The Medina sentinel. [volume] (Medina, Ohio) 1888-1961, 1920-07-02
FARM BUREAU and
WOOL PRICES

Ohio wool growers will stand pat
and not be stampeded into selling their
wool at present prices if council Of re-
preventative wool men and Farm Bur-
eau Federation leaders prevails.
It. is pointed out that, whereas wool
prices have slumped heavily, woolen
goods are still as high as ever. Also,
it is asserted that the price of wool
has little effect on the price of manu-
factured goods. 'a.
Last year, figures kept over show,
wool sold for from 65 to 80 cents a
pound. This year, according to grow
ers, there seems to be no actual price,
and buyers are making no bids. Wool
growers say that if wool should be sold
now it would bring scarcely half Of
last years prices. Bankers, it is said,
generally advance about rs per cent of
the probable selling price Of wool in
storage. Just now it is reported that
Wyoming and Idaho producers are
able to obtain advances of only 10 to
15cents a pound. In Ohio, where wool
is of better quality, where farmers
have top credits, and where personal
ity counts for as much as assets, wool
men say they can obtain rs to As cts.
a pound advance.
Very little Of the cost Of suit of
clothes or an overcoat goes into the
farmers pocket" says w. w. Rey-
nolds, Utah treasurer Of the Ohio Wool
Growers Association. "In an $50 suit,
for instance, there is put not to ex-
ceed SIS worth Of wool. The other SIS
goes for overhead, labor, transporta-
ton, selling cost and profit. We are
not assuming to say whether such
items are overpaid, .underpaid or cor
rectly paid. We only point out that in
any suit Of clothes the farmer has a
small amount.
IF the truth of this statement is
doubted it can be proved by weighing
ia suit of clothes. Put any suit on the
scales and see how much it weighs, in
Ecluding the warp, which in even the
thread, buttons, wool and all. If4every
best woolen suits is made Of cotton, the
ounce Of the weight were wool it will
be seen that it would be impossible,
at last years prices, to get more than
SIS worth OF wool into suit, and most
suits do not contain that much wool.
If we figure eight pounds Of wool
as it is taken from the back of sheep
at rs cents pound and deduct dollar
for trimmings short wool from the
head, legs and belly--it leaves SIS fol
the wool in mans serviceable, medi-
um-weight, all-wool suit that will
stand not only use but abuse.
"Now, if wool falls to half of last
years price, it will make little, if any
change in the price of a suit of clothes
to the buyer, because the wool is the
least Of all items in the manufacture
of a suit. But it will make tremendous
difference in the pocket-book of the
farmer"
In wool associations which ship di-
rect to the State Association in Colum-
bus wool growers see hope of saliva
ton. They POINT out that such prac-
tice makes for uniformity in handling
wool, stabilizes the price without MAX
ing II burdensome to the customer, and
does away with the necessity of the
buyer.
The state association, it lis said.
makes no promise or prediction Of
prices, but simply takes commission
to cover expenses, and sells direct to
the mills.
The proposed truth-in-fabrics law,
the wool men say, should be encourag-
ed as a benefit to both buyer and sell
Ter. Such q law would make it illegal
fora seller to assert his product was
all-wool when, in fact, it was hall
shoddy.