Year: 1872




The Philadelphia Inquirer, Of Feb


ruary 9th, says: For some time pas
there has been great excitement in tn,


wool market, owing to the steady in
crease in the prices of this commodity
This has been oecasiOned by a WOO


famine all over the world. Price:
have advanced in England and On tn,
/. Continent, in all the wool markets
corresponding to the advance here, anC
in some instances the advance on tn,
other side has been larger than here
This wool famine will last, probably,
all through the present year. The
clip of 1873 will no doubt be the larg
est in the worlds history Every one


will make an effort to increase it
The reason the clip of 1872 will not bt
much in excess Of 1871 is because the
great advance did not take place un
/ I'll after the lambiRg season was over


The advance in wooden goods has
not cOrresDOnded at all with the ad.
vance in wool, and this is in meas
ure caused by there being a no less
number of yards of goods produced
I than there has been previously. A
I great many manufacturers who have
/ heretofore made wooden goods are now
using, in place of wool, other mater
| ials which cheaper the cost Of goods
/ per yard, but do not lessen the pro-
ductiOn of yards. So, while there has
been a famine in the wool market,
there is scarcely any decreased pro-
ductiOn of yards of goods.


From the present appearance OF
things, it is probable they will make
the manufacturing business one of the
most profitable that can be carried on,
in a short time. The reason is that
soon there will bean enormous amount
of wool to find market, with scarce
ly any increase in the machinery to
use il. This viii, of course, diminish
prices, and probably in 1873 we shall
see woods less than half the amount
they now bring, and goods at almost
the same figures. This is because the
number IF yards will be kept about
the same, and the demand for goods
will be about as large, while the pro-
duction of wool will be double what it
is at present.


The small supply OF wool in part
has been owing TO the fact that a great
many farmers thought the growth of
beef and pork, as well as other agri-
cultural products, would pay them
better than the growth of wool. In
the years 1869, 1870 and 1871 the
slaughter of sheep in this country was
very great. As a consequence, the
supply of wool in 1871 was not over
twO-thirds of the products of 1867. In
other parts of the world, as the wool
tariff in those countries was different
for wool off the skins and wool on the
skins, it created q determination to
kill sheep so as to bring the wool here
on the skins, trusting to reproduction
to replenish their fiOcks. Now the
wool tariff is the same for wool on the
skin as the wool off the skin, and re-
production has not been as rapid in
the countries where they slaughtered 50
heavily as was anticipated. COnse-
quently the supply from all those
quarters is greatly diminished, and
the fact stands boldly out that a wool
famine is being felt the world over.


In 1870 there arrived in this cOun-
try the skins from over five million
sheep. Last year the receipts of skins
were much less, because the duty is
now the same on wool on the skin
as off. Everywhere the loss is felt of
the number of sheep slaughtered to
supply the market in this county
The wool business in this city is ex-
tensively carried on. In domestic
wool Boston is first, Philadelphia sec
ond, and New York third. In foreign
woods New York sells the most, Phil
adelphia comes second, and Boston
"a aaai-a- Ahi-.d IF nr-aHa esa--...--t--aer aersstsi
be effected so that the operators in
wool in this city could import direct
" to Philadelphia there would be a
very large increase in the receipts OF
wool at this port, and duties paid here
which now 90 to increase the business
of New York. There is a vast amount
of woods and oils and other stock i'm
ported by Philadelphia merchants to
New York and then shipped here, the
duties and all other expenses being
paidin New York. Philadelphia does
not stand first in the wool business
simply because of lack of means to
bring the product here.


There has been a steady improve
ment in the prices of wool last year.
The Chicago fire and tight money
market following, for short time in
terrupted this advance. In fact il
softened prices a little, but to men
taking a closer view Of the case at the
time, it showed that this advance was
not a speculative one, inasmuch as
rHar,ranuf,u. f,n1~rrrf frrrl
the fire did not affect the prices so
slightly. 1t was really caused for le-
gitimate purposes. As soon as money
grew little easier prices again took
an upward turn.


Wool has been higher during the
war than it is now, but then gold was
very much higher also. The highest
prices for wool ever ruling in this
country were in 1854, in July, when
stocks brought 81 D per pound. Gold
stood then about 224, and wool is real
ly higher now than it was in that
year. 1t is a fact that wool is really
bringing 4 higher price to-day, in
gold, than it ever brought before
Even in the most speculative times
wool never advanced to the figures TO
which supply and demand have rails
ed it. In other cases it was simple
speculation. Now it is one Of WOOL
1t must be had or the machines will
have to be stopped.


With all the efforts made, it is be-
Iieved that a considerable proportion
Of the machinery Of this country
must stand idle from the first Of May
to the first of June or July this year.
Mills that have confined themselves
to wooden fabrics will have to stop
| All the efforts to buy a sufficient
amount here at reasonable rates will
prove insufficient in supplying all the
mills. Wool is now siDply being
sold to manufacturers who greatly
need it. The great fear among wool.
operators is that there will not be suf
feient advance in goods soon enough
to prevent q great many of this smaller
manufacturers from succumbing, anC
perhaps crippling seriously some
| Of the larger establishments


Tub-wOOl, which opened in Indians
in June at SOC per pound, is worth 9Oc
/ Hence woods which to-day are worth
75c cost in Ohio in June 55e. PulleC
woods, worth to-day 75c, in SeptembeI
started selling at soc.


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