9. Free wool resulted in (1) the most fearful devastating destruction of wealth, and (2) operated as the greatest barrier to an increase of wealth ever forced upon this country by hostile legislation; and,

10. It resulted in injury not only to woolgrowers, but (1) to other farmers, who lost a market for crops to support sheep; and (2) to those engaged in all other industries (3) dependent on or (4) deriving employment from sheep husbandry.

With adequate wool protection in five years at most our woolgrowers could supply all needed wools of every kind, and thus

1. Save the export of gold to pay for foreign wool;

2. Utilize millions of acres of pasturage now going to waste.

3. Reduce our crops of cereals, avoid overproduction and enhance prices, making an American market for all;

4. Add to the value of farms and lands now lying idle; and,

5. Give employment to labor and wages, not only in the wool industry, but in building sheep barns, clearing lands, etc.

Protection is more important than free silver.

II. BRYAN AND NEBRASKA.

Bryan voted in Congress for the Wilson free-wool bill. In a speech on it he declared himself in favor of free wool, and said that a protective tariff is wrong in principle and vicious in practice. Yet his own State of Nebraska is more deeply interested in sheep husbandry than any State in the Union, unless it be Kansas.

In 1890, Nebraska had 209,243 sheep, reduced by free wool to 115,590 in 1895. With adequate protection, her flocks would number 5,000,000 in less than five years.

But this is not the only or even principal reason why that State is interested in sheep husbandry. If there were no sheep in the State, it is still deeply interested.

In December, 1895, I met in Washington, D. C., Mr. Rosewater, the able editor and proprietor of that widely-circulated and valuable paper the Omaha Bee, who made the statement that there were then 70,000 sheep within 40 miles of Omaha, in Nebraska, driven or shipped from Wyoming to be fed and wintered on hay and grain produced in Nebraska.

Wyoming and other States west of Nebraska and Kansas have pasturage for sheep during a good portion of each year--short prairie grass-but they are not grain growing or hay-producing States. They ship corn and oats from Nebraska and Kansas to winter some of their sheep. They drive others there and buy hay, oats, and corn to winter them, and others they sell to farmers to consume their winter feed. Thus sheep husbandry makes a market for their farm products.

With adequate wool protection the United States would soon have 110,000,000 sheep-all needed to supply the entire wool consumption of our country-none would be imported. Then a home market would be found for all the pasturage, hay, corn, and oats that Nebraska could produce.

When we import wool and manufactures of wool, we practically import pasturage, hay, corn, and oats. The statesmanship of Mr. Bryan is to import these into Nebraska, still further to destroy her market and reduce their prices. Mr. Bryan, in discussing the Wilson bill, urged in favor of the free-trade policy that we purchase foreign products:

"Which we can purchase abroad at a low price in exchange for the products of our soil."

Can Nebraska send her farm products to Europe to buy wool? There are no foreign markets for them-the cost of freights would leave nothing for the Nebraska farmer.

That State, as well as Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah― in fact all the Western and Middle-Western States-need a home market, with American prices.

III. THE SILVER-MINING STATES AND SHEEP HUSBANDRY.

Free wool, as we now know by experience, is free ruin to sheep husbandry. The silver-mining States can, with adequate wool protection, develop sheep husbandry until their wool product would yield to them more profit than silver mining.

IV. How TO KEEP GOLD IN THIS COUNTRY.

Our people want money; the way to keep it here is to give our citizens our entire market for all they can supply. Cease to send our gold to Europe; keep it here and we will hear no more about the gold reserve, bond issues, or low prices, or scarcity of money.

V. PROTECTION AND GOLD.

During fifteen years of Republican administration, under a protective tariff, the imports of gold exceeded the exports by $101,568,310. During the present Administration of President Cleveland and the Wilson tariff in operation since August 27, 1894, exports of gold in excess of imports have stood thus:

The returns for 1896 cover only eleven months, that is to say—from June 30, 1896, to May 31, 1896. A system which drains the country of its gold coin can not give prosperity. (See U. S. Statistical Abstract, 1895, p. 66.)

VI. THE GREAT QUESTION.

A protective tariff, then, is the great and all-important question of this political campaign. All the free silver of the world will not relieve our present business depression and the low prices of farm products, so long as we send our money to foreign countries to pay for commodities of classes which our own citizens can and, under protection, would make, and receive the money therefor, and thus be enabled to pay debts.

VII. FREE SILVER REPUBLICANS.

Occasionally a Republican is found who may suppose free silver will be useful, but all the free silver in the world can not relieve or avert the ruin of free trade. How will we get the silver if we continue to send our gold abroad to buy foreign products? We need both gold and silver. Protection will give us both, free trade will give us neither.

VIII. HOW TO SECURE BETTER PRICES FOR FARM PRODUCTS.

So long as we have free trade in wool, aud free trade in other commodities of classes which our people can supply, we will have foreign prices-low prices-prices fixed by competition with Chinese cheap labor, and British and other foreign cheap labor. London prices are the world's prices-the low gold-standard prices.

Protection will give us American prices for farm products-fair prices-because the import duty is so much added to the low foreign price, and serves to give our farmers a better price.

The Democratic "tariff for revenue only" has already provided a 66 crown of thorns" for labor and proposes to crucify it on a free silver cross, between Altgeld, anarchists, and fiat, worthless paper money repudiators.

IX. THE EFFECTS OF FREE WOOL IN REDUCING WOOL PRICES.

[From the Wool Circular of Justice, Bateman & Co., Philadelphia, August 1, 1896.]

In Table A is a schedule of twelve leading grades of American wool with the prices in the markets of Philadelphia, Boston, and New York on August 1, 1892, during the second year of the McKinley law, when that law was in full and undisturbed operation. In the next column are the prices in the same markets at this date, the second year of the Wilson-Gorman law. In the third column is the number of cents per pound decline caused by the removal of the McKinley duties. The average decline by the substitution of free trade for McKinley protection on wool has already been 423 per cent, and prices are still falling.

The average price of wool in London, for wool of the same kind and quality, from 1868 to 1894 was 51 per cent lower than in the protected markets of the United States during that time. This difference has now been overcome by the domestic decline and the foreign advance. The removal of protection which caused American prices to fall, stimulated the London wool market, and the latter has been advancing during the period that American markets have been declining. The London prices for foreign wool of the same kind and quality as the domestic are shown in Table B. If it was not the removal of the McKinley duties which caused this decline in American wools, when the markets of the world were advancing, what was it?”—(See Table A.)

TABLE A.-American wool-Philadelphia and Boston prices.

TABLE C.-Total imports of wool for twelve months ending June 30.

XI.—TOTAL IMPORTS OF MANUFACTURES OF WOOL FOR TWELVE

MONTHS ENDING JUNE 30.

1895

1896

$36,542, 396 53, 494, 193

Increase $16, 951, 797, or 461 per cent, over 1895.

XII. THE FOLLOWING IS FROM THAT VALUABLE PUBLICATION, "TRAFFIC," PHILADELPHIA, PA., MAY, 1896:

This was prepared by Theodore Justice for "Traffic.”

10.59 % higher in London.

The question now submitted to the American people is, Shall the still progressing ruin of free wool be arrested by a protective tariff? This is greater than all other questions.

Under the promised "most ample protection" the country will soon start on a career of prosperity with restored confidence, and attain that independence of wealth and resources which can not otherwise be secured.