The Republican journal., 1897-10-07
Our Washington Letter.
Correspondence of The Journal. I

the promptness with which the Dngley
| law got upon the statute books. That it
| did become law more promptly than any
tariff measure since Washington has been
| already explained in this correspondence.
| Canvass the history of all administrations,
and all tariff laws, and you will find none
since the original tariff act which became
law so promptly after the Inauguration
of new President.
| But the purpose of the opening remarks
as to the farmer was to call attention to
| the raid which was made on him in the
closing days of the old law, and the adj
vantages which he gained by the prom pit
ness of Republican legislation which put
a stop to that raid. The chief ambition
of the importers in the closing months Of
the Wilson tariff seems to have been to
| ''gouge'' the farmer out of the last penny
possible by rushing in all the farm products
they could rake and scrape the world
over.
Take the matter of live animals, for in
stance: The value of the live animals
imported in the month of July, 1897,
| amounted to 1854, 900, 900, while in July,
1896, they amounted to only S13, 900, 900.
The cattle imported in July, 1897,
numbered 1910, while in July, 1896,
they numbered only 3,071. This was the
last chance of the importers to gouge the
farmers by rushing in Mexican cattle
at the low rates of the Wilson law, and,
by undertaking them, bringing them in
almost free of duty.
The number of sheep imported in
July, 1897, was 39,9S4; against 4,07S in
July of the preceding year,
The importations of raw cotton during
July, 1897, amounted to 6, 595, 90S pounds,
against l, 764, 100 in July of the preceding
year, this being due doubtless to the ex-
pectation that the duty on cotton which
was placed in the bill by the Senate would
be retained by the Conference Committee.
The duty placed upon hides of course
stimulated the importation of this article
during the closing days of July, before
the new law went into effect. The total
imports of hides, other than fur skins,
during the month of July amounted to
p, 434, 1872 pounds, against 9,209, 961 in
the corresponding month of 1896. The
imports of hides during the entire seven
months Of the calendar year amounted to
$50, 55S, $50 pounds, against 1892, All
pounds in the corresponding months of
the preceding year.
The last shot that the wool importers
and wool producers of foreign countries
could get at the American farmer under
the free wool clause of the Wilson law
was shown in the imports Of wool during
July, 1897, being over 1000 600 pounds,
as against ), 45S, 900 pounds in the CORE
spending month of last year. For the
seven months of 1897 ending with July
the imports of wool amounted to 316, OOO,-
600 pounds, as against 10Y, 900, 900 pounds
in the corresponding months of the pre-
ceding year.
The increase in the duty on vegetable
fibres, such as flax, hemp, ETC., stimulated
the dealers in that class of goods to un-
usual activity, the July imports of this
class amounting to 81, 400, 000 against
5000, 900 of the corresponding month of
last year.
The importers neglected no opportunity
in that closing month to either put money
in their own pocket or take away from
the Dingley law its earning capacity dur
ing its first few months. The importations
into the United States in the month of
July, 1897, amounted to S53, 100, 4O7, of
which very large proportion was made
up of articles which could come in at
lower rates under the Wilson law than
under the Dingley law, which they knew
would go into operation by the close of
that month.
One special feature of the Wilson law
was its effort to bring in free of duty what
is usually termed "raw material
is, materials in a crude condition for use
in manufacturing. The July, 1897, i'm
portation of this particular class of arti-
cles was double that of July, 1896, while in
the seven months ending with July, 1897,
the increase in free raw material amount
ed to $55, 900, 600, or an increase of over
fifty per cent. for the entire seven months
of the calendar year 1897.
1t will thus be seen that while every in
terest was "raided'' by the importers in
the last months of the Wilson law, the
farmer was the greatest sufferer. That he
is already feeling the benefit of the Ding
ley law, however, is shown by the gener-
al advance in prices. Nearly every pro-
duction of the farm las increased in value,
while silver has beer as steadily falling in
price. The latest farm product to hear
from is cotton seed and cotton-seed meal,
which have advanced very rapidly of late,
Southern newspapers reporting high prices
and that every consignment is eagerly
seized by buyers; and wool, which sold in
September of 1896 at seventeen cents a
pound is selling in September of 1897 at
twenty seven cents, an advance of about
sixtv ner cent vet silver fell twenty ner