The Butler weekly times., 1892-03-02

Americas Sheep not F0stctpd by
the High Protection.
FL cures Make Plain the Faiiacy Of l..
publican Claims.

Washington, D. c Feb. IS Tie
reports f the majority and minority
Of the house cUu:n;ttee on ways and
means 10 accompany the Springer
wool bill have b-~:t prepared aud
will be presented to the house to.
morrow. The majority report was
prepared by Mr.. Springer and the
minority report says the Mckinley
bill was passed with enormous rates
OF duties, many of them prohlbitory
and all of them unreasonablv high.
There can be no good reason it
declares, ''for maintaining such high
taxes on articles which are so neces-
sary to to the health and comfort Of
the people. A peculiar feature of
these rates is that owing to the high
rates per pound and per square yard
! added to the ad yalOrem rates, the
duties were highest upon the cheap
OF gtaIes OF goods worn by the
masses Of the people and lowest up
on the high priced goods worn by
those in better circumstances %
per cent. comments the report. was
all the protection that wool manu-
! facturers in 1867 asked III order to
enable them TO compete successful
ly with their foreign rivals, but it
seems III the case OF WOODEN goods,
as in all others, the amount of pro-
lection required increases from year
to year. As the industries get old
er and better established more pro
lection is demanded.
The rates proposed in the bill
submitted the report says, are fixed
with due regard to the labor, cost
Of production and necessities Of tic
people. The lowest rates are placed
upon which the least labor has been
bestowed and which are consumed
by the greatest number of people.
Statistics are prlnted in support of
this statement.
FACTS ABOUT SHEEP INDUSTRY.
In considering the effect of the
act Of 1867 on sheep husbandry the
report says: "In 1868 there were
6,730,O00 sheep in Ohio, in 1870
there was only 3,943,000 reported,
while in 1891 the number was given
at 4.061, 900. Similar results took
place in all the other states east OF
the Missouri and Missis sippi rivers
The increase in the number of sheep
in the United States has been in
states west of those rivers or in To-
calities where there was a free range
upon the public domain. There
were in the whole United States in
1865 nearly 39,OoO,O00 sheep; at this
time there only 43,0O0,00O, an in
crease of 4.439,000 in twenty-four
years, the whole increase being in
sheep upon the ranches of the west.
The wool growers of of 1867 believ-
ed that the imposition of high tariff
on wool would secure them the con-
troll of the home market. The re-
suit proves how greatly they were
mistaken ana how Intellectual the
law has been to produce the condi-
tion which they desire. As to it's
effect On prices wool has steadily de.
clined from 1867, when it WAS worth
g. cents per pound in currency to
the present ire. The Mckinley
act increased duty Oh Wool all ay-
erage OF cent per pound. The re-
suit has been fall il price Of to
3 cents pound instead of a rise in
prices. After twenty five years OF
experiment the result has been re.
duction Of one-half in the number OF
sheep in the states west Of the Mis-
sissippi and Missouri rivers and a
reduction Of one half in the price oil
wool. Nor have the manufacturers
OF woo!ca goods been benefited by
the imposition Of high duties OF
WOO! and WOODEN goods. With a
high protective tariff on tie new ma
ter.al and compensatory and nigh
al valore,n duties on the finished
prod nd products limited to the
| home market, WOODEN manufacturers