The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1913-04-23
FREE WOOL Helps
In new YORK WORLD CONGRESS.
MAN HARRISON
POINTS OUT benefits

UHls ~ w OAIsAa 4 ~
Says it Means Cheaper and Better
Clothes and Asks the Support of
the People in the Assault Made
Upon Privilege in the Halls of Con-
gress.
In the New York World Congress-
man Harrison says free wool means
cheaper and better woollen clothes.
That is why we hope that the people
will uphold President Wilson in his
fight for free wool and against the
great wool and woollen combination.
Free wool would also mean the death
knell Of this great combination,
which has for forty years burdened
the American people with extortion-
ate taxation. He then goes on to
say:
This combination between the
wool-growers of the West and the
woollen manufacturers Of the East
has for the great part of forty years
had votes enough in Congress to keep
the taxes sky high on woollen clothes.
The com bination was too strong for
President Taft; he frankly told the
people of the United States that this
ombination was powerful enough to
prevent the Republicans in the Payne
Aldrich tariff from lowering the du-
ties on woollen clothing.
This admission by President Taft
was fatal to his party. His speech at
Winona, in which he made this frank
and startling announcement Of the
power of the combination, admitting
that it was stronger than President
Taft himself and the Republican
| Congress, and stronger than the Gov
ernment of the United States, under
Republican rule, caused the people Of
our country to take away from these
people the administration Of our
country and give it to the Democrats.
Now the Democrats are engaged in
the fight against this same combina-
ton. Forty-five years ago the WOOL
growers of the West and the woollen
manufacturers of the East agreed
that each was to have all the protec-
ton asked for through the tariff, and
that the public might be damned.
This alliance is still in force, and we
call upon all good citizens to help
President Wilson and the Democratic
Congress in the fight for free wool.
We are going to succeed where the
Republicans failed. The combination
will not be strong enough to over
throw our determined assault upon
this great stronghold Of privilege.
Manufacturers Of woollen cloth in
our country can get only three-ffths
of their wool in the United States;
for the other two-ffths they are
obliged to send to foreign countries
and bring it into the United States
by paying tariff which adds nearly
half to the cost Of the wool.
This has kept many grades Of wool
out of the United States entirely. 1t
has raised the price of such wool as
they could import and has induced
American manufacturers to use SUBJ
stitutes for wool, instead Of wool it.
self. That is why our manufacturers
so largely use shoddy and cotton sub
stitutes for wool; that is why a
mans suit willis like a tired plant
when he goes out in the rain; it is
because his suit, although sold as an
all-wool suit, contains great deal of
inferior material which will not stand
rain or the wear and tear.
Free wool will mean that the
American manufacturer will be at
liberty to make as good woollen
clothes as the manufacturer in other
lands, and that when man buys a
suit of clothes hereafter as an Ameri-
can he will be certain to get a suit
that lasts as long as the foreigners
suit and is made Of just as good
material. That Is why the people
should help US in our fight for free
wool.
Foreign-Made Clothing Lower.
Our bill proposes a 35 per cent.
rate upon woollen clothing. The Re-
publican rate averaged 90 per cent;
in other words, the Republican tariff
| nearly doubled the cost Of woollen
clothing brought from abroad and
made a corresponding though not
quite so high raise in the cost Of
woollen clothing here. Our rate Of
35 per cent. will permit an American,
if he finds clothes too high-priced in
our country, to buy foreign-made
clothing here under a tariff which
would add only one-third to the cost,
instead of doubling the cost, as the
Republicans made it.s
But it means even more than this.
The Republican 80 per cent. rate
particularly kept out all foreign
clothing: in other words, it was
prohibitive tariff. There was no use
for the foreigner trying to compete
in our market over such a barrier as
that. He could not pay the duty and
compete with tie American clothing
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