Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1894-11-02
As to the Wool Question,

Ed. TRIBUNE: I was at the meeting
Saturday night at which Senators Roach,
Kinter and Burke made speeches. 1t was
evident of course to all present that they
were laboriDg under great disadvantages
in trying to apologize for the action of the
past session of the democratic congress, in
which wool, of our infant industries
was placed upon the free list, while
the manufactures of the east and south
were all ~abundantly protected. Their
speeches were not so bad, in fact much
better than l expected, and l would not
speak OF them but for the positive mis-
statements made about the prices of wool
under the Mckinley and Wllson-Gorman
tariff bills. [ was amazed to hear them
say that under the benign influences of
free wool, the slope had already advanced
from 2 to 3 cents per pound.
They are all nice gentlemen and honor
able, and 1 cannot see how they could
make such statements in view of the facts.
Some woods, notably Ohio and Pennsyl-
vania %f1eeces, woods that come more direct
ly in competition with the Australian
woods, have positively declined some
houses say as much as Is per cent, and at
the decline, the Australian wool is the
more desirable, because cheaper results in
yarns" t.sAt n
True, the woods from this country.
classed with South Dakota, Montana, etc.
as territory woods. the quotations have not
dropped since the passage Of the bill, for the
reason that long before that they had been
discounted to a free wool basis, but the
market is, and has been weak, and is con-
trolled entirely by the London market, the
first time since the election of Abraham
Lincoln as president of the United States
or since the passage OF the first tariff bill
after the republican party came into power
in 1860. They say wool constantly declined
under the Mckinley law. The company OF
which l am the secretary and treasurer has
been producing wool since 1891, that year
we realized from our clips about Is cents,
Ill lo92-sold before the election OF Cleye-
realized about l5L, after the
election. the country knowing from the
utterances of the victorious party that
WOOL was almost certain to be placed upon
the free list, it immediately started on the
downward course until the clips of 1893, we
sold for about 10 scents and this syears clip
we still have, some $4,000 pounds-in
the commission house on sale, and has
been since August, and we will be very
we'll satisfied ii we realize 9 or 81 cents
PEI pound. we see no chance Tor i'm
provement in the market init the country
has a change in administration, as wool
can be produced in Australia, and laid
down in New York at present prices at a
profit, while from this country it cannot
be done. There is nothing that will re-
vive the sheep and wool industry of this
country, except a tariff on ALL wool of a
reasonable amount. Such a bill will prevent
the importation OF wool as second and
third class which under the Mckinley and
most of the tariff bills has been adj
mitted at a low duty, while the woods were
nearly those of the first class, and came in
competition with the woods grown in this
section. l see no reason for the classiica-
ton of foreign woods as they have been,
thus giving opportunity for fraud in their
Importation, except perhaps the carpet, and
such coarse woods as are not grown in this
country.
| am for protection on wool, the only
thing that will every make a sheep worth
owning in North Dakota.
Yours very truly,
E. H. WILSON.
Bismarck, North Dakota, Oct. 29, 1898.