Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1896-05-02

away from American producers:
American factories, and Ameri-
can laborcrs.
Under tn e WILSON, German
tariff regime, we have free wool,
which; it has been said, "has
wrought a destruction in fiocks
never yet equalled in this coun-
try by war, pestilence. or famine,
by blasting simeon or wither-
ing mildew, by droughts, sand
storms, frosts, billiards., coy
otes, dogs or wolves"
In 1892, sheep husbandry was
the seventh industry in impor-
lance and value in the United
States. On the first day of jan
uary, 1898, our fiocks numbered
AZ ,273,5 53 sheep, of the taxable
value of $3.50, 900, 900, producing
annually 364, 900, 900 pounds of
wool. More that 1000, 900 of
our farmers were engaged in
that business. $500, 000, 900 were
invested in fiocks and sheep
farms, giving an annual return
of Sl10,000,000 to our people.
Lands designed by nature for
that kind of grazing, and unfit
for any other, were in this way
made profitable to The owners,
and were brought into taxation
at an increased valuation. I'M
mense sums were thus added
i each year to the wealth of the
country.
In the midst of prosperity the
/ Wilson-Gorman simeon came
upon us, whitening everything
within its course. The foreign
importers of wool, who had be-
fore that time paid annually to
\ this government, about $9,000,-
600 in duties, for the privilege of
our markets, were by our polit-
ical opponents, released of that
sum as an inducement to them
; to destroy our great sheep in
: dustry.
i We consume annually 650,-
100000 pounds, or about 20 pei
cent of all the wool produced in
the world. Under proper con
ditions, we can and would grow
it ourselves; but, under existing
laws, for the year ending on the
Goth of last September, there
had been imported and sold in
our markets $50, 100000 pounds
of foreign wool. This means
the payment by our people of
500, 000,O 900 in gold, to foreign
ers, for foreign woods and wooden
goods, and the displacement OF
that amount of capital and labor
in the United States.
The entire product of the gold
mines of this country for 1892
was $33, 900, 900; of the silver
mines $50, ESQ, 000-a total OF
$S3, $50, 900. Great as this sun
is, it was 500, 900, 900 less thar
the value of the mutton anc
wool product of the United
, States in that year.
This country, my friends, has
} forty-five large farms, and plen
ty of territory out of which tt
r make more, with 70,000,00 OF
children, able to produce all the
) wool we need; but the party il
power has said, we will mort
gage the country for gold, anC
send it to Australia and Other
) countries to buy foreign wool
and thus deprive a million Of
, our people of their employment
destroy their capital in business
: and turn over to desolation
, millions of acres of our lands
The closing of every gold anc
} silver mine in the country would
/, be less ruinous than a course
like this.
May we not attribute oul
scarcity of money; lack of EN-.
ployment of our people, and de
preston of business to the facts
| haN e stated?
If a foreigner should march
an army for conquest to oul
borders, every loyal American
) would be ready to greet the
enemy with bloody hands and
) open graves.
J Free wool drives to desola.
) ton, almost as ruinous to us as
foreign conquest, vast areas
? which can be made to yield gold
en- harvest with golden hoofs.
For the year just ended, the
number of sheep in the United
States decreased 5000, 900. In
} West Virginia alone the loss
was 206, 900, or "a per cent of al
! her fiocks. Under the present
policy, it will not be long, until
his great industry shall have
, disappeared, with its attendant
loss of valuation to the property
lists of the country, and the
} cessaf ion of consumption OF
, farm products necessary to its
support.
! We have in West Virginia
1000 square miles, or $780,
; 900 acres of coal-sufficient tc
| supply the whole world for SOC
years; enough to employ the
, capital and labor of a population
in this state as dense as that OF
Belgium, for twenty generations
, to come.
To make its work of destruc-
, tion more complete, the Demo
cratic party laid its blighting
hand upon that great source Of
wealth. 1t caused to be written
, in our national statutes that the
foreigner might sell his coal to
, our people at a duty of thirty
five cents less on the ton, thus
reducing the value of every ton
of coal in our hills and noun
tains to that extent. Let West
Virginians contemplate the mil
lions of dollars of loss in Value