Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1910-11-17
IMPOSES ON POOR
WOOL SCHEDULE WORST IN.
FANNY OF TARIFF SYSTEM.
Unjust Tax Collected at the Cost Of
Health and Comfort Of the
Observation-Disclosures Only
Are Benefited.

Ever since fabrics were first woven
to cover man, wool has been the most
important article In such fabrics as
are worn in cool or cold climates. In
climates where wool is needed for
comfort, the condition of the people
may be pretty fairly judged by the
amount Of wool used In clothing them.
II they cannot afford to buy wooden
clothing they are either impover-
ished or the cost Of woolens is ar
bitrarily placed beyond their reach.
The wool product of the world is suf-
icient, If properly distributed, to keep
warm those who need its comforts,
and the production is sufficiently pro-
llfc the cost of manufacture suf-
f1ciently low to make wooden clothing,
wooden blankets and other articles Of
wooden manufacture comparatively
cheap under a competitive system.
Yet the use of wool per capita I'M
this country has been on the declinej
for about twenty years. 1t is even
lower now than 1t was fifty years ago..
1t has been replaced with cotton and
combinations of wool and cotton. In
many instances even the wool in these
combinations is the cheapest, least
durable and least protective quality.
1t is often made of shoddy-worked|
over material taken from old carpets:
old garments and waste rags-and I'M
many instances the working over
process has brought the SANE mate!
rial into use many times in the course
of years.
OF all classes, the poor need wool
most. Those who are comfortably
housed, who can afford plenty of
clothing, who are little exposed to-
the cold In open-air e%mployments or
l~ill-heated houses, may get along with
comparatively little wool, if they
choose. But the poor--and in the
sense here meant the great majority
OF the people are poor-need wooden
clothing In winter. Those depending
on medium or small salaries or on day
wages can no longer afford Atwood
clothing. They may think they are
wearing such clothing, and they may
be puzzled by Its lack of warmth, its
lack of durability or its failure to
keep its shape; but they may still
think they are wearing Atwood gar
iments. But they are not. They are
wearing combinations Of shoddy and
cotton, sold to them, in most in
stances, on Atwood specifications.
Scientists have said that If the poor
were properly clothed the spread of
tuberculosis would be reduced by
half; that warm clothing is more i'm
portant ever than higher sanitation,
fresh air and special food. If this is
true Of this one devastating disease,
it must be true in only lesser degree
of many other prevalent ailments.
The high price of wool and its praci
tical prohibition among the poor con-
~stitute a national crime, legalized by
the congress of the United States. OF
all the infamies of the tariff system
that wool schedule is the most in
famous. 1t imposes a merciless cruel
ty on the poor and a fragrant imposi-
;tion even on the well-to-do. 1t can
not be defended, even on the ground.
that 1t Is an expedient to make Amer
lea produce its own wool, for after
years Of high tariff on wool the coun-
try imports about 60 per cent. of the,
wool used. Nor does the large rev.
enue accruing from this 60 per cent.
importation justify the tariff, since it
is collected at the cost of health and
comfort and common rights among
the poor. Nor is this tariff justified
by the protective doctrine of develop
ing the Industries, for the carded wool
industry, representing vast capital
and an army of employes-the manu-
facturers who make cloth for the
cheaper grades of clothing-implored
congress and the president to make
such changes in the tariff as would
enable them to compete with the
comb wool importers, who make the
higher grades of cloth. But their
pleas were in vain, because congress
did the bidding of the wooden trust,
to which the carded wool manufac-
turers do not belong. These manu-
facturers, protesting against their in
ability to import cheaper woods at a
rate that would enable them to make
cheap clothing without using cotton
or shoddy, were frankly told by Sen
ator Penrose Of the senate finance
committee to go into other business.
And that represented the attitude of
the majority Of the Republicans in
congress.