The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1892-07-20
MoNopoLlsr WOOL GROWERS.

MoNoPOLIST WOOL GROWERS.
The Chicago Herald Discioses the Real Pur-
pose OF the Free Wool Bill Passed by Con-
gross.
The course of the free trade party on
the wool question has not been such a
one as should fill the high-minded mug
wump's soul with intense qualification
However enthusiastic free trade ire
former" man may be, if he be impair
tial, he cannot but admit that. Unwill-
ing to put themselves on record as be-
ing definitely in favor either of higher
or of lower prices for the farmers wool,
and yet desiring to gain votes by the
hypocritical plea for cheaper clothing
for the masses" the ''reformers" have
attempted to help themselves out of the
difficulty by adopting a sophistical and
contradictory argument, the absurdity
of which appears on it's face. st is not
lower prices for the farmers wool that
we want" they say, but cheaper wool
for the manufacturer. Our bill will
lower the price to the wooden manufac-
turer, while at the same time it will
raise it to the farmer" And by such an
argument they think to convert sane
people to their doctrines!
We have been expecting all along,
however, that some careless Cobdenite
would let the cat out of the bag, for the
old proverb that truth will not down"
holds just as good in tariff discussion
as it does in any other case where false
hood and abuse are substituted for fair
and honest argument. This time it is
the Chicago Herald that unwittingly
exposes the hypocrisy of the reform
ers." In its issue of April IA the Herald
says:
The passage of the free wool bill is well cal
culated to I'LL the souls Of the Ohio shepherds
with some exceedingly neutrality-suspicious.
They may undoubtedly rely upon its being killed
in the senate, but it portends the doom Of the
wool tax nevertheless. For years these "a
pacious ,UOoi gr0werS have set up the impudent
pretension that they have the right to compel
the people of the country to pay higher prices
for their clothing in order that they may raise
a few sheep on land where sheep raising Is nat
urally Improbable They have always been
the n0iSisst Of all 5en.fcarisS Of the tariff in de-
manding increasing duties on their products
But the temper of the country, as expressed by
| its congressman, shows Enthusiastically that the
| wool tax must CO. democratic house has just
| passed free wool bill, and In no great time
/ through democratic senate and democratic
| president such a measure will become law.
SO, after all, it isn't the poor farmer
whom the wool duty has cheated by
lowering the price of his wool, that you
are 50 solicitious for, gentleman OF the
free trade party. You are ont cunning
for the robber barons, the tariff monop.
olists, and you think it best to begin
with the farmer, that ''noisiest of all
| the benefciaries of the tariff" as our
friend, the Herald expert" says.
| Where are all the protestations of love
for the farmer who is being made
poorer by our iniquitous protection sys-
TEN? Is he no longer the poor, deluded
victim of the ''spoliationists?" Has he
suddenly been transformed into the
sleek, well-fed monopolist, who stands
by and laughs in his sleeve, while the
shekels wrung from the hard-earned
savings of the poor keep pouring into
his capacious pockets? And so the
wool duty has actually succeeded in
raising the price of the farmers wool:
We thought it had lowered the price
/ Did not Messrs Springer, Mcmillan &
Co. spend hours and hours in congress
trying to prove it? Were not figures
twisted and statistics garbled to bring
about that much-desired result? Anc
now we are suddenly told that the
whole object and purpose of the free
wool bill is to lower the price of wool
is to prevent the wool grower from
reaping any more dishonest profits, Is
to say t o the people of the United
States: THE wicked farmers have beer
taxing you long enough"
Farmers of Ohio and other states
how do you like the prospect?