The herald., 1894-08-31
Cnlifornia Wool.

EDITORS nERALD - Ou btht0 III bui5
morning's issue that 1.-THE wool of Cali
iornis is good enough for blankets. rugs
and ell the cosrssr fabrics, but not good
enough ior the finer cloths and cassi-
meres in use for daily wear"
think you will find few of the intelli-
sent flock-masters either of America or
Australia ready to accept your state.
ment.
As far as climate and all natural con-
ditions are concerned. this Pacific coast
excels Aastralia in growing fine wools as
much as paradise exeels purgatory.
Millions of their sheep run on lands that
will blister dogs foot and are far
worse than the worst of our desert
lands. The excessive heat riots" the
wool, and aside from limited amount
OF supsrfine and lambs wool, American
fine combing woods are far stronger and
more desirable than Australian.
At the first worlds fair in Dcndon in
1850, Richard Richards of Racine took
the gold medal for fine card woods, and
the pine woods sheep of Kinds county,
Miss, took the premium over Australian
combing wool, while Slater & Sons OF
Massachusetts, took the prize medal for
black broadcloth made of American
wool.
At our Centennial Hon. NJ. Wilkins OF
Eugene, Ore, obtained the medal and
diploma for the best combing wool, ex-
ceiling the world for strength and soft
ness.
At the worlds fair in Melbourne, Aus
tralia, few years since, Consul Griffin
said: 1.-The samples of American wools,
and especially those grown in the state
Of Ohio, sent to the Melbourne Indus
trial exposition were admitted by ex
perts to be far superior to anything Of
the kind ever grown in these colonies"
At our late worlds isir in Chicago
saw the Ohio dsslaines wool ram, whose
fleece MIR. Bruce of Australia admitted
to be superior to anything his own
country produced, and they had wool on
exhibition by the shipload.
The Australian fockmssters them
ealves will hardly agree with you in
ysur opinion of American sheep, for DUR
ing many years past they have been
paying from SO, 900 to $4,000 apiece for
our inferior rams with which to improve
their foeks.
The mild and equable climate of this
coast and your vast mountain ranges
afford ideal conditions for raising ideal
sheep. Many years ago you introduced
French blood into your focks, descended
directly from the royal flock of Ram
bouillet. and the blood and the climate
have developed the finest type of sheep
in America for both wool and mutton.
1t was easy to destroy in q year what it
will take generation to recover.
No finer and better goods of their class
have ever been made in the world than
by the mills of the Pacific coast. They
reduced the price of goods one.third or
more, and gave employment to your
people. How this advent OF Australian
wool can help your factories fail to see,
unless they adopt the British plan of
starvation wages and the universal use
of shoddy.
With twice as many spindles as the
mills of the United States, Great Britain
actually consumed less pure wool in 1892
than our own mills.
AS for the frozen mutton, it will doub
less come In good time and complete the
destruction OF our flocks. Great Britain
has 10000, 900 less sheep than shs had in
1870, thanks to this frozen mutton, end
when it completes, as it will, the ds.
etruction of her focks, the last line OF
retreat of her farmers, then look for
famine in ''nsrvy old England" as we'll
as in sorry ould Ireland.
As for the new ship lines bringing us
the Australian wool, etc., we might have
had line under our own flag had we
been willing to do the half which the
Australisns were ready to do for US.
They are brave, progressive and able
people and could teach us how to de-.
velop the productive industries OF this
vast coast. New Zealand alone paid as
high as $400.000 year bounty to our
old direct American line and sent two
delegations to Washington, beaeeching
us to maintain it; while we, the richest
nation on the globe, during tho fret ad-
ministration OF Grover Cleveland re-.
duced our subsidy to this line to the
pal.ry sum of $4,000.
With the completion of the Nicaragua
canal the best place on the globe to build
steel ships will be at San Pedro.
Whether we shall use what naturally be-.
longs to us and own both canal and ship
yards and foreign ship lines. or surrender
them all. along with our fiocks, to Great
Britain remains to be seen.
+. B. NORTON.
[P. S.-We suppose our correspondent,
when he uses San Pedro, meant Santa
Monica. As for the rest of his COM
munication it is certainly worthy oi