Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1911-07-17

Revision of Schedule K as
Proposed Would Destroy
Sheep Growing Without
Reducing the Price of
Clothing.


can delegate to congress is as faithful
to the industries Of Arizona as he has
been to the cause of statehood. is
shown in the terse clear-headed speech
delivered by the delegate on June 20,
i'm the house of representatives. 1t is
worth reading. every line of it, so The
Republican takes pleasure in printing it
in full. Mr. Cameron said:
Mr.. Speaker: We have in Arizona n
sheep population of about 100000.
There are 67.O0O.O00 sheep in the Uni
ted states, so we have about our due
proportion of the wool bearers Of the
nation. But in proportion to pOpula-
tion the sheep industry is vastly more
important to us than To the country as
a whole. for there are several sheep to
every inhabitant Of Arizona, while. with
regard to the country as n whole. there
are more people than sheep.
Now. the sheep business is not one
Of those monster Industries in which
Arizona surpasses the world. We do
not throw down the gauntlet in this
matter as we do in the production of
that great metal copper. upon which
the industries of the world So largely
depend and defy any region on earth TO
compete with us. But grazing sheep is
a sturdy wholesome industry that is.
year by year, providing good clothes
for the multitude and furnishing whole
sale meats for its dinner table. We, in
Arizona. have a great many people en-
gagged in it exclusively. and more in
cidentally. Not the least important of
our sheep raisers are the Navajo In
dians. the most adbirable wards of
Uncle Sam. whose flocks roam over
otherwise worthless parts of three
states
THE business Of sheep raising IS one
to be highly commended. Tending
flocks was one of the first avOcations
to which man ever set his hand. Since
the time of Abraham it has been a
mainstay of civilized man. and will al
ways continue to be important The
open lands Of the west lend themselves
to it, but the claims of benefits derived
from ii are not peculiar to the west. II
lnOis raises more sheep than does Ari
zona. Michigan more than Idaho. New
York more than Warrington. Maine
more than Louisiana. There is not
state in the union that does not pro-
duce great numbers of sheep. There
win never come n time when the in
dustry will die anywhere. The oldest
communities in the world are still rails
ing sheep. The mutton chop of the
Britisher is still a bywOrd the world
Ix-
by the production of sheep. and all
should be interested in maintaining the
profits that may be derived from the
industry.
"And the industry depends upon tar
iff protection. Its history is sufficient
proof of this The law placing the
present tariff on wool was passed in
1897. At that time. according to the
report of the secretary of agriculture
there We're 36.S19. 900 sheep in the Uni
ted States. The business was at it's
lowest ebb. Each sheep was worth but
$1S2 After Il tariff protection of the
sheep business hat has lasted but
13 years we are able to make an en-
tireIy different showing. The latest
census Of sheep. still in accordance
with the department of agriculture re-
ports. shows 57.216OOO sheep in the
country. This is an increase of 80 per
cent in the number of sheep. Each
sheep is worth S4.OS as against s1S2
Where the industry inventoried s67.-
021 900 in 1897 it is now worth $233, ,664.-
600. an increase of 24S per cent
I'm addition to this. the figures show
that in 1897 the nation was annually
consuming 100000 mutton. while to-
day the annual consumption is 16,00O.-
900. Yet the industry has not had time
to really show itself under protection,
for it requires many years to develop a
business that depends upon the breed
ing Of generations of animals. But the
indications are so promising that 10
seems reasonable to hope that within a
few decades. were the protection con-
tinued. the nation would be producing
all the wool its manufacturers need and
i'm addition be furnishing great quanti-
ties of meat. for lack of which there
seems 4 good prospect of great depriv
alton in the future.
with these indications of develop
ment shown in this short time. Mr..
Speaker. would it not seem wise to con
tinue this protection for awhile and
await results?
"NOw. Mr.. Speaker. there is a great
deal of buncombe i'm this claim that the
tariff on raw wool affects the price the
man on the street pays for A suit Of