, 1901-01-18

speak on The Experience OF a Ranch
Woolgrower," | will not deny that |
am a ranger. My introduction lets
the cat out of the bag, and | take my
place as a hayseed from the rural dis
tricts. A meek and lowly shepherd, if
you please, whose product. wool, is the
very foundation stone upon which you
have reared your magnificent monu-
ment of success in wool manufactures
and trades. As the solid rough-hewn,
lies buried at the bottom, the lower
side resting on bedrock and the other
bearing the burden of all of the accum-
ulated weight Of masonry above. SO
does the poor w~oolgrower lie prone and
PROSTATE, under you all. with tremend-
Gus pressure from above, and against
a condition so hard that it will neither
yield nor give. on the other.
Anent the woolggower: The man
who buys a a beats down in price
the clothing man; the clothing man
beats down the cloth merchant: the
cloth merchant asks the manufacturer
to yield a few cents per yard; the man.
ufacturer bears down upon the wool
merchant: and the wool merchant
bears down upon the poor woolgrower
and there the sequence ends, as there
is nobody left to beat. And so the
producer takes all the squeeze and
weight upon his back, with stomach
and vitals hard against the bedrock,
Of primary conditions. All, yes, gen.
tlemen, We, the yeomanry OF the coun-
try, must pursue a strenuous life, while
you, we hope. will be among the most
favored of fortune, increasing in
wealth and happiness and luxurious
leisure.
In this presence tonight l would will
ingly-yes, preferably-sit at the feet
of wisdom and hold my peace; but
the producer must always obey the die
tum of the consumer, and I therefore
yield, expecting to gain knowledge for
myself and those of the class I repre-
sent, as you, in turn, are called upon
to relate ONE Of your experiences in
manufacturing.
Having thus made declaration Of
faith, | am admonished that a shoe
maker must stick to his last and a
preacher to his text; so l will take
You to the sheep ranch, assuring you,
as we go, that the life of a ranch wool
grower is usually one Of many and
varied experiences. Most of them
have had, at some time in their lives,
the same or similar environments to
those of you who now surround and
enjoy this festive board. You chose
profession or manufacturing industry.
They chose adventure in the new west.
From the same schools and colleges in
New England and the middle states
went some to manufacturing and 9TH
ers to growing wool. The former are
surrounded by all the comforts and ell
egance Of the finished east; while the
ldllel dle Stllltu Oul vi lHS vel "
ders Of civilization-yea, even beyond
the borders-on the parched plains and
in the rugged mountains. in that hazy.
rot well-deined country known In
woolsman's category as The Terrific
ry," and are producers Of that which
is arbitrarily termed by you terrific
,tol wNn1 - THEW ava 1iyyipo p,0cf1v In
open air, and where either hut, dugout
or tent is a luxury, with beans, NUT
ton and dried apples for food, working
every day, all day, three hundred and
sixty.tive days in the year-for there
are no Sundays IN sheep ranches-and
sleeping with one eye oIen and some
times both, on the lookout for wolves.
mountain lions and thieves, for three
hundred and sixty-fve nights in the
year.
Experience in General.
Your witness now testifying, was
born in a wooden manufacturing vii.
lage in Massachusetts, where, in going
to church, school or village grocery,
the oder of the mills was his steady
company. AS soon as large enough to
navigate on his feet and scare the
sheep, he was %draughted into service
in hustling Che little punches of sheep
then owned. to and from pasture, farm
end market, as changes Of food. sales
or purchases made necessary. But we
did not sharpen the. Sleeps noses to
cradle them to feed between the New
EnGlAnd rocks and stones; and we did
rotapull their legs on the %starboard
side ealy. so that they could feed Upon
the steep hillsides. Such insinuat'ons
are base f~abrications.
What is true of your witness is true
Of many others. The large portion Of
the woolgrowers of Ohio, Michigan,
Wisconsin and other m~iddle-west
states went out originally from the far
east; many others, now there, were
born in such states; but, in the social
ed plains country are men from every
state. and from abroad. including rep |
resentatives from both hemisphereA. !