The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1910-06-21

The following open letter reviewing
the present condition of the wool mar
ket and the causes of the artificial de-
pression in prices has been issued by
Justice, Bateman & Co., the Phila-
delphia wool merchants:
The National Association of Cloth
ing Manufacturers, at their annual
convention at Baltimore, have not help
ed the wool situation. President
Marks, as the chairman of the special
committee on tariff, is reported to have
said:
President Taft has stated that the
one serious defect in the Payne Aldrich
law was its failure to make revis-
ion of the wool tariff Your commit
tee is impressed with the fact that
the duties on wool, and the compensa-
tory duties on cloth, must be lowered
in response to a popular demand from
the American people. Your commit
tee would not advocat putting wool on
the free list, but believe that some con.
lseryative schedule, giving a fair meas
ure of reduction on raw material, with
a corresponding reduction in the com
pensatory duty on cloth, and in the
duty on clothing, will not work hard
ships to any branch of the trade. but
will conserve the best interests of the
industry as a whole Extreme or radi-
cal changes in the tariff are almost
certain to bring reaction, just as in
sufficient and inadequate measures
keep alive unrest and agitation, and
we are firmly convinced that the tariff
on wool and woolens can be settled for
years to come if all parties interested
meet the existing situation. -
The "unrest and the agitation" al
Iluded to already has preeipitated fur
ther fall in wool prices. Their claim
fir reduction was presented in the SEN
ate by their champion, the Hon. Robert
NJ. LaFollete from Wisconsin, whose
lattack upon Schedule X (wool and
woolens) will be remembered by wool
growers
The loss to the wool growers on tine
1910 clip was estimated in May at $1J,-
100000. but at this date it has reached
more than $4,000 600. This estimate
is arrived at as follows:
The 1909 yield of clean American
wool was l42, ,223 1885 pounds, which at
an average of 62la cents yielded the
producer SIS, 1850. sos (estimate of the
; National Association of Wool Manu-
; facturers). The same amount of clean
wool is 1910 at toriay's value is only
, $67 ,561 ,049. a loss to the farmers who
grow wool of $2l, 1928, SIG.
This is the loss to the farmer on the
1910 wool crop alone. The shrinkage
in the value of his unused wool,as well
as that carried over by others from
last year. including loss on yarns and
goods made from the same, is estimat-
ed at over $20,000,000 more, so that
! the total loss to the wool growing and
, wool manufacturing business, result
/ ing from the agitation of further re.
duction in the duties upon wool and
woolens, already exceeds a total of
, $40 1000 600, and no man can tell where
this shrinkage in value is to end.
We do not hesitate to charge the
e blame for this unnecessary and unwar
e ranted loss upon the agitators for fur
, ther tariff reduction, led by group
; of congressman who are known a:
J. progressives or "insurgents. Nc
Y other cause for the panic in wool prices
: can be found, as foreign markets are
e rising Their opportunity for harm Is
G increased because they were elected az
@ Republicans and Protectionists. They
vehemently claim that they are still
r Protectionists. although by their con
a duet they are benefiting Especial in
!. terests' which are antagonistic t,
e their farming constituents. Amons
these special interests are the whole
S sale clothing manufacturers, the i'm
Il porting interests, the foreign steam
n ship interests and the interests of tn,
manufacturers of Europe employing tn
o lunderpaid labor of Europe. The specia
v interests Aldrich and Cannon favor ar
o the farmers of America who grow
n wool, and the employment of labo
It in productive industries
e These congressman are aware tina
o to reopen the tariff for revision woul,
e subject the wool growing and woo
o manufacturing industry to the DANCE
r of destruction, for they stand or fal
II together, and both depend entirely up
o en- tariff protection for existence. AT
!, ter all of the agitation for reduction
of the wool duties, if the subject
ever reopened by congress, the damag
to the wool industry will be of untol
G. magnitude and win he inflicted by it
socalled friends who viii prove to b
# Ii worst enemies
I, There is 40 other business so sens
O tive to the menace Of tariff revisio
= as the wool business This is becaus
A. of the painful experience Of tariff re
N vision under President Cleveland
last administration, eliminating in tn
free wool Wilson act, which during it
G short life caused the destruction o
one fifth of the sheep in the Unite
States, and if that destruction had no
It been arrested by the election of Nj
" Kinley, eliminating in the passage 0
ir the Dingley act, the United State
s. would soon have been without sheer
This means that the consumer woul
have been without mutton as mea
a. food and without wool for clothing
%. and would have been entirely depenS
lent upon foreign supply, which tn