Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1896-09-17
FREE WOOL.

Harrison county, o., arrived IN Sdnlon'
This delegation started from Cadlz' re
county seat, and home OF the venerable
diplon1at and jurist, John A. Bingham,
shortly after sunrise. AS the majority OF
the men in the delegation were farmers
early rising was no hardship Tor them;
The Han son county men we're Teceivso
in handsome way at the station, oy the
Canton mounted troop, VINO escoleeu
them to Maj. McKinley's resideace. ne
Candidate has made Sood many
speeches in Har.. son couutY-~nlcn =
one of the greatest wool growing COM
ruunities in the west-and he has la19e
number OF acquaintance ana adnhleIs a;
there. many OF whom were among lne
visito.a. It W. this fact that &C
cor 1ted, in measure, for the order OF
the greeting which Maj. Mckinney re-
ceived when be appeared at MS front
norch, this morning. The farme.s OF
Harrison county cheered long ana iusIIiy'
The Ex-attorney general, u, a. hoi- @
;ngsworth, was spokesman. MS sPeen
had special reference to the wool IN
dusty, in which he said Hanson coun-
~ led the United States u der Re2uDn-
can tai if laws, but lost its pIesu9e WIN
the Wilson-Gorman law was pa seo' ene
loss to the county on wool N one 5
being sI83,76o.o6. THIS the sPtI
i said was one OF the object Lessons "n.eh
Mr.. BRYAN, in his letter oil acceP'a1I' NJ
sad il was not necessai % dlse ~.
Hollingsworth told Maj. Mckinney end., a.
| in this dilemma, the wool growers VI @
| entire country, irrespective OF parry ,;fs e.
turning to him, where Ihey
hope and prospe-.y- :s.-o,s,v cheer
Mai. Mckinley was vociierousiy -.
| ed when he stepped torwe 70 iep'''
He said: ,L ~ re-.
~ count il very special honor 70 re-
ceive this visit f.o.,, ..,os, rart q the farmers
composs9b s9bt tot ottd5hnnty. IN " I would have BEEN
| Glad to nave had with you the venerable
| Citizen and statesman, John A. Bingham
1Creat applause), .wf1cce message OF
l cheer and congratulation and good Will
| YOU have brought me. Renewed ap-
| nlause.) I beg that you will carry back
r. him INV best wishes and my earnest
| nraver that his life may be long spared
70 enioy the respect and honor given TO
him by his adm1ring countrymen every
where.
HARRISON CoUNTY's Wool INDUSTRY
| "It is especially gratifying to me to
l receive a visit from so many of the farm
| ers and woolgrowers of Harrison county.
| There is scarcely a county in the State
| which Is so essentially ag1 cultural as
yours. You have no large towns. You
have but few factories, and your occupa-
| TONS are almost exclusively Iral. Your
county has long been noted as one OF the
| great AGRICULTURAL sections Of the State
| esnecially devoted to that branch OF ag
riculture known as sheep-ralsing AMI
wool-growing. There is probably no por-
tiou Of the country of the same area that
has supported so many sheep as yours,
and for many wears at least, this was the
most profitable industry Of your farmers.
| n is not so 90 !, 1 believe, now, as
formally. daughter and applause aud
"rhe last three years have been years
of great trial, not only to the wool-grow-
ers Of your county, but to the entire coun-
try. You have seen your crops sappeaI
and your feeces diminish in value to an
extent that previous TO 1892, you would
not have believed was possible: l re-
| member in 1891 to have delivered an adj
dress in the city OF Cadiz, to the assenbl-
| ed farmers of Harrison county, in which
| undertook to predict what would hap.
| pen IL we had free wool in the United
States. There were few men in that
great audience who believed my predic-
| ton then. What do you think OF II, now,
| farmers Of Harrison county, (Cres OF
I'VE think it all right. ~
"In 1891, you had, according TO your
banners displayed here to-day, I53,5o3
sheep OF an average value OF S. per head.
| In 1906, you have but 92 { % sheep worth
only 81. 50 per head. In 1891, you re-
ccived from go to 81 cents Pc pound for
your wool. In 1896, for the same grade
OF wool from "a to IS cents per pound.
This enormous loss to great industry IS
truly astounding and calls for serious con-
sideration and prompt remedy if on: can
be found, and the only remedy we have
in the United States is by the ballot, and
IL il is protection you want, you know
what party carries the banner Of protec-
ton. Enthusiastic cheering ana cries
Of whats the matter with Mckinley
He's all right"
"Piior to the enactment Of the Wilson
tariff law you had enjoyed, almost with
out interruption from the beginning Of
the government, tariff on your product
TO protect you from the competition Of
the cheaper lands and the cheaper labor
Of other counties. By that act your
product was made free and opened up to
the unrestricted competition Of all the
wool Of the world.
"What makes that act more indefcnsi-
bic is, first, that it was wholly unneces-
sary; and, second, that it was singing
out one of the greatest industries OF the
country for immediate sacrifice, leaving
other industries having no greater claim
upon the consideration of the government
practically unharned. (Crics OF That's
right.")
% much from that tariff law as the wool
growers OF the United States; and none
were more deserving of generous treat
ment than they. 60 inexcusable was
this act that President Cleveland, who
favored reduction Of tariff all along the
line, and who believed in free raw mater
ial, was unwilling to sign the bill, and
used these characteristic words against
il:
"It NAV we'll excite our wonder that
Democrats are willing to depart from
this-free raw material doctrine-the
Most domestic Of all tariff principles and
that the inconsistent absurdity OF such a
proposed departure should be emphasized
by the suggestion that tie wool Of the
fai incrs be put on the free list and the
protection Of tai IF tayation be placed
around the iron ore and coal of the cor
porasions and capitalists.
But this did not avert the fatal blow.
Less organized than other industries In
the country yor were unable to secure
the recognition TO which you were justly
entitled and your great product was made
the victim OF free trade. (Cries Of
"That's right In all the years in
which the Republican party was in power,
you know that it gave protection TO
wool, and in the act Of 1890 gave to this
industry increased protection. That
law, the law OF 1890, gave TO every agri-
cultural product Of this country, every
farmers product in this country, the
most Just protection ever had bcfoe.
Every protection that could be given To
them against outside comp. itioh and TO
preserve tie home market, was always
cheerfully and generously accorded by
the Republican paIty. Great applause
and cries of That's right"
"Thc platform Of the National Re-
publican paity upon which we stand this
year, much to my graft. cation, singles
out the wool industry and makes Of il
special mention ss entitled TO full p-otcc-
ton under our revenue laws. cloud APP
pausc and cries of Good, good.") This
is the laus Iage of the national platform:
TO all products-to those Of the
mine and the field, as we'll as those Of the
shop and factory-to hemp, to wool, the
product OF the great industry Of sheep
husdandry, as we'll as to the finished
woolcns OF the mill, we promise the
most ample protection. Applause.
This was followed by some general
statiatica REGARDING the wool industry of