Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1917-01-12
COMMUNICATIONS.
OPEN LETTER.
The Mortified Savings Bank,

Inc NOrtnllelu ohNlIlBs DdHh'
Gentlemen:
have read with some interest your
remarks in an advertisement in the
Middebury Register concerning sheep
and make bold to ask upon what grounds
you base the assumption Of $l,00 wool,
have bred sheep more or less on a
large Vermont farm for half century,
and my forebears for three.quarters of
a century before that, on the same
place-l25 years all told. have had to
do with flock of 700 sheep and finally
got down to one fine buck the very last
specimen of the pure blood of the Con-
sui William Jarvis merinos in the U. S.
have sold wool for $l,05 per pound
lin 1864 and later in "Cleveland's
time" for II cents per pound. | have
also found out that as living PROPOSE
ton wool cannot be produced here in
Vermont for mill less than 80 cents
per pound, and in fact it was rule in
the CITIES" and "siXties" that when
the price fell to below that figure the
grower held the crop over to another
year, and thereby usually got salts
factory price. In those days we could
hire good men for $40 or $l2 per month
and board or without at rs cents to
Sl,OO per day and teams with man for
81. so or $500.
Now rates are reckoned at quite three
times as much and aborers scarce at
that Wool is on the free list now and
the wool growing industry was ruined
by fake policy strongly urged by the
wooden manufacturing interests and
their adjunts.
Now these same interests being face
to face with a raw material shortage |
on account Of the war are vigorously |
urging the farmer to reiSstate the
industry at great expense for recon-
struction of buildings and renewals of .
flocks at speculative prices. 1t is per-
tinent to ask how long would they stand
Loyalty by the producer for high prices
for wool after the war is over and
Great Britain is again furnishing Colony
wool on her 10 cent rake off bottoms at
II to 25 cents per pound Would they
support prohibitory tariff and demand
of home all that home could produce.
Echoes of the past answer Mo-
The farmer having become the foot
ball of all other interests on earth is
becoming wise and wary. He is no
longer willing to produce commodities
at loss and he demands the right to
name the cost price of his output, in
common with other manufactures of
specialized products. He is also en-
titled to fair margin of profit over
the cost price. If the present move
ments for associations among farmers
for common welfare means anything
it means they will no longer pull chest
nuts for the other fellow, or carry him
on their backs. So | opine that the
average Vermont farmer or dairyman
will have to "be shown" before he
launches into the wool producing in
lustry. The climate is here the high
grazing ground and all that goes to ]
make the best fine wool fiber produced I
IN earth. Only sure lasting remunera- S
i've prices are lacking to again cover i
)ur hills with focks for five cent milk /
means bankruptcy. Sheep dogs and s
billy goats will take care of the dog r
problem and hard cash outlay will final a
y overcome the fence problem. t
assume that the banking and invest C
nent interests of the State would well t
ONE an equalization of farm real es- C
tate values as between the Eastern, b
Middle and Western States and will 81
uly agree that farm income is a strong S
actor in valuations Your remarks G
,ere directed to the farmers of Addi- "
on County, but might apply to Wind T