The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1892-03-17
M,MILLIN,s sPEECM.

Among other things McMillin said:
The last congress imposed the high
est tariff taxes ever levied in this
country. 1t also made the most eX'
travagant appropriations ever made
in time Of peace. This congress was
sent here to correct both evils. The
tariff law, he said, had now been in
operation one year and five months.
Where are the beneficial effects that
were to follow it? Where are the mag
nificent prices the farmer and wool
grower were to realize? Where are
the increased wages the laboring man
was to get? He defied contradiction
when he said the farmers realized 2 to
8 cents less on pound for wool than
they did before, and challenged any
representative to point to single line
of manufactures in which laborers'
wages had been increased by that
law. He asked any Republican on
the committee of ways and means to
point to single laborer whose
wages had been increased by
that law. The duty on
wool in 1876 placed II cents per pound
on unwashed wool. This, by agree
ment entered into between the Ma
tional Association of Wool Manufac-
turers and the National Association OF
Wool Growers, and they dictated
terms to congress. 1t was claimed
this would foster the sheep industry
and increase the value of wool to the
farmer. What were the results? III
1868, the year after the enactment o.
the law, there were 81 ,6S5, 900 sheep in
the states east of the Missouri and
Mississippi rivers. In 1891 there were
only Is, 476,000 sheep in the same ter
ritory, a reduction of more than hal
in twenty-four years when high tariff
on wool had been enforced. This in
the face of the fact that the popula
ton of those states had vastly in
creased. If the increase of sheep had
kept pace with the increase of pupula
ton there would have beer
probably 100000. Thorough inves
tigation of the question shows thai
the increase in sheep husbandry has
been in the West, where grazing wa!
limitless and cheap. The price o
wool at this time is about half what i
was at the time of the passage OF thu
act, March 3, 1867. The whole matte,
may be summed up thus: Ate
twenty-one years experiment will
high duty of wool the result has beer
reduction of one-half in the numbe
of sheep in the states east of tn
Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and
reduction of about one half in tn
price of wool. Nor have the result
heen favorable to wool manufacturers
They have been restricted as to tn
quality of wool which they coul'
afford TO buy in grease by reason @
the tariff. They have been restricted
in the market substantially to on
own country.
They have been forced to use shod
DIV rs q substitute for wooden goods
Ajax of II cents per pound on wool
; nolust be remembered, was not ia:
+ FoDure wool, but on all grease il
call, and all dirt in grease and est
f a sed to amount to "A cents on ever,
: Drnd of finished cloth. According t
: Te,ial report, substitutes have takel
? place of fieeces of %, 900, 900 sheep
{ Inbout two-thirds as many as are il
r Pilimhole United States. The frs
3 tier of century of the his
5 of the government ther
1 Spec no duty imposed on WOO
S first duties imposed were insig
: bu, ant compared with those now Il
: - ence. The pretense that a higl
II zSN would l increase the number C
/ La Ia ,NNh nn