Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1894-10-24
As TO Wool.

There is great hue and cry among
Republican stumpers and newspapers
over putting wool on the free list, and
Brother Yost in the Tenth district is
almost breaking the blood vessels of
his indignation ABOUT it. Let us see
what greater republican priests than
he have said ON the subject and men
too who are from districts and sections
where domestic wool is one of the
staple and abundant products =
II allude to the wool tariff, a law the
effect of which has been to materially
injure the sheep husbandry of this
country. In a single county in the
State of Iowa, between 1867 and 1869,
the number of sheep was reduced from
%, 900 to $4,000 in two years; and what
is true of that county is true to a
greater or less extent of other counties
in Iowa; and during this time the
price of wool has been constantly de-
preciating. AS the law now is, the
tariff upon fine wool of a character not
produced in this country is 100 per
cent. upon their cost. The tariff upon
wOolens of the same class is only about
80 per cent, SO that the finer wooden
goods are imported and the coarser
fabrics not. Before the tariff of 1867,
our manufacturers of fine goods mixed
foreign fine woods with our domestic
product and were thus able to com
pete successfully with the foreign
manufacturer of similar woods. But
being prohibited from importing this
class of woods, these fine goods cannot
now be produced in this country as
cheaply as they can be imported
Consequently, mills that were formerly
engaged in producing these goods have
been compelled to abandon business or
manufacture coarser fabrics. If they
could afford to manufacture those fine
goods, they would make a market,
which we do not now have, tor our fine
woods to be mixed with other fine
woods of a different character from
abroad. This want of market, as l
understand it, is the reason why our
fine woods now command SO low price.
There is no demand for them at home,
and we cannot export them in compe
tition with fine woods grown in other
countries.-Hon. w. B. Allison in the
House of Representatives, March "a,
1870.
In 1867, the price of wool was 81
cents; in 1870, As cents; in 1880, which
was an abnormal year, 40 cents per
pound; this was the result of the
policy of protecting the woolgrower,
as it is in all industries, to gradually
reduce the price. Under the operation
of the existing law, the price of wool
has gradually gone down.-Senator
John Sherman, 1888.
Let the raw material come in. Let
us make blankets that will drive out
English blankets. Let us make our
own English frieze, and Peterboro
frosted beaver. Let us be able to rival
with England and France and other
representative nations in making these
clothes.-Hon. W. d. Kelley in House
of Representatives, July %, 1886.
Domestic woods have gone down in
price from the time the Morrill, tariff
was enacted until to-day.-Senator w.
P. Frye, 1888.
Some of these men are dead but their
words live after them and the McKin-
ley tariff was greater wrong than the
one they were condemning. The
Democratic party has given the coun-
try what the Republican party never
did even in answer to such pleas as the
above-free wool.-No7JozkL Landmark.