The St. Johns herald., 1892-03-31
Tariff on WOOIIens.

J
 mission, I should like to offer a fey items on the tariff question" per taining to wool and woollen good manufactured in and imported into : the United States.
 The total production of wool 1T the United States for the year end ing June 30, 1890, was 265.000,00C lbs, the amount imported for the same time was 105, ,431 PSI pounds The domestic wool exported was 251 ,042 lbs, and foreign wool eX- ported was 3,2SS, ,467 lbs, leaving a balance for home consumption of 366,9l1,772 lbs, showing that 27 per cent of the wool manufactured in this country was foreign wool.
 There are more than 2,000 wool len mills in this country, capable of consuming, or making into wool len fabrics, nearly 900,000,000 lbs of wool if kept running the year round. As it is, they are closed nearly two-thirds of the time, as the above figures show, thus throw ing thousands of mill-operatives out of employment, or the mills are compelled to make shoddy over half of the time,
 We import wool and woollen manufactures to the amount of S59, 291, ,452, yearly. Under the McKin- ley bill, the tariff on blankets is from 164 to 384 cents per ID and from 30 to 40 per cent ad valorem, and on other woollen articles 1t is as follows:
 Wool, first and second class, II and 121 cents per ID. Wool, third class. 50 per cent. Wool or worsted yarns, value not over 30 cents per lb, 273 cents per ID and 5 per cent. Wool or worsted yarns, over 30 and not over 40 cents, B cents per ID and 8 per cent. Wool or worsted yarns, over 40 cents per lb, 381 cts per ID and 40 per cent. Woollen manufactures, not otherwise speci fled, value not over 30 cents per lb, 33 cents per lb and 40 per cent. Woollen manufactures, value 30 cents and not over 40 cents, 3S! cts and 40 per cent. Woollen manu- factures, value 40 cents and not over 60 cents, A cents per lb and 50 per cent. Woollen manufactures, value 60 cents and not over so cents, A cents per ID and 90 per cent. Wool len manufactures, not over so cts, 44 cents and 50 per cent ad valorem.
 To any one who will take the time to read these items and reflect few minutes. have these sugges- tions to offer: It will be seen at a glance that over 60 per cent is paid (to the government) by the con sumer of all woollen manufactures imported into the country-60 per cent more than their actual cost. Now 60 per cent of $59 POI ,452 is $35, ,574 ,S71 20, which the American people have to pay for the privilege of wearing woollen clothing and sleeping under woollen blankets. And, mind you, this is for one item alone, that cannot be produced in sufficient quantities by Americans to supply the demand. We must import, but is it necessary to pay this eXorbltant tax on one of the necessities, in order to get it?
 It may be plainly seen that the masses of the people, the great army of producers, are those who suffer most from this unjust dis elimination. Why should not the laboring man get a suit of woollen clothes for the same amount of money that he now pays for suit of shoddy?
 Why should manufacturers, some ot them in less than a question of a century, make millions of dollars out of the brain and muscle of American workmen? One never hears of laboring men making mon- av cO fast If fbera ic o olocc o {