El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-05-24
HUDsPETH's PLEA
FOR THE WOOL
SCHEDULE
Continued from page %

secured 33 cents. No washed or
secured woods are imported. There
fore the nominal duties thereon are
delusion. Skirted woods are now I'M
ported; the fleeces are not tied with
strings, and as they are all body woods
they require but little sorting; some
shrink as little as 25 percent, and very
few as much as so percent, making
the duties run on the secured pound
from IA $40 to % cents. probably av-
eraging less than Is cents, the nome
producers receiving protection on their
unwashed woods of less than 6, instead
of IL cents Ae
Again you will note. following the
panic of 1907, wool was again low
but it was occasioned. like in 1900. by
no demand and no advance of money
to purchase same
At quote further from the same man:
1.-The reason that the imports Of the
washed secured class are not larger is
that the cross. breeds of Australia and
Argentina wash better than the pure
English blood, and while they are i'm
ported unwashed, they are of such
light shrinkage that they cost no more,
and frequently less. than the English
In 1908 Argentina cross breeds were
imported that cost only 80 to 81 cents
secured, duty paid. An importer told
me recently he had some that cost un-
der SO cents laid down in Philadelphia.
The duty on secured wool is 33 cents;
therefore, if the importers had been
presented with these woods secured Tree
in South America, the duty alone
would have exceeded the cost to 8
cents laid down in the United States
There are Irish pulled woods that
shrink as little as II percent. and no
over 25 percent, making the duties
range per secured pound from II 4-1O
to Is cents So you see, on account
of the very. light shrinkage in foreign
woods, ranging from II to 33 1-3 per-
cent. the home producer gets an ad-
vantage of the tariff Of only or .
cents specific. In order for the home
producer to get the full benefit of duty.
the tariff should be made to apply
specific on the secured wool Then
he would know absolutely what pro-
lection he was getting, and every
pound of wool imported would pay
the full share OF duty
Reason for Texas Decrease.
1.-The question has been asked why
has not Texas increased her fiocks
faster since the passage Of the Ding
ley law. una II preteeted TARIFF
percent during the rerdency of the
Wilson bill, still she has made bat
very slight increase since the passage
Of the Dingley law. Three reasons
may be assigned for failure to in
crease her flocks. The chief reason
for failure to increase is that during
the reign OF free wool the business was
conducted at so great a loss that the
sheepmen rushed everything. both
male and female, that was fat enough
to market. and when the protective
tariff was placed back again we had
little or no shea stuff to raise from.
Again. the wolf destroys from 10 per-
cent to Is percent of thepsheep stock
Of Texas annually, ard for the past 10
years a good portion of the sheep
growing sections of Texas has been
going under theSplcw. and where large
sheen ranches prevailed formerly, hap
by. prosperous farmers live and thrive.
Still every small farm within the last
two or three years is carrying a few
sheep. The state legislature at its last
sitting passed an act appropriating
SIPS, 000 to be paid out for the eradica-
ton Of the wolf, the greatest hindrance
in the past to an increase in the sheep
business. With additional bounties TO
supplement this fund from local or
IDENTIFY hoped and expected that this
pest to the sheep industry will be era
dictated. as was done long ago. in Aus
tralia ard other countries; and if so,
Texas viii turn the sheep loose, as
does Australia and Argentina. and If
a sufficient tariff is maintained to
protect her industry, from the pauper
labor produced woods of these coun-
tries, Texas has the room-she has
strip of rough grazing country $50
miles long. 800 to $50 miles wide. that
was especially preconceived by an All
Wise Ruler for a stock raising coun-
try. II is a stock raising country now
and will be 100 years from now.
Can Care For Many Millions
Texas, by turning her flocks loose.
can easily take care of from 35,000,000
to 40, 900, 900 sheep, almost enough at
the present time to supply the need
Of this great nation. A more formida-
bible reason. today why Texas could
not perpetuate her sheep industry un-
der free wool over that even of the
Wilson bill, is that during the pend
ency of free wool from 1894 to 1897
most of the sheep grazed in western
Texas upon free range. The land at
that time nearly all belonged to the
state school fund, and was neither
leased nor purchased. Again. at that
time the cost of labor, shepherds, etc.
ranged from IS to s12 per month. To
day sheep Craze upon land purchased
at So to So per acre, and herders cost
from SIS to s25 per month. The cost
Of running sheep today is double that
Of the free wool period; still during
the three years that the dark cloud
Of free wool hung over Texas, fully so
percent of those engaged in. the BUSH
ness, and many Of this number. free
from debt at the beginning, made as
signments of their flocks to the mer-
chants, bankers and commission men,
gathered their wives and scantily
clothed children in the prairie schoon-
err and turned their faces either back
towards the black lands of agriculture
Or the undeyeloped fields towards the
setting sun, with a determination that
only the pioneers of that day pos
sessed, that if laws crushed them out
In the industry they were following,
to seek other means OF support for
their families and loved ones
The question is often asked why,
with wool protected as 1T is, the sheep
Of this country have not increased |
faster, especially since we consume
much more wool than we grow? An
swering this, would say there are
various reasons. First, wool growing
has not been profitable to such an