The morning call., 1892-02-29
THE SPRINGER WOOL BILL
Majority and Minority Reports to Be Sub
mitted to The House.
EFFECT OF HIGH And LOW TARIFF.
Conflicting Views Of Members Of the Com.
mltt60-Tbe Rates Of The Mckinley
ACt Condemned and InGOTSad.
Special to The MoRNtxs CALI

WASHINGTON. Feb 23-The reports Of
the majority and OF ,he minority Of the
House COmmi ttee on Ways and Means 10
accompany tie Springer wool bill are being
prepared and Will be presented to the
House tomorrow. The majority report is
being prepared by Springer and the minority
by Burrows Of Michigan.
The majority report says the Mckinley
bill was passed with enormous rates Of
duties Many Of them we're prohibitoTy
aud all were unreasOnaDly high. There
H. no good reason" says the report, ''for
maintaining such high taxes upon articles
so necessary to the health and comfort Of
the people. twenty-five per cent was all
the protection the wool manufacturers in
1857 asked, but it seems in the case Of woolen
goods. as in all others, the amount OF pro-
lection required Increases from year to
year. AS industries get older aud better
established more protection is demanded.
The wool-growers of 1867 believed that the
imposition Of high tariffs on wool would
secure them the control of the home market
The result proves how greatly they wera
mistaken and how ineifectual the law has
been to produce the condition they desired
Fail in Price.
Al TO its effect on prices, wool has stead
lily declined from 1867, when it was worth
O. cents per pound. The Mckinley act in
creased the duty on wool On an average Of
l cent per pound. The result has been a
fall IN the price Of to cents per pound,
Instead Of a rise. The result OF twenty-five
years Of eX; eriment has been a reduction
Of One-half IL the number Of sheep. In the
States east Of the Mississippi and Missouri
rivers there is reduction OF one-half in the
price Of wool, Nor have the manufacturers
OF WOODEN goods BEEN benefited by the i'm
position OF high duties on wool ana wooden
goods. Notwithstanding the high protec-
lion accorded the manufacturers Of woOen
| goods, the quality OF such goods has de-
teriorated year by year since the discovery
! Of machinery for converting wOolen rags
into substitutes for wool. Ii gh protective
tariff on wool has the direct effect of limit
ing the demand for American wool, for the
| reason that under such tariffs neither the
domestic wool nor the manufacturers Of
wool can be exported and sold at profit.
Effect Of Lower Duties.
Only that amount Of domestic wool will
be purchased and consumed which is re-
Quircd To mix with foreign wool to produce
the required quality and quantity Of goods
10 sun ly the home market The report
concludes: 1T is not unreasonable to as
sumo that lower duties upon these articles
would cause some increase Of importation,
for the reduction Of duties would chrapeu
the price 10 consumers, thus largely lncTeas-
ing the consumption; increased cOnsump-
ton would call for increased home manu-
facture, as well as enlarged impurtations.
[ by substituting economy for taxation we
shall run no risk of causing deficit IN the
Government revenues, while lifting a
grirvous load Of taxation from some of the
plain necesSaries OF life"
Minority Report.
The minority report says that from both
wool consumers and manufacturers there
comes an almost unanimous sentiment that
the law be permitted to stand as lis. Not
only are growers and manufacturers bene-
fttc by the law. but consumers have shared
benefit TIE people Of the United
States find themselves able TO secure wool
ems required at smaller cost than ever
before. The committees bill proposes tC
deprive the wOol-grOwing industry Of the
United States at one blow of the entire
tariff protection it has heretofore enjoyed.
The effect will be 4 complete and final
Abandonment Of the effort to produce in
the United States the supply Of wool needed
for the clothes Of-Our people. The bill does
not mean cheaper wool for the masses
but does mean the wiping out Of great prop
critics, the curtaiIment of our industrial
resources, and is a savage blow aimed al
our aericulturistS without prospect Of COM
pensatiug benefits in any quarter