The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1891-09-26
TIN PLATE AND WOOL.

In his speech at Butte, as reported by
the Miner, Congressman Bynum made
some telling points to which the TRIBUNE
would direct the earnest attention OF its
readers. That portion referring to wool
and it's manufactures is Of more thar
passing interest to the wool-growers OF
Montana, and shoull be carefully noted
and studied by them. In his remarks
touching the manufacture of tinplate he
said:
One OF the hobbies of the republicans
is the tinplate trade, for which they say
we send out of the country every year
s21, 100000, which could be saved il they
were made at home. How shall it be
done? In the Mills bill the democrats
say admit tin free. In the Mckinley bill
the republicans say increase the tariff
from 100000 to s%16,OOO,OOO. To this
add the cost of manufacture and instead
of the S21, 100000 which we now pay the
cost would be S37, 100000. And the OBJ
ject Of this, they say, is to put 24,O9O men
to work. 1t may not be known. but the
average wages Of men in the United
States is 1898 per year. And the &c.
100000 difference would, at average
wages, support $4,000 men instead of a.
600 that they propose to put to work.
Where, then, does the S16,OOO,0OO 60 to?
1t goes and is intended to go into the
pockets Of the great sheet steel trust,
which is in favor Of the Mckinley bill.
In regard to wool, he said that there
was used in the United States 6OO,OOO,-
600 pounds, and less than half that
, ~ ,r,o, r,;eoI hnro onI nndnr tho
Mckinley bill the production was on the
decrease. W. import over 3~OO,OOO,OOO
pounds, but the republicans say that it
we should raise it at home. England,
France and Germany-all wo~ol-growing
countries-are free wool countries, but
statistics show that in the United King
dom there are grown 235 sheep to the
square mile, in France 135, in Germany
95, and in the United States only IA to
the square mile.
There are imported to the United
States 100 different grades of wool, and
all of them are absolutely necessary for
the American manufacturer; for no
article of any consequence is manufact-
ured in this country wholly of American
wool. Here we man ufacture more carpets |
than all the rest Of the world, yet the
wool of which they are manufactured
does not grow here. Why not then admit
carpet wool free? The republicans say
because wool imported for that purpose
will be used in the manufacture of other
coarse wooden goods, for they always
find an excuse. But there are some
facts that they cannot get over, and one
of them is that, under the high tariff of
1867. wool went down and that under
the Mckinley bill it is 9 cents per pound
lower than when it went into operation,
and as an excuse for this they say with
the farmer, it is true the price has gone
down, but the feeces are twice as large.
The result of all this is that the
American goods have deprecated and
the manufacturers have resorted to
shoddy, for it is a fact that a recent ex-
animation showed that goods of certain
manufacturers which, it is claimed, are
were found to contain 76 per
cent cotton and shoddy. We can never
in this country raise all the wool we
need, for the time has come when the
is not in the wool, but in the
Iambs, for the latter are a better product
today than wool at 25 or 80 cents per
pouho' ohiy iO" yOoio uSo eiSiO "CiO
sheep in the United States.
Now there are only 100000, for in
Texas and other states the pastures are
out, and in the east under the
nigh protective tariff the small fiocks are
winding away.
During one Of his speeches President
Harrison exhibited a ten dollar coat as
If American manufacture, as showing
he blessing Of protection to the Ameri-
laborer. He gave the figures to show
hat the actual cost of the material would
,nly leave IL cents for the making of the
,oat, End then it would only be a one
coat. [Long laughter. 1t is no
that Harrison is in favor of Chi
lese cheap labor. This coat was not
made from wool, but from rags picked
ron the backs of the pauper labor of
made into shoddy and then
brought here to be made over into Har-
'ison cheap coats for the workingmen of
America.
WOOL.