Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1892-10-13
AS TO WOOL PRICES
Rates Prevailing in Europe
and in the United
States.
Some Facts of Great Interest
to the Farmers of
America.
Value Of New York FleeCes
Under Free Trade and
Protection.

Woods 90 to market from all nations
in the grease, and no two nations send
f1eeces to market precisely in the same
condition, SO that a comparison of the
grease price of one nations wool with
the grease price of another nations
wool, will convey no fair idea Of the
relative value. For instance, the Cape
of Good Hope merino wool costing 5
pence or 10 cts, and the Queensland
wool costing pence, or 16 cts, both
cost SO cts secured clean in London,
and likewise q comparison of Ameri-
can wool prices and English wool
prices, to be just, must be made on
the secured basis, thus Australian wool
or Cape of Good Hope wool selling
in London at SO cts. secured, with the
Mckinley duty Of SO cts. on secured
wool added, would make that same
wool cost i'll the United States, sc cts,
and this SO cts. is the difference be
tween the prices under free trade and
protection for the same wool. This
per cent. of difference applies to all
grades of American wool, for since the
passage of the first tariff law of 1867,
the average secured value of wool in
London, has been 81 per cent. below
the average secured value of the same
wool in the United States. La other
words, if the American wool grower
had sold his wool in the London free
wool market instead of the protected
American market, he would have re
ceiVed 81 per cent. less than he Oh
tanned for it under protection, and if
wool was put en- the free list, the Lon
don price of course, would be the
American price, less the difference III
freight which is hardly worth con-
eidering. Wool in compressed bales
can be carried across the ocean for
less money than from Ohio to New
York, and it is not an important fac
tor in the price The London market
for woods controls the whole world,
even the United States, although wool
i'll the United States, owing to our
duties, costs when secured, double the
London price. When London prices
decline, the American prices ultimately
decline, but it always remains about
double the London price for the same
wool. OF course with free trade, the
prices would have to be the same.
The Americans consume six hundred
millions pounds of wool; over four
hundred millions pounds are manuflc-
tued in the United States; two hun
dred millions OF pounds are imported
III the shape Of WOODEN cloth Amcri-
can woods with free trade will have
to take n back seat to foreign woods.
The latter even now, with the McKiu-
ley duty added, are in some cases
cheaper than the American woods. and
American manufacturers buy Il certain
amount Ct foreign wool because the
American clip, although increasing, is
not yet sufficient to supply Ill Of our
wants, but with suitable protection, III
few years the United States can
raise adj the wool the American Mills
can consume. The decline of the wool
markets Of the world, mainly London.
has exceeded by several times, the
amount of the increased duties put on
wool by the Mckinley bill The in
creased duties on wool by the McI<in-
ley bill were about 10 per cent the
world has been about 80 per cent. and
although American woods are lower
than they We're before the Mckinley
bill was passed, they are not as low
rs they would otherwise have been
without the amount of the increased
duties of the Mckinley bill. The
amount of ShOddy consumed in the
United States, is less than the amount
used by any other wooden manufac-
turing nation in the world The Nc
kinley bill raised the duties on some
kinds of shoddy and waste from 10 to
80 cts. per pound. The Mills Bill and
the Springer Bill propose to stimulate
the increase use of Shoddy in America
by reducing the highest duty to only
, cts per pound. Shoddy as you know
is made by grinding up wooden rags.
many of which are gathered up from
the streets of Europe. They are cast
CIT by the pauperS in Europe and are
liable to contain the germs of disease.
The Springer bill proposes to admit
those tainted rags or the shoddy made
from them, at only , cts, per pound,
while the Mckinley bill excludes them
altogether by duties varying from 10
to 30 cts. These arc facts without re
gard to the political side of these ques-
tons. We simply discuss the questions
on the basis Of prices in London. which.
with free wool, would be the price
here. A letter written to the Boston
Herald describes the value of New
York state fieeceS at l. cts. per pound
under free trade as against - cts. per
pound to-day under protection, show
ing that the value of the same wool
III London and in Boston and in Phila-
delphia under free trade would be II
cts, and the value on the farm to 4
cts. per pound less, or only to 10 cts
THE FORCE" BILL.