Great Falls weekly tribune., 1895-10-11
WOOL GROWERS WILL ORGANIZE
Large Sheep Owners Met Saturday
and Formed Cascade County
Organization.
1t is the Nucleus of a State Orcani.
zatiOn-Alany Benefits Will
Result

A most important meeting of leading
wool growers was held Saturday at the
Park bOtel and action taken which ma,
have most important results affecting
the woo-growers' industry of this state
and the country at large. There were
present ex-senator II. G. Power, ]. r.
Arlington, Walter S. Clark Of Teton
county. W. G. Conrad, III. IL. Nelson OF
Cascade, F. ID. Cooper, George I. Smith
of Teton county, p. Blair Buchanan of
| Willow creek, Henry Rurmeister, Felix
Armstrong of Cora creek, and several
other wool growers
Senator Power called the meeting to
order and stated it's object by saying
that the sheep mon OF Idaho had some
time ago formed state organization for
the protection of their industry. During
the past two years this organization had
accomplished most valuable work for tke
benefit of the sheep industry. They had
a representative at Washington in 1898
during the tariff fight, and had been
able during the last two years to save
the sheepmen of that state in various
ways over $4,000 at a small expense TO
themselves He had recently been in
correspondence with Frank j. Hegart of
Beaver Canyon, Idaho, who suggested
the advisability of similar organization
in Montana and other wool growing
states with view to having a united
and harmonious delegation of rep.
resentatives in Washington when
the subject of the tariff was again
brought up for discussion. The first
step IN this direction should be state
organization of the sheepmen. The OBJ
Ject OF the meeting was to start such an
organization, commencing with Cascade
county and organizing each county sep
arately, for the purpose of sending de le-
gates to state convention to meet at
Helena, where the state organization
could be perfected. He suggested the
nomination of president, and w. q.
Conrad was unanimously elected as
such. On motion VIM. NJ. Bo!e was
elected secretary of the county organl-
Zatlon.
w. G. Conrad in taking the chair said
he was strongly Impressed with the i'm
portance of the sheepmen taking active
steps for their protection in the matter
of the protection on wool When the
present tariff was made he was in Wash
layton and urged on Senator Vance and
others the need of protection on wool,
but was told that free wool was the key
stone of the whole tariff bill and could
not be changed. lie favored a flat tariff
of about 6 cents on every kind Of wool
regardless of its nature that came into
the country. Senator Power said that
6 cents fiat would in bis opinion afford
enough protection to the wool man so he
could make a living. He thought it bet
ter than IL in the Mckinley bill as that
bill contained divers clauses by which
its protective features were evaded in
tho interest of the manufacturers In
the present tariff the manufacturers got
all the protection they asked for and
free WOO! besides. The burden fell
atog ther on the grower and until
there was united action on the
part of the growers it would re-
main SO 1t would not need to cost the
sneep men OF Montana much TO be rep
asented at Washington AS Mr.. Conrad |
lived in the winter within few hours
ride of the city ard he would gladly do
nate his time ana such ability aa he DOS |
sessed to their service.
After ii general discussion in which |
the sentiment Was unanimous that The |
time was ripe for action, II Was decided
that state convention, composed or |
delegates from each Of tho counties |
rbtI1lb r,1y.t .t ~ Ian, NV,