The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1900-09-27

farmers would next November sit up |
all night and stand in line waiting for |
a chance to put in a ballot for Bryan
and free wool? There are sheep own
crS enough in Texas, not to turn the
scale from Democracy to Republican,
ism, for that is too much to hope for
just now, but enough to at least cut
down the big majority of 1896, and
show that Texas has some apprecia-
ton of what has been done for her
by Mckinley, protection and prosper
ity
How was it in Nebraska, the home
of him who is at once the hope and
despair of his party? From that state
% reports have thus far been received.
They show that under the provisions
of the law of 1894, which the Boy
Orator of the Platte helped to pass,
the parties reporting owned 23,56S
sheep worth SLIGO per head, while in
March, 1900, these same parties owned
1870 Sheep marketable in cash at an
average of SAT- per head. Nebraska
will remember who it was that said
Il was for free wool in 1894, when I
voted for the Wilson free-woo1 tariff,
and am for free wool now, in 1907
The sheep census taken by the
League in detail is as follows:
Reports received .--.. 964
Sheep owned in March. 1896
6Wilson law. free wool pc
rlod) i, ass ,S04
Sheep owned in March, 1900
(Ding1ey law, protection pc
flod) ,5O1, 21o
Increase, 1900 ..-........1,O 42, All
Percentage of increase. 71.44
Average value per head March,
1896 (Wf1son law. free wool
p0r1OOJ S1-16
Average value per head March,
1900 Dingley law. protection
period) ......... $500
Increase of value per head for
1900 $2.14
Percentage of gain in value
per head for 1900 .-. 1873
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
| bar to the more rapid increase of
American f1ocks 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
/ y
| sheep raisers have yielded to the
| temptation and sent to market vast
mum bers of lambs which should have
| been kept at home for breeding pur-
poses. Only a few days ago I was
| told of a sheep owner in one of the
western states who sold to a Chicago
packing company 10000 lambs of this
| years produce. t'Why did you do it?''
he was asked; chow could you afford
| to SO curtai1 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 al 81 to So. SO
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 1925 and lambs at
| SIS 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-
trade bill we imported nearly 500 ,00O,-
| 900 pounds, and so utterly overstocked
| the market that such impression
| was made by the Ding1ey 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
| Fiscal
| year Pounds Tariff period
1898. -172 ,433, S38 Mckinley tariff
1894 55,152, 585 Waiting for free WOO
1896 .2O6 ,O33, eO6 Cleveland
1896. -23O, 911, 473 and
| 1897 $50 ,S52,026 free trade.