The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1896-06-20
WOOL AND PROTECTION.

There are today stored in the ware
houses Of The Dalles millions of pounds
of wool, representing the labor Of the
sheepraisers of Eastern Oregon for the
past year, which cannot be sold at any
price, and the people who produced it
are naturally enquiEing the cause.
They want to know why it is that the
product of their toll is not in demand.
They know the people of the world
must be clothed, and they believe that
the wool sthey have raised should be
converted into clothes to supply the
demand of the masses.
Some of course claim that it is be-
cause the tariff has been removed from
wool, and the factories of America are
supplied from abroa1 because Australia
and New Iceland offer their woods at
less price than do the American wool
growers: but this theory is exploded
when it is taken into account that in
both those countries today wool is
quoted higher than it is in any of the
markets of America. Then it cannot
be that the removal of tue tariff on
raw wool is entirely responsible for
this lack of demand.
Others argue that the cause Is the
reduction of the duty on manufactured
woolens, which has closed, the mills,
they being unable to compete with
European manufacturers. This argu-
.ment Is fallacious for many reasons.
The wooden mills of America are not
European factories, for every class of
manufactured woolens is protected by
duty of from 80 to so per cent, which
is abundant to cover the difference in
the cost of production. And it is not
true that the American mills are closed
down, though they are not running
at their fullest capacity. Last year the
output of manufactured woolens from
American mills was 80 per cent of the
heaviest output in any previous year.
Then why is it that the American wool
does not find a ready market at the
same prices that prevail in London
and Liverpool?
The principal reason is that the
demand has been decreased by the in
ventive genius of American manufac-
turers. A cheaper commodity has
taken its place and is converted into
an article that has the appearance of
pure wool. A large percentage of the
alleged woolen goods produced in this
country are composed of from one to
two-thirds shoddy-rags that are i'm
ported duty free, and are furnished
the mapufacturer, washed and ready
for use, at from three to seven cents
pound, while washed wool cannot be
had for less than 20 to 40 cents.
So long as this state of affairs is
permitted to exist the American wool
raiser ill find his wool a drug in th Q
market. So long as rags are admitted
trse and are allowed to be used in the
manufacture of wooden cloths, any leg
islation that makes pure wool. dearer.
by placing an import duty upon it, will
have the tendency to lessen the de-
mand, and thus bring it to the price of
rags, or entirely stop its production.
A limited duty on wool is perhaps
necessary in order to hold the markets
firm, but this would be of no avail TO
the wool producer while rags are i'm
ported free and are permitted to be
What is most needed
to protect the domestic wool grower is
q prohibitive duty on imported rags,
to protect them from competition with
the pauper rag pickers of Europe, and
8 law requiring all manufactured
articles In which an zthfng but new
raw materialis used to be branded
"shoddy1 to protect them from the
"rag Industry at hofsa-urooT Idrnn--
ers can Esas-sarmSelves and their
business more by demanding of their
in congress the-enaet-
nent of such law than they can by
for the re establishment of
The Mckinley tariff on wool and