The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1896-10-16

AVtnAss 80 = 49,
After three years Of the Wilson Demo.
cratic free wool and free trade law the
assessors books in 1895 (those for 1898
are not completed but show still greater
reductions) showed as follows:
Value.
norses, S,Ss6............. Si06. al
Cattle, s,2oi. "a. S74
Sheep $3.50. 1O,777
I. Total. ............. SOS sss
The total value Of all personal prop
serty in 1898 was s5s4, $50, and In 1899
was 1851 ,846. This shows q net loss Of
$l2e, 1888. OF this loss $S4,oss was ON
the three items Of livestock given above.
This Is the direct result Of the Wilson
tariff law and the destruction Of the
wool and cattle industry.
Harrison County.
In Harrison county the loss is even
greater as the following figures show:
LOSS FROM 1899 TO 1895.
Horses, ctc................s.S.. .sl45 Oei
cattle ........-..-.......... % 2e3
Sheep ............. ................ 39.63s
Total losses on these three items of
livestock s277, 262.
Total loss on all kinds Of personal
property, including the above, $3.50, 519.
Free trade hit Harrison county very
hard.
Free silver wouldn't her even harder.
T. Lewis County.
Take Lewis county, where we have
only tho figures at hand for the losses on
sheep.
In 1899 there were "a, 1856 sheep valued
t'ses, 1915.
In 1896 there were only 16.o5o sheep
valued at $26,811.50. Net loss in value
of sheep, $50, 1866.
And this does not include the loss in
the value of the feeces by the drop in
price Of wool by free trade. which
amounts to many thousands Of dollars
yearly.
Roane County.
Take Roane county. The assessors
figures for 1899 and 1895 show losses on
values Of cattle, ,775; horses, S2s 1913;
sheep, $4;574-with only 11,472 sheep
now in the county valued at $12,91s.
Roane county farmers have lost in the
value Of their livestock s75, 297.
Berkeley County.
Berkely county is also interesting in
It's figures. Its loss on horses, cattle and
sheep is $i24, ss5 from 1892 to 1896;
The loss on horses was ss7, 185; ON cat
tie $21, S55. and on sheep, 81, 845. The
total loss on all kinds Of personal prop
ierty, including the above, was ss43; $40.
Ritchie, summers and poddridge.
In Richie county the shrinkage from
free trade and free wool from 1899 to!
1895 on livestock was sol, s08.
In Summers county the personal prop
erty fell OFF s59.140 from 1899 to 1894;
the Summers county merchants carried
$16, 900 less stock in 1895 than 1893; the
cash held by individuals dropped from
$87, ITO in 1898 to Oh, 400 in 1895. And
Summers county wants no more free
coal, free wool, free trade.
Then there is Doddridge county that
lost $14s, 1879 on sheep, cattle and horses
from 1899 to 1895, Of which sSe, 050. was
in the value Of sheep alone. Does bod.
bridge want any more free wool? Nit.
In the Panhandle.
Take the great sheep counties of the
Panhandle. and adjacent thereto. In
1923 there were 1000, 900 sheep yield.
ing 5000, 600 pounds of wool, which at
the average price of 2S cents brought in
81, 400, 600 to the farmers. The value Of
the fiocks was estimated at IS, 000, 900.
Today there are only half as many
sheep, which produced 1850, 900 pounds
Of wool for which the average price of
is cents brought the farmers 1916, 900
instead of 81, 400. 600 four years ago, and
the loss in value Of the flocks has been
friShtful.
Are the farmers of Hancock and
Brooke bowling for more free wool, free
trade and free silver? Not much.
The State at Large.
On farming animals the loss for the
State of West Virginia has been fright.
full. Let the bulletin issued by the
agricultural department at Washington
tell the story. We quote from a recent
speech on this subject by Editor Hart:
Tho dry statistics plead eloquently for
the cause Of protection. So much as re-
late to our own state is eloquent enough
and illustrates the whole. In the single
matter OF the value Of farm animals West
Virginia has been thrown back 10 years.
In 1888 we have less wealth in farm ami.
mails than In 1881. We have S7,000,0O0
less than we had in 1893, theyear the pres
emit administration and Its party went
into power. For eight years West Vir.
ginia has been gaining in this respect.
For the three years just passed we have
been losing, and losing heavily. We
gained without FREQ coinage. We have
lost under FREQ trade. II we had time it
would BIO worth while to take up each
item that touches West Virginia, but the
decline In the number and value of our
sheep ia striking enough in itself In this
industry, as natural to West Virginia as
her mountains are, we have gone back
more than 10 years. We have now fewer
sheen by 5000 than We had In 1881, and
the value Is 1891, 900 less.
In 1893, the high water mark of our
sheep husbandry, we had in West VirS
cinia 500, 651 more sheep than we have to-
day, our present number being bi4. sS8.
The value has fallen from $9,5i9, 2o8 70
MANY political speakers. clergymen,
singers and others who use the voice