The herald., 1895-07-19
WHY THEY HAVE TO WHISTLE

In view of recent events the Republican
organs had been forced to whistle
loudly to keep their courage up. Perhaps
the most doleful tune yet struck is that
whistled by the Boston Journal. Some
weeks ago the Journal announced that
free silver would not be one of the issues
in the next presidential campaign. In
this the journal was right and was again
right in the announcement that the tariff
would be the vital question, but it is to be
regretted that these we're the only correct
notes in the Journals consolation tune.
The rem arkable statement is made that
the present tariff lis not properly protect
ing the wooden interest Viewed from
the build-a- stone -wall-around-us-at at-any-
cost policy of the Republican party, the
wooden interests are not properly protect
ed. But one point the Journal and other
papers of like faith lose sight of, is that
in this instance, also in many others,
protection means destruction.
Let US see how this unprotected indus
try has Jared of late. 1t was under the Nc
Kinley bill that wool sold at the lowest
price known in years. During the past
few months, under the Wilson bill, wool
has been steadily advancing in price.
Now the reason of this lies in the fact
that wool being on the free list allows the
easy importation of the proper grades OF
English wool to mix with American wool.
As the imported wool is of different grade
from any grown to any extent in the
Ur tied States it does not interfere with
our product. On the contrary, it stimu-
lates the use of domestic wool. The price
of wool was low under the Mckinley bill!
because Under it's operations it was more
to tle importers advantage to import the
manufactured goods than the raw mater
ial. Our market was supplied with i'm
ported cloths, and the tariff operating
against the importation of the proper
grades of wool to mix with domestic wool
our manufacturers could not compete
with the imported article and therefore
there was but little demand for domestic
wools. There being little demand,
prices fell until they struck the lowest
mark.
To put the above statement into figures,
we find that the imports of woolen goods
for the first ten months of the fiscal year
1895 (lncluding eight months Wilson
tariff) were $29, 7S4, $685. while the i'm ports
for the corresponding months in 1898, un-
der the Mckinley tariff were $33, 525, 776, or
larger by 1871 per cent. During the past
few months the imports of woolens show
a much greater percentage OF decrease.
One has but to digest the above figures
to learn why free wool tariff has result
ed in the recent advance in price.
The recent advance in the price of wool
is not the only encouraging feature of the
situation. During the past three months
no less than tbirty-nine Woolen manufac-
urers have advanced wages, varying from
ten to twenty per cent, the majority be-
ing fifteen per cent.
But the situation in the wooden trade is
not the only one that causes stiff-b backed
Republican editors to lament the opera
tions of the Wilson bill. Imports of silk
goods have fallen off twenty three per
cent, While iron and steel show the re-
markable decrease of forty seven per cent,
glassware and crockery twenty per cent.
It,may be claimed that the decreases in
the above are due to dull times, but the
mparisons are made between the fiscal
years, 1854 and 1S94-3. 1he latter half
of 1893 and the first six months of 1894
were the dullest we have seen in years,
and comparisons between such season
and one OF renewed prosperity is unfair.
Yet we are quite willing to give the Re-
publican editors the advantage if they can
find any consolation in the figures re-
corded.
Now tnat the Wilson bill has been in
force long enough to demonstrate that its
do
alyzers they were predicted to be, rampant
protectionists will have to whistle long,
loud and merrily to keep their courage