The Tariff And Wool

Last Thursday Congressman O'Donnell, of this state, made a speech on the tariff qnestion in Congress, from which is taken the following points on the wool industry : Michigan had, before the lowering of the tariff on wool, 450,000 sheep, which number feil to 250,576 when the duties were lowered. Under protection, the number of sheep in this country increased from 2,000,000 to over 50,000,000. Under the effect of the reduction of the tariff in 1883 the number of sheep decreased 6,000,000, with a corresponding decrease in the wool clip. Congressman Brewer spoke as follows on the same question : The continua! agitation of the wool question has been greatly detrimental to the wool-raisers of the state, and farmers are to-day receiving from flve to eight cents per pound less for their wool than they would if there was no proposed reduction of the tariff. For the three years following the reduction of the wool duty in 188o the amount of the clothing wools imported in excess of the three preceding years, amounted to nearly 12,000,000 pounds. The excess of carpet wools was 63,000,000 for the same time previous to the reduction. It is plain to be seen that with the entire abolition of duty in raw wool, the most of our wool will be imported, and the sheep industry of the United States will become a thing of the past.