The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1892-03-17
TARIFF WAR OPENED.
WOOL SCHEDULE or THE M'KINLEY
ACT CRITICISED.

! Az ! CfIl ICISED.
Proiectionlst Pretensions Pun ctured--
| The Mckinley TariT Was Eupcted to
Pay Political Debts Incurred to Meet
! the Heavy Expenses Of tho Last PresI-
dcntIal Election.
WASIINGToN, March l0.-Follow-
ing arc extracts from McMillin's speech
in The House yesterday on Springcr's
free wool bill:
Mr.. Chairman: The last Congress
| imposed the highest tariff taxes ever
levied in tins country. 1t also made
the most eXtraVagant appropriat ions
ever made here in time Of peace. This
| Congress was sent here to correct both
evils. Expenditures in the two yca:s
for Which the last Congress appro,r,-
atcd, besides deficiencies, aggregated
| 81 ,Ou9, 200; $40 per family aunual =
| ly, or more than $500, 600, 900 each vca!. ,
about OnC-thrd ni' all LhC money iii cN-
istCncc in the United States. When we
take from our currency $lVQ, Q,0QU.QUN Of
gold he'd for redemption purposes ia
the Treasury, reserves required in ma
| from circulation in other ways, we lin /
that these expenditures reached annual
| ly near half Of all the money in actual
circulation. Can there be pcrmancu!
| pros pcrity while onc-halt or even one
| thrd o! al the money has 10 90 through
tic hands OF the Federal tax 9athcrrY
cycrY year, besides taxes for State
County and municipal purposes: There
is remedy. Impose less taxes and
Spcnd less money. That is what this
Congress means to do.
MIR. Chairman, the tariff law has now
been in operation for one year and five
months. Where are the beneficial e.
tcctn that were to llow from il? Where
IS tr2S hid, :,il:!:"t It price ;hc farmer am
WOO grower WIS {" realize from it.
Where arc thc iEcrcascd wages the la
boring man was to get: | see bClOrr
me many men who voted Tor that mon
strous measure. If the facts were with
them they would proclaim them to thr
world. | defy contradiction wien sa}
the iarnler has realized from two TO three
cents less on Il pound from his wool
than Ec did before and | challenge amy
representative here TO point out Il SIN
glC lmc OF manufactures in which labor
crS' wages have been increased by that
law. The labOrcr has been forced to
pay more for the roof that shelters him,
iOr the hat that covers his head and thc
woOlcnS that cover his back. lie has
had to pay more Tor the linen he wears
the hammer and hoe with which hC
works. Yet his wages have not yOn,
, up one cent. What benefit has increase,
, protection been to them: 1t was paSsc,
under prctcnsc Of desire to bcncii
! him, yet whilst his wages stand still o
90 down, what he, his vile and children
consume has been increased in price un
: c00scionably. i ask any Republican
on the Committee on Ways and Means
TO point TO 4 single Lahore: whose waGc:
have been increased by the law. II il
dlmnishcS the revenue received by tho
government, If it does not increase the
value o. raw material TO the farmer, if
1t does not increase the WAGES OF the In.
borcr, if it fosters trusts, if it mun&-
pooling profitable, in Heavens name
let us rot further lcgalizc the robbery
but try some better method.
Hearings were had by the Ways and
Means Committee on the Mckinley
bill. Some farmers and representatives
OF agricultural associations came before
the committee. Without Il slnglc CH.
ccpi!on, so laraS now remember, the y
testified that the value ol farms had
gone down within the last six years u,l
the way from % to so per cent.
| he duty on wool was in 1867 place |
at | ! cents Il pound on unwaShCd wool.
l!I' was by az agreement, entered int
| between the National Association tI
wool MamulaC LuCrS and the ASsuvla.
u"n OF Wool Growers, and they dirt;,,
tel Tic terms to Congress. II wa
claimed that this would foster sheep in-
du%l:y and increase the value Of wool {"
the !armCr. What were The results? Ii
lNGN, the year a.tcr thc enactment O,
the law raising the duty on wool. there
wee 1858, 900 sheep in the United
States East of the Missouri and Mis- sis
Sippi livcrs. In 1891 there were on. \
lN,.lGT 900 sheep in the same tcrril orv
Il lcduction OF more than onc.hali il
tWcnty-l0ur years, when the high lnri !
on wool had been in i0lcc: this in Id rc
OF the fact that population III those Statc~
has vastly increased.
II the increase OF sheep had kept pace
with the increase Of population, there
wou Il have been probably $4,000, ,UCu
l. IlC I'IICc VI WOOL at lIl!S JIIllc Is aDOlit
Onc-half what 1t was at the time Of tLr
passage of the Act oil March =, lNGT.
The whole matter may ~ &ummcd u
in the fact that after twenty-five year
OF experiment with high rates Of duty
on Wool the result has been a reduction
OF One-hall in the number Of sheep i}l
States East Of the Mississippi and Mis-
sour rivers and Il reduction OF about
onc-halL in the price OF wool. Nor have
results been encouraging to wool man.
uiacturers. They have been restricted
as TO the quality of wool they could al
lord to buy in the grease by reason cl
the tarl; they have been restricted IN
markets substantially to their own coun~
try. They have been forced to use shOd-
dy rs Il substitute for w0Olcn goods
Rags that had already fallen from the
backs OF bcggars in other countries have
been used as a substitute for wool.
The tariff rates levied at the close OF
the revolutionary war, when, if ever,
| we were in imminent daut Cr OF haVinU