Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1892-08-25
r E WOOL AND RUIN.
The New York Farmer Would Get 10 Cents
for His Fleece Instead Of 81.

The following letter from Messrs.
Justice, Bateman & Co., who are
among the best known woolexperts in
the United States, is sent to "The
Press to correct a misstatement of
the Boston Herald of July 20.
The Herald said: There are no
possible conditions under which the
manufacturers OF England secure their
wool at IL cents cheaper than those
of the United States, and the assertion
that they do has not the shadow of a
! fact to rest upon" Justice, Bateman
& Co. reply:
'Let us see If this is so. You will
| admit that With free trade the London
price for wool would be the same as
the American price, and the latter
could no longer average more than
double the English price, as has been
the case ever since the passage of the
tariff law OF 1867. The Bradford
observer" states that a No. COS top
made from Montevideo and similar
woods (which are better than New
York State WOOL was selling in Brad
1 loIo az 10 PCtitCy VI - Cht LII
can money. The cost of converting
secured wool into top in the cheapest
markets of the world is 81 cents, to
that if the top is worth 81 cents, the
secured wool from which that top is
made cannot be worth over 33b cents,
which is the price i'm London offs ;oured'
skirted Montevideo and Australian
wool.
If wool were free of duty the Ameri-
can wool grower would be confronted
with a competition of even cheaper
secured woods than those which to-day
cost 33 cents in London. Taking 33
cents or 49, cents even as the basis
for the value of New York State fleeces
you will find that their value to-day
in London is 12Ia cents Inc their value
on the farm in New York State would
be only 8 to 10 cents. The very mimi
mum cost without profit of collecting
wool from the growers on the farm in
New York state and of tra~nsportingit
to London is = cents per pound.
Therefore, if the London value is 12
cents per pound the highest value at
the same time on the farm in New
York state would be 10 cents. We
will proceed to prove that IL cents is
the free trade price to-day for New
York state merino woolin the London
market by the following figures, which
if submitted to any manufacturer of
worsted yarn will be confirmed by his
statements based on his knowledge OF
the facts:
A New York State merino fleece must
be above h average to shrink no
more than SIS per cent; therefore, a
IL cent fleece, wasting 55 per cent. in
cleansing, costs 26b cents, secured,
with the taps, locks and belly pieces
included. The loss on the pieces in
order to make the secured New York
fleece the equivalent in value of the
Australian skirted fleece involves Z
cents per pound, which makes a New
York fleece, skirted the same as the
Australian, 33l2 cents, as against 33
cents for the Australian.
Thus it is apparent that Tor a New
York state fine fleece to be as cheap
in London as Australian wool OF the
same quality it must sell at 12 cents
in London, and if IL cents is the Lon
don price with free trade it would be
the American price, and as the cost of
collecting wool on thefarm and selling
it in the market is 2 cents the maxi
mum price on the farm would be 10
cents without any profit to the mid
die man, and the average margin be-
tween the farm in New York State and
the dealers warehouse in Boston,
where the wool is sold, is 4 cents, so
that with free wool worth IL cents i'm
London, the 81 me wool would be more
apt TO avera &c only 8 cents instead OF
10 cents on the farm in New York.
Yours truly,
JrSTIcE RArEMAN e. Coz