The Cordova daily times., 1921-07-20
THE WOOL INDUSTRY AND THE TARIFF

Boston is long way from the wool produc- ing section of tue United States, but being the principal wool market of the country it is the source of much information of vital interest to the wool growers of the west The England letter of the First National Bank, of Boston, giving an account of industrial conditions, con tans this remark in discussing the wool situa- tion: "The probable effect of the emergency tariff appears to have been fairly well discount ed and no change of any moment in the market is expcctcd.' The information is also given that heavy foreign buying has been already done on American account and there have been heavy importatons of clothing wools
 This statement emphasizes the injury done to the American wool industry by the Demo cratic free trade policy. It is estimated there is now on hand in the woolen stock of the world a quantity amounting to nearly two years normal supply Naturally when there is pros pect of the re-enactment of a protective tariff law wool users make large importations of for eign wools which they can buy for less than the cost of production in the United States. The Democratic party enacted the law of 1913 over the protest of Republicans. It enacted the law over the protest of American wool growers.
 During the war which acted as an embargo on importations and created an abnormal mar ket for wool products, the American producers felt no injury because of the lack of protection on his product. But since the armistcc was signed and the enormous demand for wool for war purposes e dcd, all of the cheap wool pro ducing countries have been shipping their sur plus to the Unit d States thus not only cutting the price the American producer would receive but dcpriving Linn even of the opportunity to sell his wool at any price,
 The Dcmocra c party not only deprived the
 American farmer of the advantage of an import
 tax but when tLc war was over and it was ap parent that thr.p would be flood of inpor,a. tious the mar, ,ity of Democrats in congry~~ opposed the cm rgcucy tariff bill and President
 Wilson vetoed that measure, thus postpoum@
 the time when measure of protection should
 be restored
 IL is admitted by all that the emergency tariff law iS not a scientific tariff measure. IL does not attempt to establish the system of protoc tion necessary for the upbuiIding of all AmcIi. can industry. Ii is merely an attempt to secure at an early date protection for that indu,try--- aglicuIturc-which was the first to suffer the reaction from war conditions and which will probably he found to suffer the most severely.
 The news from Boston contains the mfoma- tion that "Thus far very little wool has been bought in the West" The buying has been done largely in Australia and South America while the Western American wool grower, or his banker, hnII.- the American product il a warehouse and T. 1itors are consequently m- able to collect the obligations due them from the grower of American wool.
 All of this presents a deplorable situation.
 What is true of the wool industry is true, inI varying degree of other American industries upon which the prosperity of the United States depends. The facts are stated not for the Iur- pose of painting an unpleasant picture but inI order to impress upon the minds of the peo,!rI of the country the important truth that this situation is due almost entirely to the folly of the Democratic party in placing the United States on practically a free trade basis so that American money is sent abroad for the purchaS" of foreign commodities at less than cost of pro duction at home, It will probably be long, long time before the American people will for get the result of eight years of Democratic rule. Certainly the wool growers who are going through the present crisis will never forget