The Coconino weekly sun., 1895-08-15
EFFECT OF FREE WOOL.
The Democratic Tariff Cripples Impor-
 tant Industries.

AhO DCiuOCrhtiC SEipPico A"poh-
 tant Industries.
 Some interesting figures in regard to wool are given by the Washington cor respondent of the Philadelphia Press- Democratic papers have pointed with pride to increased importations of wool under the new tariff, but they have failed to note the decline in the home wool-growing industry. The low price of wool is forcing the sheep raisers out of business With the home supply cut off prices will advance again, but the foreigner will reap the harvest. Foreign wool is low priced only when it comes in competition with the home article. Every time we have had to have the foreign product we have been forced to pay we'll for it, and that will be the experience as soon as the deln- ocratic free trade programme has had time to kill off the American sheep. The correspondent gives table show ing the home wool clip and the con- sumption during each of the last five years. The figures show that with steadily increasing consumption there has been decline in the clip since the | democratic tariff went into force. The table follows:
 Clip of 1ss9, 3o9 0o) 900 pounds used up !n the | fiscal year ended June 30, 1891.
 Clip of 1891, 9O7, ,0OOO OOo pounds used up in the fiscal year ended June 30, 1892
 CID of 1892 33o, 900 900 pounds used up in the | fiscal year ended June 30. 1893
 l Clip of I893 364, 900 900 pounds used up in the | fiscal year ended Juno 30, 1894.
 | Clip of 1S0i, 3a8 900 900 pounds used up in the | fiscal year ended June 30, 1895
 | Clip of 1895, 264 100000 pounds available for use for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1898
 During the last fiscal year under the Mckinley tariff the home wool produe- CTS furnished all but 5000, 900 pounds. of the wool used in the United States Last year the imports increased to 203,- 900, ,000 pounds, and, with a consump- ton equal to that of last year. the im- ports for the fiscal year 1896 will aggregate 2es, OOO,OO pounds. It is estimated that the loss to the wool growers amounts to $40, 100000 year. The only Gxcuse for this given by the tariff reformers was that free wool would decrease the use of shoddy and enable American woolen goods to meet those of other countries in competition for the trade of the world. The prom ises have not been fulfilled. Never has there been so much shoddy used as now, the export of American woolens has declined instead of increased, and foreign competition at home has be- come serious. The Press correspondent | writes:
 "The free trade price of wool was antici- pated and wool dropped from March. 1893, to March, 1925. measured by the standard grade of xxx Ohio, from little over thirty cents to about fifteen cents, and the wool growers, be- licving that thore was no future use for the wool industry, sold their flocks in countless | numbers to the butchers, so that the clip of 1894 fell on to 92s, 900 900 pounds. and that of 1895. just clipped to only 26i, 100000 pounds--a decrease, therefore, in the two years since Clevelands inauguration Of 100, ,000 900 pounds. To make up for this deflcit in the American clip we are compelled to import wool to take tho place of the Aracrican wool destroyed to the great extent already noted For the fiscal year of 1s96 we will probably have to go to foreign nations for 26sO00,0)0 pounds of raw wool Thia takes no account of tho imports of shoddy rags, waste, etc, which arc entered tS manufactures of wool, for in the fiscal year ended June 8, 1894, which was the last fiscal year under the Mckinley law, we imported only l3i,7I pounds of shoddy, rags. waste etc. but during the fiscal year ended June B. 1895, and almost all of 1t in ten months after the passage of the Wilson law, we imported l4,772, GO pounds of shoddy, waste. etc. an in- crease of over 900 per cent This was made necessary, first, by the destruction of the American clip, and, second, by the low duties upon manufactures of wool and tho ad valorern feature of the latter, which permits underval- uation and compels American manufacturers to increase their use Of shoddy Never in the history of the wool business In America has 1t been necessary to use so many cheap adul- terants In order to prevent our manufacturers from being driven out of their home market by the shoddy goods admitted under the ad valorem rates of the new tarif law"
 This is fair statement of the way free trade affects the industries of wool raising and the manufacture of woolens. Not particle of gain has come to the American people through the placing of wool on the free list. On the contrary, one great industry has received death blow, and the only one to gain has been the manu- facturer of shoddy goods. We are buy ing abroad an article which we should produce at home, depriving the sheep raisers of S40,0OO,0oo yearly and turn ing it over to the foreign wool inter- csts. It is costly sacrifice we have been compelled to make upon the altar of democratic free trade.-Troy Times.