Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1894-06-08

Democrat, last week, "No Improve
ment in Wool" was fearfully and
wonderfully made. AS piece OF
blind pettyifogging, full of mlsrepre'
sensations and incorrect statements.
it was a laundering failure. The aim
and purpose was SO plain that no
intelligent farmer could be deceived.
Even the farmers wives and children
laughed al the fimsy arguments and
said she knows better, he knows
what makes wool cheap, and 1t was
not protection or the republican par.
" either" When the Democrat at
tempts TO show that protection has
lowered the price of wool, 1t under
takes an immpossibility, because 1t
is not true. Might as well try to
prove that black is white, and that
two and two are not four One state
ment will illustrate the scope of the
article. The others were on the same
order. In trying to show that pro-
lection worked against the interests
OF sheep men, the Democrat said;
Gin the state OF Michigan the mum
Der Of sheep was reduced from more
than 40,000,000 in 1867 to 100000
I'm 1917: and we have never ye. re
covered the loss. = y y There was
falling OF in the total number of
sheep in the country during the de.
cqde referred to Of nearly 100000"
According TO the United States cen
sus, the number Of sheep in the whole
United States was i'll
1860 ..,,.............. 22,41l,27o
1870 ..... ......... ESD 695l
That is an increase of over 100000
during The decade, in place of fall
ing eff of 100000. 1t was not un,
Ill 1880 that the whole country
reached 10000, 900 sheep. Just think
OF Michigan having 100000 in
1867. The Democrat must have
counted ticks and all. 1t needs to
do some tall counting to make wool
growers believe that threatened free
trade wool during the last two years
has been a blessing 10 them. The
history of The decade referred to liz
as follows: The tariff of 1861 was
amended March, 1867, when the tar
lff duties on wool were raised to 10
ard , cents per pound, aud 10 and |
per cent al valorum. From 1850 TO
1860 under the low tariff 1916 aud
1857, the increase in the number OF
sheep was only 81 per cent; but be-
tween 1860 and 1870 with only three
years of protection, our sheep in
creased over 100000 81 per cent,
and between 1870 and 1880, the in
crease was IL per cent The Demo
crat viii have TO amend the L. ).
census before getting 100000
sheep in Michigan in 1867, or fall
ing off of 100000 in the whole
country during that decade. They
say figures won't lie; but how about
she pettifogger who handles them?
The other statements used by the
Democrat, upon analysis, are found
10 be on a par with the above. We
agree with the Democrat that wool
is selling lower than ever before, bat
when it claims that protective duties
ere the causes, it grossly misrepre
sents. 1t does violence TO the INTEL
gencs Of every man, woman and child
even in Livingston county. Not one
fact or figure IL brought to Prove
such an absurd statement.
WHAT IS THE REAL CAUsk1
It is democratic hostility 10 the
wool interests of the L. 5. When
tho free trade party came into power
in 1892. wool was doomed. From
that time purchases were retarded by
the belief that wool would be put on
the free list. 1t is almost free now,
only 10 cents per pound.
DO YOU ASK TIE REMEDY?
Kill the Wilson bill or any other
Hill that puts wool on the free list,
make every pound of imported wool
pay duty. Then American farm
ers and American labor will raise
the wool at fair prices to clothe the
American people. Ii is impossible
Tor American wool, if the duty is
removed, to bring more than foreign
wool plus the freight. Foreign wool
is cheap, aud if the duty is removed
from American wool there is no
power under Heaven to keep Ameri-
can wool from being cheap. 1t is
not protection either that has made
foreign wool low.-Livingston Re-
publican