Semi=weekly graphic., 1897-05-26
WOOLEN MANUFACTURERS
 URGE MODERATION.

Admit That High Duties and Consequent
 High Prices VIII Restrict the Use Of
 Woolens.
 Some of the severest criticisms not only of special duties and clauses, but of the whole acoursed protective sys- tenn, come from the protected manufao- tnrers themselves in their struggle with i opposing interests Mr $. N. D. North, secretary of the Woolen Manufacturers association, is now and always has been staneh protectionist As such be be- heyes that the 70, GOO, 900 consumers of this country are legitimate subjects for i plunuer and that the manufacturers are the proper persons to enjoy the pro lection plumber
 The free wool experiment. which we have been trying for three years, besides being an object lesson in the way of cheap woolens, Las taught the wooden manufacturers that they can make as much or more profit with free wool and moderate protection, which permits peo- , pie Gt moderate means to wear real wo0len goods, than with high dutieson bsth wool and woolens, which restricts she use of woolens to people ill good cir eumstaneos. The manufacturers there- fore display more than their usual mod esty and patriotism in the advice which they are giving to congress. Mir. North is in Washington to voice the manufac- turera patriotism Hero is part of his advice as taken from the Washington correspondence of The Dry Goods Econ omist:
 am free to say the bill is far from satisfac- tory to the woolen manufacturers The chief fault is to be found with the raw wool duties, which are 50 high that our manufacturers will find themselves soiely embarrassed It is true the committee has provided compensatory duties which are probably sufficient to ofzset the duties on raw wool, but the difficulty will be, in my opinion, that the very considerable increase in price which must be made to cover the additional cost of material will have tho effect of cutting down consumption to m eItort that will be disastrous to the inaiufac turers 1 do not contend that the rates on Woelea manufactures ill the bill;;io not sufil- eient to protect us against too severe foreign competition, but tho limit of the consuner's purchasing power must control him in buying Voolcn manufactures, and fear the rates of the new bill will very materially restrict con sumption.
 This is practically saying te Dingley, Aldrich ard the other servants of the protected manufacturers at Washington:
 Go slow with your high duties and don t try Co protect too many. If you let everybody into tho protection ring, there will be nobody outside to prey upon and we will have to prey upon each other. Don't [ make the mistake of taxing raw materials too high. We wouldn't mind it if we could sell our goods and charge tho tax over to the consumer. But when the tax Is so high Chat we have to make our prices almost out of sight We have found that we can not sell so many goods, because the peo- pie can't afford to wear clothes--that is, wooden clothes which are tic only ones worth considering because they arc the only ones which we manufacture. Our solieitude for the dear American consumer is such that WIG do not wish To compel him to clothe himself in tho