New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-05-19
EFFECTS OF FREE WOOL.
A FLOOD OF FOREIGN sHoDDY AND
CHEAP GOODS.

woo1--THE ADMINISTRATION PROUD OF ITS
DISCOVERY OF TWO SAMPLE CASES OF
AMERICAN wooLLENs AT BRAD
FORD. ENGLAND.
(Br TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBuNE-]
Washington. May H-"The repeal Of the duties
foreign wool will enhance the value OF domestic
wool and at the same time enable American manu-
facturers TO produce wooen goods cheaply enough
not only to monopolize the home market. but TO
compete successfully with English manufacturers
in the English market itself. as well as in other
foreign markets."
This In substance the argument and prom
Use OF the advocates OF the Wilson bill when that
ill-starred measure pending In the House Of
Representatives. and It reiterated In the Sem
ate and proclaimed by Democratic newspapers
throughout the country. Every wool-grower In the
United States knows by this time how the prices Of
wool have been affected by the legislation Of last
year. Even after the Wilson bill had passed the
House Of Representatives. and while 1t was pending
in the Senate. domestic wool was worth cents
pound more In the market than II was eight months
after the bill became law On April &C. 1884, Ohio
fleece and Xxx clothing WOOL washed. sold at
2lla cents pound. and April 26. 1885, the same
grades OF wool sold al 16lz cents pound. decline
of more than % per cent Between the same dates
Ohio medium one-half and three-quarters blood de-
clined cents a pound, and Montana, Wyoming and
Utah fine medium (scoured basis) declined cents
pound.
Enormous quantities Of foreign wool were thrown
upon the American market to compete with do
nestle wool the duties removed.
During the quarter ended March 81. 1894. the guam
tity Of clothing wool imported amounted to s. 573
pounds. against %, 1856 100 pounds in the correspond
ing quarter of 1895 OF combing woods the quantities
imported during the same periods respectively
amounted to 1850 pounds and 506l.977 pounds. and
of carpet woods 1881 .o92 and 2l,47SS5 pounds. In
the nine months ended March 81. 1885, the total i'm
portatons of wool amounted to 12l. SS6.Ss5
pounds against 36.2l35s7 pounds in the correspond
ing period Of the previous year
But this increasing flood Of importations Is not
all that the American wool-grower has to contend
with. or all that the American wearer Of wooen
goods will have to grieve over In the not remote
future In the three months ended March g. 1894.
the importations OF wooen rags shoddy and other
waste amounted 1861 pounds; In the correspond
ing quarter Of this year the importatons amounted
TO 900 pounds The woo-grower and the manu-
facturer of honest wooen goods know what this
means. and the unsophsticated buyer and wearer
of cheap woolen and so-called woolen goods will
find 1t out later and to his Not only shoddy
is coming In at the rate of hundreds OF tons
month under the tariff TO compete with the
American woo-grower and honest woollen manu-
facturer but cheap shoddy goods OF English and
German manufacture are pouring In to supplant
honest wooen goods.
THE American Wool and Cotton Reporter" which
was a free-woo organ before the Wison-Gorman
tariff effect recently said that England Is the
home OF shoddy goods and. unless 1t is Germany.
there Is no other country that can come within gun
shot range OF her.: and English correspondent of
the journal. after saying that more than l00,
100000 pounds Of woolen rags are yearly imported
and collected in Great Britain to be worked
INTO clothing declared:
stop the supply Of shoddy and Mungo. and more
than one-haf OF the woo.len mills in the Kingdom
would have to close
During the quarter ended March 81 1894. the total
value of importatons OF woolen goods amounted to
S. 769 49, the corresponding quarter Of 1895 the
total amounted to SIS $4,000 The increase In the i'm
ports of shoddy cloths not great as that In
shoddy yarns rags. ETC.. but II was large enough
to disturb the market for honest goods and cheat
good many thousand American consumers
But 1.-THE markets OF the world" were promised to
American manufacturers. and In the April number
of the Consular reports feeb. effort was made TO
show that this promise about TO be realized.
In hasty report dated February q. 1885, Consul
Meeker. of Bradford. informed the State Depart
ment that "a representative OF a NewYork mercan-
| tile establishment. who is now In England. is en-
gagged both buying and selling goods. He Is buy
ing English cloth Of certain grade to sell In the
United States and is selling American cloth In
Great Britain" AS this report was received
at the State Department 1t exploited In certain
Democratic newspapers. Only four days later CFeb-
ruary ~ the Consul sent supplementary report
on American cloth In England" the substance Of
which was also published with great gusto by the
free-trade newspapers.
The Consul had learned by that time that one
Bradford firm had received IAN assortment of yard
samples and had ordered OF certain
kind Of woolien cloth from New-York saying that
| III sample exact. large orders might be ex-
pected.' The Consul remarked: This case OF
goods wholesale value about $500. will be used ex-
perimenaly In the English house trade and to pro-
vide further samples for travellers Comparing
this statement with his first report one Is reminded
| of the tale Of the Three Black Crows"
But Mr. Meeker added two sentences that may be
! regarded as significant. He wrote:
1.-THE gentlemen engaged in the transaction here
| state that the goods are undoubtedly superior 10
the same grade produced here in that they contain
no shoddy. are entirely composed OF snort WOOL
and are very strong, while the class of goods
produced here what the trade terms tender,
and are not so likely stand the thumb test
At the same time the American was introducing
| his native goods he was also liberal buyer OF
Bradford worsted coatings and other cloths for
| which he could find a market at home.
The officials OF the State Department appear to
have thought that Consul Meekers statements
needed corroboraton for the next two pages OF the
April report are under the heading Consul Meek
er's statements confirmed" The matter In these
two pages consists of extracts from THE Amer-
| can Wool and Cotton Reporter Of March H. ac-
cordng TO which appears that two cases OF do
nestle wooilens' were shipped from New-York for
| Bradford on the preceding day. To what extent
| Consul Meekers statements were "confirmed' by
The Reporter Is shown by the last paragraph or
| the matter quoted. which reads as follows:
| 1T Is unnecessary for us TO say that IL would
| require a great many more facts and arguments