Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1896-03-31
Silver and Wool.

Inc high tariff goldbugs of the East
have been loudly claiming that the
repeal of the Mckinley tariff has ruin
ed the wool growing industry. Now
comes Senator Teller, q lifelong Re-
publican protectionist, and spikes
their guns. In letter to Philadel-
phia wool house-probably part of
the correspondence that led to the
conference of manufacturers and sill
yer men on Tuesday-he shows that
the restoration of duty of 8 or 6
cents pound on wool would not stop
the influx of the foreign staple. At
ter noting the Importance of the wool
industry, and asserting that it's low
price is due more to the appreciation
of gold than to the failure to main.
tain Mckinley duties Senator Teller
says:
How long is it since China has fur
nished us and other countries with
wool? From South America and
Asia last year, 1895, we received a lit
tie more than one-third of our total
import Of wool, that is, over 81, OOO.-
900 pounds, and from Great Britain
10y, 5S3, l24 pounds, as against 1885,.
307 pounds in 1894. How much of this
was Asiatic wool it is difficult to saw.
but doubtless the difference between
1894 and 1895 was in part made up of
Asiatic wool brought to England and
then shipped to US. China can
furnish large quantities of wool. If
the Chinese exporter sends wool to
the United States or to Europe. he
gets the same price the American
wool grower does, but he buys ex-
change on China, that u.s. he buys
Chinese money, to be paid to him in
China. For every dollar he gets at
present rates of exchange, $1.92 in
China for his 81 here, and as the mon
eey he gets in China has lost none of
its purchasing power, he gets nearly
twice for his wool what the American
or European wool dealer gets. If the
American dealer gets cents in gold
for his wool, the Chinese dealer gets
los cents per pound for his. The wool
growers in some parts of China have
just learned that they can send us
wool at profit, and as China can
raise any amount of wool, this source
OF supplying will increase rapidly
and the lower silver bullion goes, the
greater quantity of wool will we i'm
port IRON the silver-using countries.
Upon this state of facts Senator
Teller very justly concluded that it is
nonsense to pirate about a protec-
ton of or 6 cents per pound on wool
while we maintain monetary sys-
tenn that gives to the wool exporter
in the silver using countries a bonus
of 90 per cent. on all his exports"
The senator is also just enough to
admit that the Mckinley tariff did
not maintain the price of wool-a fact
that the News has constantly assert
ed-and in proof of this he quotes the
following table given by the large
house of Justice Bateman & Co. as to
the price of territorial wool under the
Mckinley act: "Prices in markets of
Philadelphia aud Boston, January 1.
1891, 199 cents; on the farm, 14l Jan
uary L, 1892, Philadelphia and Boston
49, cents; on the farm 13a cents; jan
uary l, 1893, Philadelphia and Boston
16 cents; on the farm, 1893, II cents.
These are stubborn facts, and so
clearly stated by the Colorado sena-
tor that they must carry conviction
with them. The advocates Of pro-
lection can not denounce them as
partisan lies" for they come from a
man. noted for his devotion to the
protection theory, and who support
ed and voted for the Mckinley BILL
Rocky NJ ountain News.