The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1911-04-22
ANALYSIS OF
WOOL MARKET

this week discuss the tone of the wool
market at the present time at consider
able length. Among other things they
say:
Business continues to be paralyzed
by fear of what may be done to sched
ule K by the extra session of congress
and it is exceedingly difficult to find a
market for wool except at prices which
in most cases owners are unwilling to
accept.
In some eases holders have been com
PEELED to choose between selling wool
at the best price it would bring, OF
having it secured and combed into Top
to keep the moths from injuring it
in order to carry it until the tariff
revision fright blows over. This
necessity has had bad influence upon
price stability.
While many grades of domestic WOO,
are almost down to the free trade
level, they are still too high for ex.
port, and as rule, the mills are buy.
ing only in small quantities to fill their
limited orders, which makes a dull
market with prices in buyers favor, as
| fidenee has been dstroyed.
The undermining of confidence by
President Taft's numerous attacks up.
on the tariff on wool and woolens has
brought disaster to all in the trade,
even including importers of foreign
wool, some of whom are compelled to
reship to foreign markets, which are
active with hardening prices.
The whole country has been unduly
frightened by the prospect of tariff re-
duction and the most prominent mar
chants are carrying only about half of
their usual stock, and cannot be Undue
ed to buy goods, the value of which
may be lowered by tariff changes be
fore they can be disposed of.
As result of this, orders are with
held from the mills. In fact, the light
supply of both manufactured goods
and raw wool is so acute that favor.
able turn in the tariff situation would
cause pronounced reaction and, in
the opinion of many, all that is want.
ed to bring it about is a restoration of
confidence.
Merchants of long experience recog-
nize the statistical situation as one
that, with the restoration of conf
dence, would create boom. Under
normal conditions we produce only one
half the wool we use. The increase in
the amount of machinery since the
Dingley act was passed in 1897, is in,
dicated in the census reports by an in
crease of 60 per cent in the capital in
vested, amounting at this time to over
S400 900 900.
The supply of wool in the United
States, including that ON the Sleeps
back, has not been so small in proper.
tion to the capital invested in wool us.
ing machinery since 1896, and when
normally employed, the annual output
is more than one dollars worth of
goods for. every dollar of capital in.
vested in manufacturing
While it is true that for reasons
given above perhaps 90 per cent of
the machinery is at present idle, the
bare condition of the market, both as
TO goods and wool, attracts attention
to price Improvement possibilities the
moment the tariff question is settled.
The preliminary suggestions for
| changes in the wool tariff, which NAV
have been put out as feelers by the
ways and means committee, seem to
| have led the trade to conclude that
after all the harmful agitation and
shrinkages in values which have taken
place, there may be no change made in
schedule X, because the reductions pro.
posed are too severe to meet with the
approval of either Republican SEN
ate or president, both of whom were
elected to preserve, and not to destroy,
the one great industry that is more
closely related to the personal comfort
of all the people than any other
AS has been stated before, and
should be stated over and over again,
since. the present schedule X was
adopted, the supply of mutton has been
increased over one-half, thus keeping
lown the price of all kinds of flesh
food. The wages paid to labor employ
ed in wool mills has increased one
third, and yet, the cost of durable
clothing is no higher than when wool
was free of duty.
But for the damaging tariff agita-
tion, wool in the United States should
be lac per secured pound higher here
than wool of like kind and quality in
London, as it averaged from the time
the Dingley act was passed, up to the
time when the assault upon schedule X
| was itEuu tNO Ntdis dSo.
American wool should be as much
higher now than foreign wool is, on
account of per cent decrease in
the whole number of the sheep in the
world, in the face of 20 per cent in
crease in the wool using population
during that time.
For instance, No. Cos Botany Tops
that fifteen yars ago were worth 40c
today are worth soc, an increase of %
per cent; and average Port Philip
grease then worth lie is now worth
zee, an increase of SO per cent.
One of the greatest benefits that We
are deriving from schedule X lies in
the fact that today American people
are wearing less shoddy and more pure
wool per capita, than any other nation
IN the world; while on the other hand
during the period covered by the free
wool Wilson act, to which conditions