110 THE AGRICULTURAL BLOC 



farms in the United States. In round numbers 

 we had about 37,000,000 sheep of shearing age. 

 Li 1921, the number of sheep had declined to 

 45,000,000 head and the depression in the in- 

 dustry was acute. During the same period, 

 the cost of raising sheep increased nearly 200 

 per cent and the costs for wool alone were sev- 

 eral times the costs ten years later. Li the 

 meantime the sheep and wool industry in coun- 

 tries that compete extensively with the United 

 States changed but little. Last year while our 

 own wool clip was still in storage we were im- 

 porting ten to twenty million pounds a month 

 even while our wool-growers were unable to 

 pay their bills or get credit with which to buy 

 feed to winter their sheep. 



Why should we continue purchasing mutton 

 and wool from farms thousands of miles away 

 when our own producers are suffering because 

 of a limited market? There is only one answer: 

 In order to restore the balance, there must be 

 protection for the industry which will place 

 American producers on a fair basis to compete 

 with the imported product. 



The stabilizing value of a protective tariff 

 must not be overlooked. Our producers cannot 

 continue to produce sheep and wool in the face 



