The Republican journal., 1911-11-16
Protecting Wool and Sheep

The famous Schedule X of the present
tariff has become Infamous in the minds
of majority of the people through a
false statement concerning it. The Hon.
Serene E. Payne, of New York, declares,
in an article in the Editorial Review,
that leading papers and magazines have
so assiduously stated that the tariff act
of 1909 increased the tariff on wool that
three-fourths of the people now believe
it, even some members of Congress ap-
parently knowing no better. AS mat
ter of fact, the Payne law continued the
duties of the Dingley law, with single
exception, that exception being not an
increase. but decrease in the tariff or
tops and cloths partially of cotton. The
wool tariff has remained practically the
same since 1867, except during the oper-
alton of the Wilson law. The 1909 tariff
on wool, therefore, has sinned no more
than the Dingley law and the Mckinley
: law and the original tariff act of 1867, all
of which built up the sheep and wool in
dustry of the country.
If the past have in it any lessons for
the present, there ought to be something
learned from the results of the Wilson
bill, the single break in the protection of
this industry in forty-fve years. THAT
and duty which, though not high
enough for protection, was still a high
duty upon wooden goods, was disastrous
to the wooden industry, says Mr.. Payne,
'Ethere are few who have the hardihood
to deny" The Wilson law reduced the
number of sheep in the United States
from 45,000,0 900 in 1894 to $4,000 900 in
1897. The Dingley law then restored
adequate protection and in four years
the number of sheep in this country had
increased from 81, 900, 900 to 100000.
The valuation figures are even more
Impressive. The Wilson law developed
a drop from S2.66 per head to 81. 70 as
the general market price, while large
numbers Of sheep changed hands at fifty
cents per head. The total value of sheep
in the United States dropped from $780,
600, 600 in 1898 to s67, 1000, 900 in 1897
under the Wilson law, while in the next
eleven years under the Dingley law it
reached S2l1, 100000 From this COM
parison there can be but one conclusion
as to what is best for the sheep raising
and wooden manufacturing industries of
the country, furnishing employment to
hundreds of thousands of people and
representing an investment of between
four and five hundred millions of dollars.
Aside from the incontrovertible argu-
ments from the past, the present is a
peculiarly critical time in the sheep in
dustry to begin ill-considered expert
ments in the tariff. From all the infor-
nation available there seems to have
been already a decrease of about three
per cent. in the number of sheep pro-
duced in the United States in the last
decade. 'The great cause for this con-
dition, says Mr.. Payne, has been in
the increase in the value of lands on
which sheep are grazed." Free pastur-
age on open ranges is practically thing
of the past. Land in the middle and
middle Western States has greatly in
creased in value and the sheep industry
has to help bear this burden. Conditions
OF this sort having already brought the
raising of sheep to standstill, the eff
fects may be imagined should drastic and
ill-advised reductions be made in the
present tariff by our national lawmakers.
Schedule K as it now stands is not
perfect piece of work and it's trainers
never claimed it to be. Even Mr.. Payne
acknowledges there are "excesses and
inequalities which should be revised.
But the method of the Democratic eau
Gus as reflected in the vetoed Underwood
Dill is not the way 1t should be done. The
caucus which agreed upon the bill lasted
eight hours, and seven hours and fifty
five minutes were devoted to the affirm
ative and party reasons for the adoption
of the measure. The opposition was al
lowed five minutes to state it's case, and
then the caucus resolution bound both
sides to vote against every amendment
that was offered. No stronger argument
could be presented for the need of a
board to give deliberate and scientific
consideration to tariff schedules. Presi-
dent Taft was right in asking that action
upon Schedule K be postponed till the
tariff board should be able to report the
results of its Investigations next Deem
Der. -Leslie's.