Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1902-01-09
THURSDAY. JANUARY 9, 1902.
THE SHEEP DeSTROYeRS.

urging legislation to keep sheep from being
destroyed by dogs, but there are greater
enemies to the sheep industry in this coun'
try than the dogs that make their nightly
and secret attacks upon the sheepiold'
The greater enemies to sheep husbandry
in tie United States are the free traders,
who persistently claim that protection is
no benefit to the sheep and wool growing
industry in our country. On more IMAM
one occasion these deluded and delusive
political economists have fooled majority
of the people into the free wool idea. and
each time disaster has been brought upon
the sheep industry in the United S'ates'
1t is now manifest that it is the purpose OF
the free traders to again make their theo'
ries on the wool question a leading issue
in national elections, and they will empl"y
the same old inconsistent arguments that
protection does not help the farmer by adj
vancing the price Of wool and that 1t does
hurt the workingmen by making wooden
goods and clothing higher. The free trader
doee not take time to see how inconsistent
such declarations are, but boldly proceeds
to use them both in the same breath.
The Lynchburg News Of the 9rd inst
has an article on "Sheep and WOOL" in
which it shows that according 10 the Wool
Reporter there were fewer sheep in tue
country last year than there were twenty
years ago; "fewer las the News says than
in the year before the tariff of 1888 was
enacted for the purpose of giving increased
protection to tue American wool.growers. "
The News then says: ION January the
first, 1881, the focks Of the United States
numbered in sheep 49, 1853, 1893. On the
first of April of this year the number OF
sheep was AZ, 79O, O99."
These figures are paraded to show that
protection has failed to increase the num-
Der of sheep or make wool.grOwing more
profitable to our farmers. The free traders
only give part of the facts and figures
Though there were but $685. 1893 sheep
in the country on January l, 1881, there
were so, 626, 626 on January l, 1884. This
shows that there was very rapid increase
in the numbers between 1881 aud 1884.
But a new tariff was enacted in 1888,
which reduced the protection on wool, and
as a consequence the number of sheep de-
clined, until IN 1889 there were only A.
500, 079 in the United States. In 1888 Gen.
erai Harrison was elected President, and
in 1890 the Mckinley tariff act was passed.
These gave an impetus to the wool grow
ing industry and by the year 1898 there
were 47,273, 55S sheep in the United
States.
In 1892 Mr.. Cleveland was elected Pres
ident and the Democratic free traders got
control of both houses of Congress. The
Wilson bill, which put wool OH the free
list, was enactad. This led to rapid re.
duction in the number of sheep, SO that
by January /, 1897, they were reduced to
SO, S1S, 643, a reduction of nearly nine mil
lions in four years. Then Mr.. Mckinley
was elected President in 1896, and the
Dingley law was passed in 1897. This law
led to rapid increase in the number OF
sheep, there being on April 1, 1901, about
six million more in the United States than
" hen Mr.. Mckinley was inaugurated in
1897. In addition to this the value of the
sheep increased in the same period about
$50, 100000 Thus it will be shown that
the sheep have been increasing in num-
Der since the Dingley law was passed at
the rate of one and half millions year,
and that there has been an average in
crease in value of about 81 80 per head.
This looks like protection has been doing
in the way of benefit to the
sheep industry. That is not all The
sheep raisers Of Southwest Virginia re-
member very well how the price Of wool
was reduced by the Wilson bill, and how
The price advanced after the passage of the
Dingley bill. 1t is true that the price Of
wool in 1901 was not as good as it was in
1900. But that was because the wool i'm.
D orters were able to buy wool in Argen-
tina, South America, at such price as to
enable them to lay it down in New York |
1t 20 cents pound after paying the duty |
Of IL cent?. If it had not been for that
protective duty of IL cents, it is easy to
se how our wool-growers, in competition
With Argentine wool-growers, would have
been forced to sell their clips at from to
, cents per pound.
The Lynchburg News quotes approving |
y from the Boston Herald an article which
= intended to show that a great outrage
,as been inflicted upon every man, woman
md child in the country in order to sns.
ain ten or fifteen million more sheep.
This means that we are again to be treated