St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-09-09
WOOL AT SECOND HAND

Wool has not been at so low an ebb at
any time within the memory of man.
Its price is only remuuerative to the
owners of floeks on the Southern plains,
where the cost of keep is practically
nothing. Where shelter and feed dur
ing winter months is required there is
no profit in sheep except for their flesh
The OhioW DOL Growers association
that is, the three shepherds, DELANo,
LAWRENCE and the other fellow whose
name escapes us-have called national
assembly of shepherds to meet at Chi
cago oil the 2Sth inst. Montana wool
growers have met, decided to take part
i'll it, elected delegates and resolved.
Like all of their kind, they insist on
having the general government - that
is, All Of Us-for special partners,
contributing part OF the capital, and
sharing i'll none of the profits. In other
words, they protest against the removal
of the tax on foreign woods, and would
have the present one made more pro-
teetiye.
Naturally these special partners have
tried to eyade their unwelcome burden.
They and their active, managing part
nerS have been pulling iii opposite d.
rectiOns; the former wanted cheap
woolens, the latter wanted dear wool.
The wool growers sought TO turn back
the tendency of our times, which sets
strongly in the direction of improving
the material condition of men by de-
creasing the cost of those things essen
tial to their material comfort. They
have suffered the penalty which usually
falls on persons who persist in swim
| ming against the current. The special
| partners have had their way; the man
| aging partners are looking receiyerships
| III the face.
Whensthe price of anything needed by
men Is enhanced either by natural or
| artificial causes, the ingenuity of men is
| set to work TO find something to take its
! place which will answer as well, or
nearly as well, and cost less. Tie story
of manufactures in this country for the
last quarter of century is replete with
illustrations of this. When the price CT
rags made paper dear, wood pulp came
to make it cheap. The increasing cost
of butter led to the manufacture of oleo-
|
| skilled labor brought forth machines
! which dispensed with it entirely, or
lessened the number required. Col
umns might be filled with Instances of
which these are types.
The wool growers were similarly de-
feated. They have not only perma-
nently injured themselves, but they have
contributed to the defrauding of the
wool users of the nation. AS the tariff
they obtained made wool from the
| sheep's back dearer, the wit of man be-
gan TO search for wool from other
| sources. A prolific source was found
in the worn and cast-off WOODEN clothing
of the people. A new shepherd ap-
peared. tending new docks. The rag
man, with meager capital, gathered
| wool from hoeks that cost him nothing
for their keep. Shoddy mills grew up
beside the carding mills. and supplied
"wool" to the looms. Wool from the
sheep began series Of cycles. Cloth,
clothing. rags, shoddy; clothing again,
rags, shoddy: again clothing, and SO on
until destroyed. 0ae shoddy maker
says that wool is capable of six trans
formations.
The wool growers are entitled to no
sympathy. Their greed simply over
reached itself. Like the. dog in the
fable, they dropped the substance to
| grasp the shadow. They have drowned
themselves in their own wool. They
have succeeded in making one pound of
their wool the equivalent in its repro
auctions of four, five, possibly six
pounds of wool. They have thus enor-
mousiy increased the supply and have
proportionately decreased the price.
They may never again recover their
| former position, but any recovery can
only come from free, untaxed wool.
TOM REED doubtless thought he had
scored a point when he ELECTED from a
witness before the ways and means
committee, who came to ask for re-
moval of a tax. that his services were
COMPENSATED. The question was prob