The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-05-07
FREE WOOL AND SUGAR.

ne lrIHuHe is BIaQ 10 soc JnaI ltep
rcsentatives in Congress are not afraid
TO give expression to their views, and
have no fear for their party ale
glance or their scaIPs, If they intro
duce measures which they think VIII
be beneficial to the public, 1t is quite
possible that those measures may not
be we'll advised, but at any rate 1T is
good to see that the Representatives
are not deferred by party discipline,
or by party persuasion, from giving
their views full expression, both in de-
bate and in the introduction of bills.
! We note in this connection that Rep
resentative W. 3. Francis, Democrat,
from the Sixteenth Ohio district, is
moving for q Congressional inquiry
into the affairs of the American Wool
en- Company. 1t appears from his
statement that this corporal tion is tho
wool trust, controlling mills with
capitalization Of $69,000O00, these
mills being scattered throughout New
He claims that prices are arbitrarily
| fixed by this so-called wooden trust;
| by that meaning, of course, the prices
| both ways. The trust fixes the price
which it will pay for American wool,
aud it fixes the price which it will
charge for its Notwithstanding
blankets, carpets, or whatever it may
make. Mr.. Francis claims that re-
duction of the tariff on wool, or plac
ing wool on the free list, would not
have the slightest effect on the price
of either raw or finished wool In this
we think that Mr.. Francis is mistaken
The experience of this country as to
the price of wool under the free wool
tariff bill Of 1894, under the Cleveland
administration, Will be recalled All
that time wool was reduced TO the
lowest price known for two generations
in America. There is no reason to sup
pose that free wool would result ma
terially different now from what it did
then. At the same time, it is TO be
recalled that there is something to say
on his side of the question For, a |
tariff on manufactured woolens, whetb
er of clothing. blankets, or whatever
else, is a tariff on tariff First we
have the tariff on raw wool, and then |
the tariff on manufactured goods. The |
manufacturers claim that if they must |
pay the high prices for American wool
that the tariff enforces, they must be |
compensated by a tariff also on their
60. Il ns-Il
and German wooden manufacturers,
who buy their woods in the free mar
kets of the world. could enter the |
American markets and undcrsell them.
This is probably correct. But the pur-
chaser of the wooden goods, who has
TO meet both the tariffs, is getting res
tive under the doubly enhanced price,
and is rebelling. If the wooden man
ufactureTs combine would pay the
American wool producers the price that
they would be fully justified in paying,
and that they ought to pay, for the
raw wool, then there would not be so
much cause for complaint. But they
refuse TO do this and the result is
that the manufacturers enrich them.
selves both ways; at the expense of the
wool raisers by reducing the price that
they pay for American woods, and at
the expense Of the American public by
raising the price of their wooden man
ufactures.
1t is complained that the wool men
of this region do not respond as read
lily and thoroughly as the government
inquirers would like, as TO the cost OF
producing. wool The truth is that the
wool raisers of this region are pretty
well disgusted at the way they are
treated. There seems to be no way to
enforce upon the wooden manufactur.
ers combine the necessity of doing
the fair thing by tho wool raisers of
this country. The wool raisers when
called upon by the government to re-
spond to official inquiries, or by the
woolen manufacturers to help cut the
rate on the wool tariff, do not respond
with the enthusiasm that they have
done heretofore, because Of the re-
peated betrayals Of their interests by
those who should treat them with busi
ness fairness.
We do not look to see any action
upor the wool tariff by the present
extra session of Congress; nor do we
expect to see much difference made in
it at either of the regular sessions OF
the present Congress, because the Re-
publican Senate Will be in the way.
But we are glad to see that the mat
ter is discussed freely, and TO note
the different riaMa that the members