1870. 



NEW ENGLAJSD FAKMER. 



47 



IMPORTATION OF 'WOOIi. 

 Editor of New England Farmer: — In 

 the address delivered at the American Insti 

 tute, New York, by Mr. Bigelow, President 

 of the National Association of Wool Manu- 

 facturers, I notice that, as published in the 

 newspapers, he assumed that "the great cause 

 of the present depression is excessive home 

 production," and futhermore that he said, "our 

 wool industry being depressed by over pro- 

 duction, its restoration to the normal relations 

 of demand and supply can alone bring relief." 

 With this view of the subject I am unable to 

 account for the marked increase in the impor- 

 tation of foreign wool, in addition to our "ex- 

 cessive home production," which is shown by 

 the statistics of the foreign trade published 

 by our government at Washington. By these 

 it appears that, for the years ending with 



June, the 



No of Pounds. Value. 



Importations in 1858 were 24,121 8C.3 $3 792 (556. 



Importations in 1869 were 39,607,975 6, 597, Oil. 



An iDcrease this year of 15,483,172 $1,8C4,68.>. 



This has a bad look to some of us wool-grow 

 ers who have been waiting as patiently as we 

 know how for the good time that jou have 

 encouraged us to hope was coming. j. b. 

 Benson, Vt., Nov. 9, 1869. 



Having but little knowledge of the statis- 

 tics of trade and commerce, we submitted the 

 substance of our correspondent's inquiry to 

 John L. Hayes, Esq., the able Secretary of 

 the Wool Manufacturers' Association, who 

 has kindly furnished the following reply, which 

 we hope will be satisfactory to him and to 

 others who may be alarmed by the published 

 statements of the increase in the amoiint of 

 ■wool imported by our manufacturers. 



Editor of New England Farmer : — 

 Dear Sir, — I reply with pleasure to the inter- 

 rogatories proposed in your favor of the 15ih 

 instant. 



The facts stated are, that the importations 

 of wool into the United States, for the year 

 18G8, amounted in value to $3,792,005, and 

 in pounds to 24,124,803, and in 1809, to 

 to 85,597,041 in value, and 39,007,975 in 

 pounds. These facts are understood to be 

 stated by the opponents of the present wool 

 and woollen tariEF as proofs of the inefficiency 

 of this tariff for the protection of the Amer- 

 ican wool grower, I do not propose to enter 

 into an inquiry as to the correctness of the 

 prei i.-e figures stated, for I admit the fact that 

 the nominal importations of wool for the year 

 18G9 considerably exceeded those for 1868, 



I will take some figures for ilhistration, whose 

 accuracy I can rely upon. 



Mr. George Wm. Bond, in his published 

 price current of wool at Bo,-ton, for Novem- 

 ber, 1869, gives the imports into Boston for the 

 first three-quarters cf the j ears 1868 and 1869, 

 They are as follows : — 



18GS. 



Eueland, 3S9,i 79 lbs, 



Butnos Ayrcs, 2,23 i 907 " 



Capeof Good Hope, 8.8,751 " 



Ff.nce, 49,3'^5 " 



Turkey, 970,941 " 



Chili and Peru, 2,057,443 " 



8undrie3 514 3 9 " 



7,050,855 lbs, 14,627,743 tt.8. 



The explanation of this great apparent in- 

 crease is very simple and familiar to all per- 

 sons in the trade. The importations were 

 principally made directly by manufacturers. 

 The character of the navigation was such in 

 the latter part of 1868, and the first part of 

 1869, that the imports, which in the ordinary 

 course of trade, should have reached Boston 

 in 1868 arrived in 1869, Almost the whole 

 imports of the Pacific Mills and the Atlantic 

 Delaine Company, among the largest consum- 

 ers of wool of all our mills, which should have 

 come in 1868, are included in 1869, To 

 this, the principal cause of the increase of im- 

 portations in 1869, should be added an in- 

 creased importation of combing wools from 

 England, notwithstanding the high duty, and 

 the needed encouragement thus given to the 

 production of similar wools here ; this increased 

 demand for combing wools, resulting from the 

 progress of the worsted manufacture in this 

 country. Nearly a million pounds of the 

 card wool included in the imports of 1869 

 were re-exported to Canada. 



It is apparent, then, that the alleged facts 

 fail to prove anjthinp' as to the im fficiency of 

 the present wool tariff as a protection to the 

 wool grower. 



On the other hand, there are striking facts 

 which prove the efficiency of this tariff as pro- 

 tection to the great ma^s tf American wool 

 growers. The piincipal object of the wool 

 tariff was to check the importation of clothing 

 wools, such as were largely imported from 

 Buenos Ayres and the Cape of Good Hope, 

 and which came into competition with the fine 

 clothing woi Is which are the principal product 

 of the American sheep husbandry. 



In 1866, before this tariff act was passed, 

 the importations of wool into Boston, from 



