The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-12-17
wooLMEN GETTING TO FACTS.

| WOOLMEN GETTING TO FACTS,
The woolmcn, in their convention in
| Omaha. appear TO he gradually set
Ting down TO business. and absorbing
the facts of the situation as 10 wool.
| Mr.. Elleuwood of California laid before
| the woolgTowcrs the facts published re-
| Gently by the Secretary Of tho Califor-
MIA Woolgrowcrs Association, which
| have been referred 20 in these columns
heretofore, Those facts arc that the
wool manufacturers. by careful selcc-
tion of the flceces they import. and by
eliminating from them the portions
carrying the heavy grease and dirt,
are able TO nullifv almost half of the
protection which the woo]growcrs sup.
posed they were To receive. Mr.. Ellen
wood directly charged the manulactur'
ers with unfair dealing towards the
woolsrowcrs and unquestionably he did
this on sound basis, Not only does
the combination of WOODEN manutac-
turers deprive the woolgrowers of near.
~ half of the protection that they sup
posed they were getting on the secured
basis. but by the same means they
greatly pad their own compensatory
tariff fayors.
Soon after the passage of the hunko
tariff law of 1909. the leading wooden
manufacturers of the country Except
the carded WOODEN manufacturers) en-
tered into close combine for the con-
troll of the American wool market. They
imported big stocks of wool which tided
them over the immediate demand so
that they could stand the Woolgrowers
off and buy al the pleasure Of the
manufacturers. paying the lowest posi-
bic price. To the manufacturers the
wool is their "raw material Nat
ursily. they want to get that raw ma
terial at as low n figure as possible,
and since the American woolgrowcrs
must of necessity sell 10 the American
wooden manufacturers. and, as these
manufacturers have a close combination
whereby they import at their pleasure
and through selections made by their
agents in Australia and Europe. they
are able to make the American wool
growers sweat by holding off in their
purchases and offering such figures as
they please TO rthe wool. the American
woolgrowers arc wholly at the mercy
of the combine. whose interests arc
directly antagonistic to their own.
This is so plain proposition, that
there would seem TO be no question
whatever about it. And yet the Utah
woolgrowcrs have not yet scnsed the
situation. and are still occupying the
same old ground, thinking that the
American wooden manufacturers com
binc is giving them a square deal, and
that it Is newspaper agitators' that
have destroyed the American wool mar
kets, a most surprising and childish
notion
We are glad TO see that the National
Wooigrowers Association is coming to
a due sense of the facts, and when
il docs come fully to realize the way
that the manufacturers are imposing
upon the American woolgrowcrs, there
will be loud and insistent demand
Tor reform OF tne lafllt Wnlch VIII
compel the wooden manufacturers CON-
bine to import whole flecccs on the
66 2-3 per cent secured basis. or. ii
they make selections OF the imported
wool not in whole fIeeces, the import
will he rcckoued on a basis of 40 per
cent shrinkaee in place of 66 2-3, his
for selected portions of tlccces, while
whole fleeces might remain with a small
reduction in percentage from the pres.
ent standard.
The woolgrowors are evidently be-
ginning 10 learn some of tho ''tricks of
the trade -: and when they come TO a
full understanding Of how they have
been tr,ckcd. they viii be the most
persistent 'agitators' in the country
for revision of Schedule *.