The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1892-03-05
H WEEKLY TRIBUNE.
A FEW FACTS AND FIGURES.
SATURDAY. MARCH 8. 1879.

question cannot be carried or within tn
domain Of speculation. Facts and fig
ures count, while bare assertions and as
sumptions go for what little they arr
worth. The sheep raiser who has hi
last dollar invested in his tiocks, and tn,
laboring man who has the little back
of a growing family To clothc are eacl
vitally Interested in the determination
OF the question. In both cases pocket,
are touched. The wool grower wants tc
get every cent he can Tor his wool ant
the consumer is equally anxious to bu,
his woolens as chcaply as possible. Tht
wool grower will favor il tariff that puts
money in his pocket while the consumer
will support one that keeps money in
his. 1t would appear to the uniformed
that a clasbing of interests would be the
inevitable result Of these widely divcrg-
ing ~inclinations, 1t should not be so
and would not under a proper wool
tariff.
When the lahcring man buys the
coarse carpets which cover the floors of
his house he pays the 20 per zen tariff
tax upon them more readily because he
believes he is helping his wool growing
ncighbor across the way, and adding
something to the day wages of the mill
employee working at his side. But really
neither is benefited by the tax. For out
Of the O,0NO.0oO pounds of carpet woods
annually manufactured into goods in
this country only 100000 pounds are
grown here. The rest is imported.
Carpet woods may be grown in this
country but they are not to any extent
because sheep rajscrs find it more profit
able to grow higher grade woods. So
that 10 per rcnt tariff tax ON the cheaper
carpets must hc paid by the laboring
classes as they are the ones who use
them and our wool growers are not hcnc-
fitted by the duty.
Let us carry the matter further. II is
said that manufacturers of woolens USE
40 different grades ar wool in their bust
ness. This looks rrcposterous. but when
it is learned there are several grades of
wool upon each sheep shorn the figures
do not appear So large, american wool
growers. especially those in the west,
rontinc their purchases generally to
mcrinos and shropshircs. or the cross of
both. One gives i%incncss and the other
length to the staple. But these woods do
not supply all thu grades wantrdb by manu-
facturers and hence the latter are com
pcllcd to import woods to manufacture
the various grades Of cloth demanded in
the home market. All these woods may
he grown here. but as they are not it
must be assumed they cannot be grown
with profit I" our shccpmcn. Our "
woois are mixed with these different
grades of foreign woods and thus our
looms are kept running to meet the de
mand for their output.
But as these imported woods are tariff
ed all the way from II cents to * cents
per pound the cloths III which they en-
Ter must necessarily he sold at AN in
creased figure to cover the tax. Now
the points We wish tn make are these:
First our home wool rover are not
protected 10y these tariff taxes because
they are levied against woods they do
not produce. Second the people are not
aiding home wool growers hy paying
these taNcs. thcl are simply robbing
themselves. Third. If these wuols were
admitted free ot duty both home wool
growers and home would be
benefited. TN' former would he benc-
tilted because free wool would enable
home manufacturers To compete in for
cign markets with those of England,
France and Germany all free wool
countries. With this advantage home
manufactures would he stimulated and
the home grower would find a reader
sale for his product ut rrnumerative
prices. for where one pound Of american
grown wool is now used il is possible
that ten pounds would be required to
mix with the foreign grown article to
supply the demand for American wool
sns. The people would be benefited in
asmuch AS cheaper clothing could bo OBJ
tanned. Therefore there would he no
clashing Of interests with free wool as
the grower and would alike he
helped,
4 few more facts and figures bearing
upon this question are not out of place
here. Raw silk was formerly taxed as
well AZ raw wool, but in 1857 the same
statesman like sagacity which had freed
silk from its burden substantially re-
lievcd wool and from that time Ia 1851
our manufacture Of woolen goods in
creased in magnitude by leaps and
bounds. In the case ~ silk its freedom
from duty gave the following results:
IAIu tASD