The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1900-09-28

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League in detail is as follows:
Reports received ............ 1854
Sheep owned in March. 1896
Wilson law. free wool pc
| rlOu) ................ Il 400, oV4
Sheep owned in March, 1900
(Dingley law, protection Pc
rlod) 2,501 ,215
Increase, 1900 / ,042, All
| Percentage of increase. 71.44
Average value per head March,
1896 (Wilson law, free wool
PERIOD .................... $1.76
Average value per head March,
1900 Dingley law, protection
perlOd) $5.SV
Increase of value per head for
1900 $2.14
Percentage of gain in value
per head for 1900. ......... 121.59
Prosperity Extraordinary.
1t is only fair to say that the extra
ordinary increase of prosperity which
has come to pass since the country
repudiated free-trade and cheap dol
lars has in some measure acted as a
bar to the more rapid increase of
American focks of sheep. Having
more money to spend our people have
eaten sheep at an unprecedented rate
in the past two years. For this rea-
son the consumption of lambs has in
creased enormously. Lamb is a gas
tronomic luxury, and so great has
been the demand and so high the price
in the early months of this year that
sheep raisers have yielded to the
temptation, and sent to market vast
numbers of lambs which should have
been kept at home for breeding pur-
poses. Only few days ago l was
told of a sheep owner in one of the
western states who sold to Chicago
packing company 10000 lambs of this
years produce. why did you do it?"
he was asked; "how could you afford
to so curtail your increase?" Because
the offer of 81 per head in spot cash
was too tempting to resist" was the
reply.
Four years ago, with tariff reform
in the saddle, mutton sheep sold in
Omaha and Kansas City at 50 to $3.50
per head, and lambs sold at $3.50 to
$3.50 per head. In March of this year,
with Mckinley and protection, sheep
for mutton sold in Omaha and Kan
sas City at. $3.50 to $6.25 and lambs at
IS to $40 per head.
But this is not all of the story. I'm
der the action of the Mckinley law
the imports of foreign woods have fall
en- off enormously
Here is a statement of the wool i'm
ports into this country for the various
years, showing first that after the ac
cession of Cleveland to power in 1893
but 5000, 900 pounds of wool were i'm
ported into this country, but that un-
der the Cleveland and Wilson free
trade bill we imported nearly 100000
900 pounds, and so utterly overstocked
the market that no such impression
was made by the Dingley bill at first
as we had right to have expected.
Wool Imports.
The history of wool imports into the
United States should be conclusive
proof to every owner of sheep in this
country that free trade means the use
of foreign wool in American factories,
while protection means the use of
American wool. Study the following
figures:
WOOL IMPORTED.
year. Pounds. Tariff period.
1898. .172, 43S,S3S Mckinley tariff.
1894. 55,152,5S5 Waiting for free wool
1895. .2O6, O33, sO6 Cleveland =
1896. .230, 911, 473 and
1897. $50 1852, 026 free trade.
1898. 1872, 7s5, POP Mckinley and pro.
$780,. 76,7S6,20s lection to farmers.
Under the Mckinley tariff in 1893
we imported 172. 43S,S3S pounds of for
eign wool.
In 1894, while buyers were waiting
for the free trade Wilson bill to become
law, we imported only 55,152,5S5
pounds.
In the free trade years, when Ameri-
can sheep we're being slaughtered be-
cause 1t didn't pay our farmers to sell
their wool for a few cents a pound,
the foreign wool came flooding into
our markets by the hiploads-more
and more of II each year.
In 1897 we bought, under the free
trade Wilson bill. s50.s52. O26 pounds OF
foreign wool. This was 175.426 tons OF
it-enough to load IS British merchant
vessels, each carrying 5000 tons of
wool grown mostly in British colonies.
This is the sort OF pro-British treaty
that the Democrats make.
Powerful Argument
And finally comes the value Of the
wool clip. For illustration We take the
price OF Ohio fleece wool as a basis as
quoted by Manger a Avery Of Boston
for a series Of years.