The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-01-14
UTAH WOOL SHIPPERS.
RETURNS RECEIVED YESTERDAY
ON SOME BIG LOTS.
The Petition Recently Adopted by
the County Association Has Been
Sent to Washington.

other eastern markets and in every
instance the prices are lower than the
lowest ever received prior to this year,
although but a slight decrease over
those of last year. Utah heavy woods
cents per pound. while the lighter
grades range from Z to S1k cents. w.
H. Jones and w P. Noble yesterday
received the returns from their ship
ments made recently, the former on
$4,000 pounds and the latter on $1,000
pounds. Neither of the gentlemen re-
ceived over 61s cents for their heavy
grades.
The petitions to the Congress of the
United States, drawn up and adopted
by the Salt Lake County Wool Grow
ers' association at its meeting held
last week, a copy of which was pub
lished in The Herald on Sunday last,
nave been signed by nearly every wool
man IN the county and forwarded to
the chairmen of the committees on
ways and means of both houses Of
congress and to the western senators.
An effort has been made during the
week just passed, by a number of Re-
publican sheep men, to secure sigma
lures to an address and petition in
which many of the same facts as set
out in the original petition adopted by
the salt Lake County association are
repeated but which contains a direct
attack upon the present administra-
ton. Naturally, the Republicans have
signed the paper but the Democratic
men of wool have fought shy of the
business and are content with going
on record as favoring the original pc
utlon, which sets forth facts and
lgures but contains no structures on
the party in power but rather a PRAYER
for relief
Great interest is taken among the
sheep men in the action taken by the
CaIl1ornla state convention of the wool
growers. AT that convention, held on
Wednesday, the following address, TAX
ing the form of a resolution, however,
was adopted and signed by the wool
growers of the state, regardless of
party:
Whereas, 1t is proposed in the Con-
gress of the United States to modify
the existing tariff laws to admit wool
ana dressed meats free of DUTY: and
whereas, 1t is proposed to make sweep
ing reductions in the duties on wooden
manufactures; and, whereas, 10000 citi-
zens OF California are employed directly
IN the production and handling of wool
ufacture; and, whereas, the state of
California contains approximately A.
100000 sheep, producing annually 35,-
OO0,OOG pounds of wool and has hereto
fore profitably employed as sheep
ranges 100000 acres of land, otherwise
waste and of little value; and. where
as, in this industry an aggregate cap
ital of $10O,O00,00O is invested in this
state; and whereas, it is our Judgment
nf a ri
stances and conditions, that the pro-
posed tariff changes, if carried into
effect. would inevitably imply the de-
struction of the sheep industries of
our state; that it would wipe out the
capital employed in them and thus
impoverish a multitude of our people,
that it would drive a worthy element
Of poulation to seek other branches
of employment now overcrowded with
the result of filling the highways, caus-
ing beggary and widespread suffering,
and, whereas, we believe that we
should not consume the products of
foreign labor, leaving our own laborers
in idlenSes, but that we should protect
them and enable them to receive proper
and fair compensation for that labor
consuming in our own country their pro-
ducts. Whereas, the mere prospect of
the proposed tariff changes has pros
trated our business, scaled down the
value of our property and made alarm
and apprehension of disaster wide
spread. Whereas, it is a. fact estab-
lished by experience that at the prices
for wool now prevailing in the foreign
markets our farmers cannot continue
the business of wool-growing without
absolute yearly loss, in proof of which
we state that at the present time a
large proportion of the sheep remain
unShorn and the shearers have even
declined to accept the clip as compen-
sation for shearing. During the past
year, owing to the impending threat
of free wool and radical reductions in
the duties on woollen goods, the prices
of domestic woods of all descriptions
have fallen from so per cent. to so per
cent. below the prices that prevailed
year ago. Even at these figures
there has been little demand for wool
and many farmers have on hand this
seasons clip, which at this time last
year were being rapidly converted into
goods by mills that now stand idle In
the United States the value of sheep
has deprecated over $50, 600, 600; of this
California's share is $5,000,000. There
fore, be it
Resolved, That we, the wool and
mutton growers and the wooden man
ufacturers of California, in convention
assembled, do protest in the most
positive and solemn spirit against the
free admission into the United States
of wool and dressed meats, and against
the proposed reduction in the duties
on wooden goods.
That the good faith of the Congress
of the United States requires continu-
ance of the protective policy as to wool,
dressed meats and manufactured wool
ems
That the sentiment of the business
element of this state. regardless of par
tisan affiliations. heartily favors the
retention of tariff duties on wool
dressed meats and wooden goods, and
stands with us in protesting against
the enactment of the Wilson bill in so
far as it relates to the changes above
named.
That the first duty of our represen-
tatives in Congress is to the interests
OF California; that to this duty they
should subordinate all partisan MO
tives; and we call upon them, in the
work and vote against the proposed
changes, in whatever form or what.
ever relationship they may appear
We protest against and denOunce as
false and absurd the claim persistently
urged by advocates of free trade in
wool that American woods cannot be
manufactured successfully and profit
aDly INTO the form OF clothing, except
in combination with foreign ,woois.l
and we deny that the importation Of
foreign woods is essential or even de-
sirable as a means of consuming our
domestic wool product, there being no
class of foreign woods imported into
this country that cannot be produced
by the wool-growers of the United
States.
We solemnly declare it to be our
profound conviction that the princi
pie of protection by tariff duties is
essential to the independence and COM
fort OF the American people, to the pro-