The broad ax. [volume], February 15, 1896, Image 1

About The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??

Image provided by: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, Urbana, IL

                
$
'-''f-7k
't at v.- ,
'X
- 1 f - - ;
v mt i m mr . mcts- r - -tt m vsf ar r
4 Zy rfnvkv . . i-- w-5aB avv .y.
v v ia x s-iyJi xsrflvfufcs.. i -g?. -v, is i u vit
tAi.
v
Hew to the Line.
Vol. I.
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, FEBRUARY 15, 1896.
No. 25.
A LITTIiE PLAIN TALK ABOUT
WOOL.
Inasmuch as many of oar readers
live in the grazing portion of the
state, -where the sheep and wool
growing industry large y predomin
ates, we feel justified in presenting
a few plain facts relative to free
Lwool, a subject of importance to
fall those engaged in the said
business. The Broad Ax does not
E believe that the old. threadbare
garment of tariff will be, or should
: be the leading issue of the coming
campaign; but this particular brauch
of the "old ghost" is often thrown
in the faee of the Democrats as be
ing a great blunder in taking the
tariff off raw wool. The object of
a tariff is unsettled as yet by the
statesmen of this country. Some
claim it should be for the purpose
of excluding all foreign competi
tion to American manufacturers:
and, hence, should be so high as to
exclude their goods from our mar
kets. Some claim it should be for
, protection to such industries as are
.just starting, and have not as yet
; sufficient permanency to compete
; with those of other countries; such
as are termed "inrant industries.
Others want the tariff kept high
under the delusion that it will
thereby afford higher wages to the
laboring man in this country. And
others believe the tariff laws should
be exacted for the purpose of rais
ing the revenues of the government
only.
In all our transactions in life, we
are apt to be more or less selfish,
and seek to have such laws enacted
as will be to our own personal ad
rantage. In such cases there is sure
to be a conflict of interests between
the various industries, and it is very
plainly shown in the question of
tariff on raw materials. It is to
the interest of the manufacturer to
get his raw material as cheap as he
can in order to compete with the
other manufacturers. For example,
all the shoe and leather men want
"free hides' so as to enable them
to make and sell their goods as
cheaply as possible.
With the wool question it is the
tame. The manufacturer does not
want a high tariff da raw wool, as
Jt increases the cost of the article.
And, as the United States does not
produce but little over onerhalf
enough of either hides or wool, to
supply the 'demand f or manufacture,
we must supply the deficiency- fcy
importing .large quantiUes'of each.
Again it becomes noceoiary to im
port "bSUiobs of pomnds of raw
wool to j&x with our own, in order
to aasmfaotare many of the stand
ard articles,such as carpets,blankets
and all fabrics where a long wool
can be mingled with our domestic
wool. Thus by admitting it free of
duty, we enable our manufacturers
to produce a cheaper and better
article, and at the same time pay a
better price for home grown wool;
for if they did not have this advan
tage, they would have to cut down
the price of domestic wool in order
to compete with other conntries,for
the reason that the tariff added to
the raw wool imported would largely
increase the cost of the fabric.
The contention of the Demo
cratic party has always been, that
admitting raw wool free of duty,
would not only give us better and
cheaper woolen goods, but also in
crease toe price or the domestic
article' to the producer. A fair and
honest consideration of this subject
will prove beyond doubt, that this
claim is correct. It has been urged
by a few rabid protectionists, and
short-sighted wool growers, that the
passage of the Wilson bill, making
wool free, has reduced the price of
wool in this country. Let ub see.
The price of wool has been steadily
decreasing ever since 1881 in all
the markets of the world. Take
for a standard, the fine Ohio fleece
scoured, and in the year 1881 it was
worth per pound 95 J cents; the
price all over the world decreased
steadily until it reached 68 cents,
when in 1889 it advanced to 73$
cents; from that time it has de
creased down to the present time
until it is worth only about 45
cents. During all the time of this
great decline in price, we had a
high protective duty on foreign
wool, except for the last two years.
Inl890tbeAcEinley bill went
into operation, whereby the tariff
on wool was raised much above
former years, and if its effect
would be to increase the price of
our wool, we should have such
effect at once. In 1891 Eastern
XX wool in Boston was worth 31
cents per- pound. In 1892 it wes
worth 29 cents, being a decline of
two cents under the McKinley law.
In 1891 No.tl wool was worth in
Boston 86 cents; in 1892 it was
worth 33 cents. In 1891 fine un
washed was worth in Boston 23
cents; in 1892 the same wool was
worth 19 to 20, cents. These
figures are taken from -the official
reports of the National Association
of Wool Manufacturers for 1891-2-3.
This was all tinder the opsra
tion of the McKinley law.'
Now let us compare the effect of
the Wilson bill upon prices on the
same grade of wool in the same
and
market for the rears 1894
1895. In September, 1894, im
mediately after the passage of the
free wool law, XX wool was worth
in Boston 19 cents per pound. In
December, 1895, in the same
market it was worth 21 cents. In
1894 fine unwashed was worth in
Boston 12 cents, and in December,
1895, it was worth 14 cents. In
1894 fine unmerchantable was
worth from 13 to 14 cents, and in
1895 the price was from 14 to 15
cents; thus showing a steady im
provement in prices under the
Wilson law, notwithstanding the
price of wool in the markets of
the world were on thedecline at
this very period. These figure s are
taken from the American Wool and
Cotton Reporter for December 19,
1895.
Our own local wool-growers,
know from their own experience,
that the price on Utah wool has ad
vanced during the last two years,
over that of the year peceding,
when we had the highest protective
duty on wool ever known in this
country. While it is true that the
price of wool has gone up in this
country under free wool, it is also
true, that the woolen mills have
never been so prosperous as they
are today. Those which were shut
down are today running on their
full capacity. The official reports
show that we consumed .in 1895,
540,000,000 pounds of wool more
than was ever consumed in the
most prosperous wool year in the
history of this ceuntry. This im
mense increase all went into the
factories, and was used by the peo
ple of the United States, at even a
less price than they were compelled
to pay under the McKinley tariff.
Thus, under free wool, the people
get better prices for their wool,
better quality of goods and cheaper
goods, than under the protective
system.
It has been suggested, that under
the Wilson bill, the sheep-owners
have been butchering their sheep
and selling them for mutton, until
the western prairies were almost
entirely rid of sheep, 'and that the
slatting of a lamb was now as rare
as the howl of a coyote.
This is an insane suggestion:
and absolutely untrue. Jrom in
formation taken from the Wool and
Cotton Reporter, the flocks of sheep
in California, Oregon, Washington,
Utah and other western, states in
cluding the Dakotas, are on the in
crease now under the Wilson bill,and
that there are more sheep there today
than there was one year ago. The
statistics also show that wages hare
been advanced by the woolen mills
twice, and in some instances three
times during the past year, and that
these mills are running day and
night, thus furnishing steady work
at increased wages to their em
ployees. Mills that were closed
under the McKinley act, are now
open and running their full capac
ity under the Wilson law. So it
must be plain that all this talk
about the country going to ruin
under the Democratic idea of free
wool, is false, and is the sophistry
of the politicians " to pull the wool,"
over the eyes of the unthinking
sheep-raiser.
We honestly believe that free
wool is to the advantage of the
sheep-raiser, as well as to all other
classes. The decline of prices in
wool, as well as on all other pro-
t ducts of the field, is due to the
maintainence of the single gold
standard, more than to any tariff
laws. The sooner the people of
Utah get their eyes opened to the
cold facts, the sooner we will have
a period of settled prosperity. Let
the tariff alone for the present, and
especially on wool, and let all persist
ently urge a return to the ue of
the money of our forefathers, and
we will need no tariff on wool, any
more than we do on potatoes.
Fillmore, Millard County, Utah,
February 12th, 1896.
Julius F. Taylor, Esq., Salt Lake
City:
Dear Sir. I hope you will par
don me for not writing to you be
fore. I want to say that we have
been receiving the Broad Ax, and
Mrs. Taylor and I take great pleas
ure in reading it, and we think it is
all right, and we both hope you
will meet with success. This leaves
us all well at present, and we hope
it will find yourself and Mrs. Tay
lor enjoying the best of health!.
Mrs. Taylor joins in sending kind
regards to you and Mrs. Taylor.
We are getting along very well,
and the people are very kind ani
treat us very well. We hare had a
good time this winter; it has not
been rery cold here, and we have
no snow at present. Again thank-'
ing you for being so kind in tend
ing your paper, and hoping you
will remember me to Mr. Lemens
and the rest of my many friends in
Salt Lake,, and agsin wishing you
success, 1 remain,
Yours respectfully,
John A. Taylor.
Unity Hall, 28 west, Third South
Street. Services at 11 o'clock a.
m., Sunday. Ber. A. L. Hudson,
pastor. Subject: "Pythianism and
Religion."
4
-fc MjC2MV3
jfauaJim'