The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1896-03-05
THE VALUE OF HORSES AND
COWS IN THE UNITED
STATES.
TIMELY AND Valuable STATISTICS,
Cleaned From the Agricultural Report.
The Production Of Wool and the
Tariff Fully Discusscd-lnterest-
ing Facts and Pointers on
the Stock Business.

According to the report Of the agricul-
tural department, just issued, the value
of the country's live stock on the lst OF
January 1896, was, in round numbers,
as follows: Horses, $500, 10000; mules,
SOB, 100000; mich cows, $3G4OOO,OOO;
oxen and other cattle, $5OS,OOO,OOO;
swine, S1SG, 100000, and sheep 5,OOO,-
600 1t is seen that the value Of domes-
| tic sheep is altogether out of proportion
| to the tremendous blcating done by CON
grcss. The value of the country's hogs,
which do a little gruntIng only, is almost
three times as great as that Of the sheep.
AS for the quiet cattle, their value is
| IL times as great as the value of all the
sheep that wag their tails in the land.
Even the patient mules, which are ask
ing no protection of congress, have nearly
double the value Of the sheep.
1t appears from this report that the
! total decline in the value Of the live stock
of the country last year was sd go 900.
This is less than the loss of 500, 600, 600
which the calamity hOwlcrs and pseudo
maniacs assert that the Wilson-Gorman
tariff has inflicted upon sheep alone. One
Of them, Senator Warren of Wyoming,
~
on the alleged authority of the agricul-
tural department, that the value of live
stock had declined upward of SGOO,OO0,-
| 900 in the last two years by reason of
the new tariff. One-half of this loss
| (S3OO, OOOOOO is to be assigned to the
year before the tariff was passed. and
the other half to the year that it has
been in operation. The mental arithme-
tic taught children in the schools is "A
la it,t A.
tai statistics Of the tariff calamity howl
crS.
The agricultural departments report
gives the decline in the value of live
| stock in 1895 as follows: Horses. 1913
per cent; mules, per cent; sheep, 2.3
per cent, and swine, IL per cent. In the
same period the value Of cattle was in
| creased , per cent. Almost the entire
loss in the value of live stock has been
IN horses, mules and swine; and the loud
est OF calamity hOwlers will probab bly, con
ccdc that trolley cars, bicycles and auto
motors have had the principal share in
| the decline i'll the price of horseflesh.
After all the clamor over the ruin" of
the sheep industry, the decline in the
value of sheep during 1896 was Il lii
Tie over 81 ,JOO, OOO-al on account of
Tree wool! Against this terrible loss
lhe farmers OF the country can well af-
ness, comfort and purity of the clothing
of themselves, their wives and their chill
dren, This gain has been so great and
lhestlmablc that it can not be computed
III authentic figures. But in its mere
monetary aspects, aside from the more
important considerations of health and
comfort, there Is no question that the
gain III cheapness and quality of clothing
to the American people from free wool
aIg all
OF horses, mules, cattle and swine. with
winch the tariff has nothing to do.
III is estimated in the agricultural de-
partinents report that the total domestic
wool product of 1898 amounted to BOO
100000 pounds. This is nearly MS large
q domestic product as in any year of the
Mckinley tariff. If it be true that this
increase in wool production has been due
TO some extent to the slaughter of flocks
III rear oil the new tariff, so much the
worse for the crcdulous sheep growers
who have listened to the panic mongers.
Iney VIII never again repeat such an act
OF folly for the sole benefit of the nut
ton butchers
But from the domestic products of
wool last year and the foreign importa-
IONS, making total supply of nearly
3oo,o0O,UO pounds, Indicate an extraor-
binary industrial revolution in the brief
49, VI hionihS' IN quantity, quail
~ and value of materials there is moth
ing comparable to this in the history of
the wooden manufactures of the country.
IL should be borne in mind that while
the domestic supply of wool is no worse,
the imports consist mainly of the fine
qualities of wool, foreign and domestic.
mas gone into the mills to make better
ana cheaper clothing than the American
people had ever before enjoyed
| Wat IN tl,.,f ,,... Al Il.
ton, bcncfccnt alike to producers and
| consumers, number of the manufac-
turerS of this country favor restoration
OF 80 per cent of the Mckinley duties
| on their raw materials in return for like
| restoration of the barbarous duties ON
WOODEN goods. These taxes on wool upon
a volume of imports equal to that of
last year would amount to not less than
Sl1,OOO.O0O. The manufacturers who
favor so wastcful and destructive Il pol
icy, of course. do not expect to pay Il
dollar of these duties on wool; they in.
tend to recoup themselves from Ameri
can consumers in the enhanced prices
ana poorer qualities of wooden fabrics
| Nor do these manufacturers (whO do not
constitute the large body of the trade
10y any mcans) anticipate that the pres
cnt volume of imports of fine woods from
Australia and Andcan regions would bt
| lldlIltdlltu. l ncI KNOW 10y experience
that such thing would be impossible
under u high tariff: but they are willing
10 again surrender the market for the
finest ilccccs which they now enjoy t.
the manufacturers of England. France
and Germany. They then expect to fal
back upon Il totally inadequate domestic
production of wool, to be eked out Il,
formerly by increased importations OF
coarse third-class wool from the backs
of all the poor sheep in the universe.
A policy so mischievous to manufac
turers in abridging their supplies of gooC
wool, to the weavers in lesscning their op
portunities of employment, and to con
sumers in enhancing the cost and de
teriorating the quality of their clothing
could never have commended itself t,
any considerable number of the American
people except by the most inscription,
and persistent Misrepresentation of eco
monte facts The wool schedule of tn,
Recd-Dinglcy tariff bill-now. we trust
awaiting execution in the scnate-is
vicious attack upon the pockets, the com
fort and the health of 100000 of PEG
ple.-Philadelphia Record.
Pure. strong and quick in action il
| DIR. Prices Cream Baking Powder.