El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-01-26
-AsH1NGToN. D. C., Jan. 2s.-

y -
w need for the army? I have
put this question to the experts Of
the United States bureau Of ANNA
industry. They reply that it will take
$50 pounds a year for every soldier
that we send TO the trenches, and
that 1t viii keep 20 sheep working to
supply that amount This is suppos-
ing that each sheep gives a fleece OF
eight pounds. So you see that for
every million men We send over the
mean We must have 10000. 900 full
grown sheep here at home or in some
other part OF the world. and this IN
addition to the vast amount Of wool
we need to clothe our own people
one hundred and sixty pounds II
seems like lot Of wool Tor one man.
but you must remember Ihat tne
fleece as il comes from the sheep IS
about two-thirds grease and dirt, and
that the fibers selected to make WOOL
en- cloth are only a part OF the whole
in order 70 know just how the Wool
is used / have asked some OF the
private soldiers at Camp Meade as
TO the outfits they are carrying with
them TO France
Thev tell me that the government
has issued 10 each man one overcoat,
TWO service uniforms, two oliFe-drao
wear. six pairs Of light weight and
four pairs Of heavy weight SOCKS, Two
pairs of thick gloves and four warm
blankets. All Of these must De OF
the purest OF wool and the same Is
true Of the helmets and sweaters
which our women are knitting all
over the country. / venture there are
now something like q million women
and girls plying their needles: ana
that the yarn they consume VIII add
2 10
Already Wool shortage.
There is already q shortage OF Wool,
and. as the men in the trenches must
be kept warm, the rest OF US VIII pc
forced TO wear shOddy or mixtures OF
cotton ana wool in order that the
supplies for the army may not ne IN
Daired q mtold that England i
discussing the mixing Of cotton with
all wooden fabrics. She IS cutting
down the weight of the cloth and is
reducing her exports to other parts OF
the world This loss viii be greatly
felt by our tailors, who have been
buying a large part OF their stuIIs
from her. During the first 10 months
Of the war England used 1z1,eOO,0VO
--ards of niece goods for her soldiers
enough 10 have made strip OF
cloth more than two yards VIDE
reaching clear around the world
Every wooden mill IN the United
EfHTEE
for the soldiers is now busy upon
war orders, and the question IS where
We shall get the wool to supply Ihefn-
we have something like 500 factories
in New England and there are nun
dreds Of others scattered here ana
there over the country. They range
in size from small concerns, with Two
or three dozen hands, up 10 that OF
the American Wooden company, Al
Lawrence, Mass, whose machines oC-
cupy ten million square feet OF loot
space and eat up the fleeces OF e.
coo sheep every day.
As to our own product OF wool,
this has been steadily declining,
while the consumption has just as
steadilv increased We produced 81
O00 000 hounds Of wool in 1910. and
our production last year was 20
600 900 pounds less At present as Il
romes from the fleece, the roIai
amount of wool we produce IS so NJ
tie that If equally divided IT Woulo
give only three pounds to every man.
woman and child in the United states
II is 50 little that If il were all made
into clothing IL would hardly suffice
TO supply a suit for one person IN
three. and the rest Of US would have
Moreover. a decline is going on in
the production Of wool all over the
world. The crop Of 1914. the year me
war began was less than 5000, 0OO.OgO
pounds. and at that time the Wnole
world had only a little more thah
soa. O00. 600 sheep. Since then Austria
liza which had more sheep than any
ether country, has had great
drought. which has reduced her flock
more than 100000 head
Use Sheep for Food.
The sheep Of Europe have been
slaughtered by thousands as FOOD Tor
the soldiers. At the time she marched
into Belgium Germany had less than
5000. 900 sheep and Austria not nan
that number. IN both OF these cOun-
tries the flocks have been so greatly
reduced as 70 create wool famine
Every one is skimping and saving,
and the German government mas cut
down the wool consumption Dy max
ing the people turn in all their old
clothes before they get new ones and
allowing them to buy woelen GOODS
only with cards The same shortage
IS true in the sheep Of the Balkan
states. and. in fact. there IS no place
on earth. except South Africa Where
the shsep are row increasing in
There has been a notable decline in
our fIocks since the year lsOe- WOOL
has been so cheap that the lands nave
been turned from pastures 20 gram,
and we now find some OF our best
grain producing areas in the great
plains where so years ago there were
only cattle and sheep Intensive agrl-
culture Is uEEaEAAAAE up ~-l~
ranges Of the west They are being d.
vided into homesteads and fenced 50
that the sheep man must nave open
trails 10 move his flocks rom the
winter grazing grounds 70 the Ioresl
reserves. y here they feed in the sum
mer. The total number Of sheep now
IN the United States IS about 4S,aOv'-
0eO, and there is only one farm OF
over % acres in every seven that sup
The worlds supply OF sheep
AS TO the sheep Of the whole world
here is a census by continents that Is
approximately correct: North America
$500. 600: South America, 112,4OO, 600
Europe, IA. 100000; Asia, 11o,000,o00;
Africa, 100000: Australasia 10S,-
oOo. GOO.
Almost nine tenths Of the sheep IN
north America are found in the United
states. and almost all OF those Of
South America, Craze on the basin OF
the Rio de Ia Plata. The chief sheep
country Of South America is Argen-
tina It has S0,000,000 sheep and II
gives US a large part Of our wool. As
10 Europe. almost half the sheep OF
that continent are in Russia; Spain
and France have each 10000, 600 and
England about 1000. 600 more South
Africa has 30,000.000 sheep and its
wool product goes mostly TO England
The biggest pasture on earth Is
Australia. whish at the time the war
began had more than S5,0eO,0O0 sheep
and was annually producing more
than SOC, 900 900 pounds OF wool The
sheep Of Australia are remarkable for