The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1891-09-12

forty-four States Their protection
would be of no services to them il
the wooden manufacturer were
not both honest and amiable. The
manufacturers offer to pay the eX.
ira price without compulsion and
of their own free will.
This simplifies matters, relieves
the wOol-grower Of any necessity
for combination or Of fixing any
special price, and saves him from
the trouble Of finding out the for
eign price and watching the for
eign markets.
The reason why the manufacture
or is So honest and amiable is that
it does not matter in the slightest
to him what price he pays for wool.
Every cent he agrees to pay the
farmer above the foreign price Con-
gress gives back TO him, Whether
he is to pay the farmer 5 cents, 10
cents, II cents or so cents does not
affect his profit.
The protection granted by Con-
gress to the woolen manufacturer
is divided into two parts. The first
is the sum he is to pay the farmer,
now II cents on every pound Of
grease wool used in making cloth.
The second is his own protection
of 80 per cent. additional.
Unlike the farmers, the manu-
facturers, being few in number,
can combine, and they can and do
collect from the people who buy
the cloth all the protection Con-
gress grants-both that given to
them for the farmer and that given
for themselves. Their trusts and
associations fix the prices at which
the public must buy cloth, and
these prices are so high that we
can import at profit vast quanti-
ties of foreign cloth. Our imports
for 1890, of cloth and dress goods
alone, were $50, ,278,066 and for 1891
$40, ,343,17O.
If the manufacturers were II OF
banded in trusts and associations,
if they did not fix the selling pri-
ces of their products, their protec-
tiOn would have no value. They
would compete with one another,
and their competition would reduce
prices here to the lowest profit mar
gin. There would be no profit in
importing foreign cloth. Congress
grants them protection, but they
must collect it; and their trusts
and combinations are a necessity,
without them their protection
would be thing for laughter
counterfeit. 1t would be worse
even than counterfeit-it would be
'green goods" The manufacturers
would not have any one to collect
it for them and hand it over to
them, as the farmers have.
The wool growers of the country
have been perfectly satisfied for
twenty years to let the wooden
manufacturers collect all this pro-
lection and pay over to them their
share. They have taken whatever
price the manufacturer offered for
their domestic wool, firmly believ-
ing it was ten cents more per h.
than the foreign price of unwash-
ed wool, and 20 cents more than
foreign washed. That the manu-
facturer might keep back even one
cent per pound was suggestion
they would not listen to. When l
called their attention to the fact
that the Woolen manufactures were
under no legal obligation to pay
them any share of the protection,
that the manufacturers might pos
Sihly keep some of it back, that it
might be we'll for the farmers to
know what the foreign prices of
wool was, they have turned on me
as if | were road agent and de-
nounced me as a "hireling bought
with British gold to betray my
country" refusing to listen.
Crossing City Hall Park about
ten years ago, l saw one of them
walking down Broadway, arm-in-
arm with Hungry Joe the famous
Buncosteerer. AS we stood wait
ing for II chance to cross the street
l said, 'you should keep your eyes
skinned; your companion is IA no.
ted thief" "You're liar" was
his reply. "You're a thief your
self. | know an honest man when
l meet him, and Pll have you ar
rested, if you say another word"
Hungry Joe grinned at me, and
the next morning the countryman
complained to the police that Hun
CRY Joe had robbed him of $4OO. If
any one thinks l was sorry for that
farmer he is mistaken. He got