The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1892-10-21

uiSbIICb NObeu lOI III.
When it was represented to Mr..
McKaig that there was great deal
of money invested in the lumber
business and that free lumber
would mean lower wages and prob
alb Y financial ruin for great many
of our people, he did not know how
he might vote on that question but
it is to be inferred that he would
vote as he did on wool, to make it
free.
Now | have taken considerable
pains to ascertain the truth In re-
gard to the effect of the duty on
wool.
The Democrat of this county as
serts that the increased duty is the
cause of the decline in the price Of
wool and | have taken occasion to
consult the wholesale dealers and
importers, and below | give the
views obtained from some of them,
on two different occasions when in
Philadelphia. In answer to my
question as to what effect the duty
on wool had on the price of wool,
l.. S. Fisher said: THE duty
makes wool higher. Without the
duty wool would sell to-day for
from 10 to II cents per pound less
than it is bringing"
Samuel Lee & Co.: "But for the
duty the price would be lower.
There has been one hundred and
fifty million pounds of wool added
to the stock in the general markets.
England is not manufacturing as
much as formerly and prices are
very much depressed in London.
| should say that the duty makes a
difference of to Z cents per pound
in favor of domestic wool"
+. Wartley, an importer, said:
If the duty was taken off of for
eign wool it would drown you peo-
pie out there so quick you would
not know what hurt you. Foreign
wool is 20 per cent. lower than it
was one year ago. The duty keeps
out some grades of wool entirely"
Woolston & Moore said: of the
duty was taken off the price would
be much lower. The Mckinley
bill makes the mills go. The wooden
mills were never so busy: there has
never been so much wool used, but
the supply has outrun the demand.
The Australian product has been
increased by 9S,000,000 pounds,
and that of S. America over 10000, :
900 in the last year. There is move
ment on foot in Australia to reduce
production, and the prospects are
that prices will be better next year.
Australian raised wool for the
markets of the world. Goldsbol-
ough & Co., of Milbury, Australia,
ISSUED a circular when the Mills
bill was under consideration in
which they said: The sheep grow
ers are watching with great interest
the effort in the American Congress
to introduce free wool. The bill is
of vital Importance to the wool
growers of Australia. ,"
An English importer said: "The
duty makes the price higher
One party, a Democrat, said 1T
seemed to make it lower, but could
assign no satisfactory reason for it.
lie then introduced me to a young
man from the West who at first
agreed with him that the effect of
the duty had been to reduce the
price, but he afterwards SAID that
he would vote for Cleveland because
the removal of the duty would en-
able the manufacturers to buy raw
wool so much cheaper that they
then could compete with other coun-
tries with their products in the
markets of the world. suggested
to him that as the American manu-
facturers were paying about double
the wages OF his foreign competitor
it would seem to require something
more than the free raw material.
On more recent trip to the city
of brotherly affection spent lels-
ure hour again among the wool
buyers.
| first called on Edward A. Green,
who had an immense stock of wool.
over a millron pounds he informed
me, on hand. | asked him the
usual question as to how the tariff
affected prices. His answer was:
"The duty on clothing woods such
as you grow IN your section is IL
cents per pound; IL cents deducted
from the price of "a to rs cents
would leave you not over Ia cents
per pound at the outside or reduc-
ton of nearly onc-half." What
about having to buy a certain per
centage of foreign wool for mixing,
l uggested. That" said he, "is
all poppycock; it IS simply lie
gotten up by the free traders who
want the farmers tn vote tho Dano-