gument from me to convince you that that class of wools can neither be profitable nor interesting for the farmers of this country to grow. The second provision is for an increase of 5 cents a pound on secondclass washed wools. That means, gentlemen, 16 cents a pound on English blood wools. The only second-class wools that are imported into this country come either from Great Britian or from Canada. No matter whether wools from other countries are really English wools or not, they will not be admitted at the single rate of duty into any port of the United States, because they say that coming from another country you must prove absolutely that there is not a trace of merino blood in them. Every pound of washed second-class combing wool imported comes from either Great Britain or from Canada. The value of those wools in England, the heavy, coarse-fibered wool, is about 20 cents a pound, and the imposition of a duty of 16 cents a pound means 80 per cent. on the raw material. Senator ALDRICH. Twenty cents in a washed condition, you mean? Mr. WHITMAN. Twenty cents in a washed condition. The imposition of a duty of 16 cents a pound means 80 per cent. on the value of the material. The duty to day is 10 cents a pound, which is equivalent to 50 per cent. The duty proposed in the Senate bill is 11 cents a pound, which is 55 per cent. Now-for I am in a position to do it with some sort of authority, because I have used these wools for twenty years, off and on-I want to give you the real reason for wools of English blood ruling so low, and corresponding wools ruling so low, and that is because there has been in these twenty years a change of fashion, so that those wools are not wanted for the purposes that they were wanted twenty years ago. That decline has been in all bright-haired wools. I have to give 80 cents for a pound of Canada wool which could then have been bought for 30 cents. I think what is known as Lincoln hog wool was worth in 1867 at least double the price that it is worth to-day. But the decline in the value of wools of English blood, in comparison with other wools, is solely to be attributed to a change in fashion by which those wools have become less and less desirable. The third provision defines washed wools as wools washed in cold water on the sheep's back. Senator ALDRICH. I understood Judge Lawrence to say that that provision was agreed to in the conference between the manufacturers and growers of wool last year. Mr. WHITMAN. There has been no such agreement. Mr. LAWRENCE. I think that was a mistake. Senator ALDRICH. You stated that, did you not, Judge Lawrence? Mr. LAWRENCE. Yes, I did; but upon consultation with Mr. Delano I think that was not included in the conference a year ago. Mr. WHITMAN. There was no such agreement. It was not even discussed. Mr. LAWRENCE. I differ from the gentleman about that. Mr. WHITMAN. Nearly all those provisions proposed by the gentlemen were discussed and abandoned by them at that conference. Mr. LAWRENCE. Yes, for a reason. Mr. WHITMAN. Every provision which is embraced in that amendment was discussed and withdrawn on the representations which were made. I suppose that the distinguished gentleman who framed this paragraph is a lawyer; most of you gentlemen are lawyers. Wool that is washed other than in cold water, how would it be dutiable? Wool that is washed other than on the sheep's back, how would that be dutiable under the proposed amendment? You upset your whole tariff by the phraseology which you have proposed to introduce, because, while you intend undoubtedly to make this pay a duty as scoured wool, if it is washed other than in the way you have mentioned you certainly do not say so. Suppose it did not operate as I have said, the burden of proof would be on the importer. How, on the other hand, could we prove that it was washed in cold water? How could we prove that it was washed on the sheep's back? How could we wash the hair of the llama or the hair of the camel "on the sheep's back?" It does not grow there. The next provision which the gentlemen propose to introduce defines what is scoured wool. Before proceeding to discuss that I wish to say, in relation to the terms mentioned before, that the term "washed" is a commercial term. I do not believe you can define washed wools in any other way, and I believe that the only way is the way that was adopted in 1866, by having standard samples in the different custom-houses, and using them as a guide. Now the proposition defines scoured wool. Senator MORRILL. It was the act of 1867, instead of 1866. Senator ALDRICH. It was agreed to in 1866 between the wool-growers and wool manufacturers. Mr. WHITMAN. Yes. Senator SHERMAN. What do you say is the proper definition of washed wool? What do you mean by washed wool? Mr. WHITMAN. Washed wool in Texas is usually wool that is washed on the sheep's back; that is the general term. Mr. LAWRENCE. That has been the practice in all our States; it is only washed east of the Mississippi River. Mr. WHITMAN. But there are countries in the world where it is impracticable to do that, and there are different kinds of wool. Senator SHERMAN. They could not be washed with warm water on the sheep's back. Mr. WHITMAN. It could be done. Senator SHERMAN. Not in the ordinary streams of water in the country. Mr. WHITMAN. Oh, no, sir; it would have to be done by artificial means, of course. Here is a definition for scoured wool: "Containing less than 12 per cent. of grease, dirt, or other foreign substances." In my judgment, even if it were wise to pass such a bill to protect the wool-grower it would be utterly impracticable in its operation for these reasons. Mr. DELANO. Then it will do no harm. Mr. WHITMAN. Certainly it would. Suppose I import a cargo of carpet wools from a given country, we will say 1,000 bales of this wool. There will be a difference in the shrinkage in nearly every bale; there will be a difference in shrinkage in different fleeces in the bale; and then there would be the shrinkage in the different parts of the fleece. There always is. One part of the fleece shrinks more than the other part. How is the examiner to determine the amount of shrinkage in that cargo of wool? Supposing a little piece is drawn from 1 of every 10 bales in the cargo, and it is scoured and weighed; are you going to determine the shrinkage of the whole cargo of wool by a few samples drawn from different bales? How are you going to determine the shrinkage? Wool, after it is scoured and dried, and left over night on the floor, will absorb from the atmosphere 5 per cent. of moisture. Wool absorbs moisture on the voyage from Great Britain to the United States. It possesses a peculiar property of absorbing moisture from the atmosphere, and in some countries an allowance of 15 per cent. is made for that. That is, from a purely dry state to a natural condition there would be a shrinkage of 15 per cent. Then, again, how are you going to test the amount of foreign substances in the wool? Take wool that is grown all over the world and scoured and it is full of vegetable material. It has a lot of straw in it, or a lot of burrs, or other foreign substances. How in the world would it be possible to set up a carding-engine to card out that foreign substance in order to determine the amount of shrinkage? Senator SHERMAN. The law now says that the third class wools, when scoured, shall pay three times 2 cents. What is scoured wool? What do you mean by scoured wool? I see difficulties in the way of ascertaining precisely what is scoured wool. Mr. WHITMAN. In a general way, wool that has been subjected to the application of soap, alkalies, or hot water is considered scoured. Senator SHERMAN. Would you consider that a proper definition of scoured wool? Mr. WHITMAN. I should, certainly; but I do not know whether it would be operative or not. Mr. DELANO. Will the gentlemen allow me to make a statement here? The Senator from Ohio has suggested that under existing law, without any definition of what is scoured wool, the question must necessarily arise as to what scoured wool is. We know, and I think the gentleman knows, that under existing conditions wool is reduced, in the matter of its impurities, to a condition that would very nearly require that it should be called, commercially, scoured wool, and that frauds upon the wool production and upon the revenue will thereby be introduced, and it is to limit those. I suggest to the gentlemen that it introduces no new difficulties, but it is guarding against an imposition and fraud that is now practiced. The present difficulties are by no means increased. The provision is remedial, or intended to be remedial, of this difficulty of introducing nearly scoured wool as washed wool. Senator HISCOCK. Can you do this, Mr. Whitman: Give us the rela tive prices of the same wool on the other side, washed, unwashed, and scoured? Mr. WHITMAN. I could not at this minute. Mr. DOBSON. Here is a copy of the Bradford Observer Wool Tables. That contains the information. Senator HISCOCK. That gives the relative prices? Mr. DOBSON. Yes, sir. Senator HISCOCK. Put that in. The following is the paper: THE BRADFORD OBSERVER WOOL TABLES, 1889. I.-Estimate of home-grown wool of United Kingdom in 1888. NOTE. The sheep and lambs of 1887 produce the wool of 1888. The number slaughtered during the year is indicated by the number of lambs in 1888, plus the aggregate decrease of sheep and lambs. Thus: Lambs, 1888, 10.995,276 + decrease of sheep and lambs, 453,584 = 11.448 860, which, at 3 pounds per fleece, being the estimated loss of wool, gives 34.346,580 pounds. The figures in the above estimate are, as usual, exclusive of the Isle of Man and Channel Islands. |