
dress goods, such as are also made by
the Arlington mills, of which Mr.. Whit
man is treasurer, and the Owen Bros
actually own a considerable share of the
mills which they manage. There can
be no doubt that this growing demand
for a revision of the tariff in the direc-
ton of reduced duties has had much to
do with taking Rhode Island out of the
list of sure Republican states and putting
it into the ranks of the doubtful, and l
will confess right here that, as Repub-
lican, one of my reasons for engaging in
the distribution of these petitions has
been the hope that this growing demand
for revision of the tariff in the direc-
tion of reduced rather than of increased
duties might be complied with and sat
isiied under Republican auspices.
The signatures to these two petitions,
the one in favor of free wool and the
other in favor of ad valorem duties, are
from nearly every state and territory in
which woolen manufactures are stu
ated. A few wool growers have signed
the petitions, but they were men who
found them in neighboring woolen mills,
and signed them without solicitation. /
have no hesitation in saying that peti-
ton for reduced duties upon wool for the
benefit of our manufacturers who fur
nish our domestic wool growers the sole
market for their heeces, would secure a
great many signers among that portion
of our agricultural population concerned
in the raising of wool. The signers of
these petitions do not believe that free
wool means free goods. One of the most
prosperous periods the wooden manufac-
turing industry has ever enjoyed in the
United States was from 1862 to 1867, and
this prosperity was not due alone to the
war, but to the fact that the duty on raw
wool was low, and the duty on manu-
factured goods was high enough to af-
ford our mills abundant protection and
to bestow upon our wool growers the
blessings of an abundant home market.
During that period American sheep
husbandry expanded enormously, and
in 1867 the number of sheep in Ohio
reached a total of 7,555, 80. head. Then
came the increased tax upon wool in
1857, which continued unchanged until
1888, and, with the exception of the
single year, 1868, tire number of sheep in
Ohio grew steadily smaller and beauti-
fully less after that date. In 1915 the
number of sheep in Ohio had fallen to
4,100, ,2SS head under the highest duties
upon wool ever known, and now, when
a little coterie of Ohio politicians stands
in the light of wool growers and woolen
manufacturers alike, and to such proofs
of the destructive influence of the high
tax upon wool as we have just presented
replies merely with threats, we are GER
tainly very sorry that they cannot take
more reasonable ground. And, as one
of the largest manufacturers and strong
est protectionists in Philadelphia re-
gently remarked, i would rather have
four years of free wool, even with the
risk Of free goods Mt the end nf that time