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Attention is called to the map of the United States on the cover of this volume, which indicates the two sections here dis cussed and some of the countries presented.

Relative conditions of prosperity in the manufacturing and nonmanufacturing sections of the United States, respectively.* [From Census of 1900.]

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*Manufacturing section includes area north of the Potomac and Ohio and east of the Mississippi, viz., the New England and Middle States, and Maryland, District of Columbia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

SHEEP AND WOOL INDUSTRY.

Some Figures on the Losses under Free Trade in Wool. The losses to the sheep and wool producers of the country through the Wilson-Gorman tariff law, which placed wool on the free list, are well remembered in general terms, but the actual figures regarding the fall in the value of sheep and the reduction in the number of sheep and the wool produced are such as to justify presentation. The figures of the Department of Agriculture show that the number of sheep in the United States on January 1, 1893, two months after the election of President Cleveland, was 47,273,553, and their value $125,909,254. The same authority, the Department of Agriculture, operating under a Democratic Administration, showed on Jan. 1, 1896, the closing year of President Cleveland's term, 36,818,643 sheep in the United States and their value $67, 20,942. Here is a decrease of more than 10 millions or nearly 25 per cent. in the number of sheep and a decrease of 58 million dollars, or nearly 50 per cent. in their value during President Cleveland's term, under which wool was placed on the free list. By January 1, 1903, the num ber of sheep had reached 63,964,876, and the value $168,315,750, an increase of practically 75 per cent. in the number, and 150 per cent. in the value of the sheep in the country. This, however, is not all of the loss to the farmer-a loss of nearly 60 million dollars in the value of sheep alone. There was also a great loss in wool. The quantity of wool produced in 1893

was 303 million pounds and by 1895 had fallen to 209 million pounds and did not again reach the 300 million line until 1901, when it was 302 millions and in 1902, 316 millions. Here was a reduction of practically one-third in the quantity of wool produced in 1895 as compared with 1893. But even this does not measure the loss, since the value per pound of the reduced production was far below that of prior years. Wool price quotations published by the Bureau of Statistics show that grades of wool which sold at 35 cents per pound in 1891 had fallen to 19 cents per pound in 1896 and by 1901 were again above the price of 30 cents per pound. A careful estimate of the value of the wool product of the United States made by an eminent authority on the subject puts the total value of the wool product of the country in 1892 at 79 million dollars, and in 1896 at 321⁄2 millions, a loss of 462 millions. Adding this loss in wool to the 58 million dollars loss in value of sheep, above quoted, gives a grand total of the loss to the farmer in the value of sheep and wool of over 100 million dollars for a single year for which this calculation is made, or approximately 400 million dollars for the four years of the Cleveland Administration. In 1907 the value of wool was estimated by experts at $78,000.000, or two and one-half times that of 1896.

Effect of Protection and Free Trade in Regard to Sheep. The official reports of the United States Government upon the subject of sheep raising and sheep values teach a wonderful lesson.

From 1878 to 1882, inclusive, the Morrill tariff (protection) was in force, and the number of sheep throughout the country increased by over 11,000,000 during this period.

The tariff of 1883 was in force from 1883 to 1889, inclusive, The duties imposed by this tariff upon raw wool amounted to no more than a revenue tariff on yarns and some other goods produced from wool; consequently the result of this tariff as a whole was not protective. Under its operation the number of sheep throughout the United States decreased by about 6,000,000.

The McKinley tariff, passed in 1890, was a scientific tariff as applied to wool growing, with the result that the number of sheep throughout the country increased by nearly 4,000,000 before the free-trade election of 1892.

The Wilson tariff, with free trade in wool, practically went into effect when Mr. Cleveland was elected, and immediately the flocks throughout the country began to decrease, and from 1893 to 1896 decreased by about 9,000,000.

The Dingley tariff reimposed the scientific schedules of the McKinley tariff, and with the promise of protection through the election of William McKinley and a Republican Congress the sheep-raising industry immediately began to prosper. From 1896 to and including 1907 the number of sheep increased by 17 million and their value increased 144 million dollars.

The effect of protection and free trade in regard to the number of sheep owned throughout the country is not more impressive than the effect as to value. Under the Morrill tariff the lowest price per head was $2.09 and the highest $2.55. Under the tariff of 1883 the lowest price per head was $1.91 and the highest price was $2.27. Under the McKinley tariff the lowest price was $2.49 and the highest price $2.66. Under free trade the lowest price was $1.58 and the highest price $1.92. Under the Dingley tariff the lowest price was $2.59 per head, and now the value has advanced to $3.95 per head, the highest average price in the history of the nation.

Well-paid wage-earners are generous consumers.-Former Senator Casey, in the American Economist.

When we regard the history of the forty years through which the colored man of this country has been obliged to struggle, the progress which he has made, material and educational, is wonderful.-Hon. Wm H Taft, at Kansas City,

Mo.

Report of the United States Government on sheep raising from 1878 to 1898, inclusive, and report for 1900, based upon the sheep-raising census of the American Protective Tariff League.

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Wool Production, Imports, Consumption, Manufacture, Price of Wool, and Value of Sheep on Farms, 1875 to 1907.

This table, showing the home production and imports of wool, the percentage which foreign wool forms of the total consumption, the price of wool in the United States, and the number and value of sheep on farms, covers the period from 1875 to 1907, and enables a comparison of conditions under the protective system with those under free trade, since wool was admitted free of duty under the Wilson Act, which went into effect August 27, 1894, and continued in operation until July 24, 1897. It will be seen that the quantity of wool imported increased enormously during that time, that the price of domestic wool fell to about one-half of that of former years, that the number of sheep on farms was materially reduced and their price per head also greatly reduced, so that the value of sheep on farms fell from 125 million dollars shortly before the enactment of that law to 65 millions in the latter part of its operation.

The course of the Republican party since its organization in 1856, and its real assumption of control in 1861, down to the present day, is remarkable for the foresight and ability of its leaders, for the discipline and solidarity of its members, for its efficiency and deep sense of responsibility for the preservation and successful maintenance of the government, and for the greatest resourcefulness in meeting the various trying and difficult issues which a history of now a full half-century have presented for solution.-Hon. Wm. H. Taft, at Kansas City, Mo.

Government must be honest, business dealing must he square with the principles of right and justice, the things that are pure and clean and of good repute must be exalted; and underlying the whole fabric of our institutions we must safeguard our schools and kee¬ pure and undefiled, as the very foundation of our liberties, the American home.Cortelyou on Lincoln's influence од

Postmaster-General

American Life.

Wool production, imports, consumption, and manufacture in the United States; also price of wool and value of sheep on farms, 1875 to 1907.

Year ending

June 80

[From the Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1907.]

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18861887_ 1888

Pounds. Pounds.

Dollars.

52

38

33,783,600 94,320,652 35,935,300 93,666,318

50

35,804,200 80,892,683

36

35,740,500 80,603,062

37

38,123,800 79,023,984

46

40,765,900 90, 230,537

42

48,569,899 104,070,759

42

45,016,224 106,595,954

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Dollars. Dollars. Cents. 1875.. 181,000,000 54,901,760 22.1 11,071,259 44,609,704 1876. 192,000,000 44,642,836 18.3 8,247,617 33,209,800 1877_. 200,000,000 42,171,192 16.3 7,156,944 25,701,922 1878_. 208,250,000 48,449,079 16.9 8,363,015 25,230,154 1879_. 211,000,000 39,005,155 14.2 5,034,545 24,355,821 1880_. 232,500,000 128,131,747 34.9 23,727,650 33,911,093 1881 240,000,000 55,964,236 17.3 9,703,968 31,156,426 1882- 272,000,000 67,861,744 19.0 11,096,050 37,361,520 1883_. 290,000,000 70,575,478 18.7 10,949,331 44,274,952 1884_. 300,000,090 78,350,651 20.6 12,384,709 41,151,583 1885 308,000,000 70,596,170 18.0 8,879,923 35,776,559 302,000,000 129,084,958 28.9 16,746,081 41,421,319 285,000,000 114,038,030 27.4 16,424,479 44,902,718 269,000,000 113,558,753 28.9 15,887,217 47,719,393 1889 265,000,900 126,487,729 31.8 17,974,515 52,564,942 1890_ 276,000,000 105,431,285 27.0 15,264,083 56,582, 432 1891 285,000,090 129,303,648 30.8 18,231,372 41,060,080 1892- 294,000,000 148,670,652 33.1 19,688,108 35,565,879 1893- 303,153,000 172,433,838 35.7 21,064,180 38,048,515 18948. 298,057,384 55,152,585 14.2 6,107,438 19,439,372 18958. 309,748,000 206,033,906 40.0 25,556,421 38,539,890 18968- 272,474,708 230,911, 473 45.9 32,451,242 53,494,400 18978- 259,153,251 350,852,026 57.8 53,243,191 49,162,992 1898_. 266,720,684 132,795,202 32.8 16,783,692 14,823,771 1899 272,191,330 76,736,209 19.2 8,322,897 13,832,621 288,636,621 155,928,455 34.4 20,260,936 16,164,446 1901_ 302,502,328 103,583,505 24.9 12,529,881 14,585,306 1902_ 316,341,032 166,576,966 34.1 17,711,788 17,384,463 1903_. 287,450,000 177,137,796 37.8 22,152,961 19,546,385 1904- 291,783,032 173,742,834 37.0 24,813,591 17,733,788 1905- 295,488,438 249,135,746 45.5 46,225,558 17,893,663 1906. 298,915,130 201,688,668 39.6 39,068,372 23,080,683 33 1907- 298,294,750 203,847,545 40.0 41,534,028 22,321,460 34

1900

28 29

25

26

21% 36,818,643 67,020,942 37,656,960 92,721,133 39,114,453 107,697,530 281⁄2 41,883,065 122,665,913 59,756,718 178,072,476 62,039,091 164,446,091 312 63,964,876 168,315,750 322 51,630,144 133,530,099 45,170, 423 127,331,850 50,631,619 179,056,144 53,240, 282 204, 210, 129

36

Democratic and low tariff years.

BEET SUGAR.

The fact that about a hundred million dollars' worth of sugar is brought from foreign countries each year to meet the demands of the people of the United States, coupled with the belief that the production of this great sugar supply by our farmers is possible, renders proper a careful consideration of the effect of the recent legislation by which sugar from Porto Rico and the Hawaiian Islands is admitted free of duty, that from the Philippines at 25 per cent. below, and that from Cuba at 20 per cent. below the regular tariff rates. Will the absolute removal of all duty on sugar from Porto Rico and the Hawaiian Islands and the reduction of 25 per cent. on sugar from the Philippines and 20 per cent. on that from Cuba destroy the beet-sugar industry of the United States or work to its disadvantage? While it is a fact that the annexation of Hawaii and its organization as a Territory and customs district of the United States removed permanently all tariff on merchandise from those islands or passing into them from the United States, that fact made no change in the rates of duty on sugar from the islands, its only effect being to render absolutely permanent the conditions which had existed ever since the treaty of 1876, by which sugar from the Hawaiian Islands was admitted free on agreements that products of the United States should be admitted into the Hawaiian Islands free of duty, and that condition continued down to the annexation of Hawaii, when it was made permanent, as above indicated. In the case of Porto Rico all of the duty except 15 per cent. was removed by the act establishing the government of Porto Rico, and the remainder of that duty disappeared as soon as the Porto Rican

government announced its ability to provide its own revenues. The reduction of 25 per cent. in the rates of duty on merchandise from the Philippine Islands occurred on March 8, 1902.

Effect on the Home Producer.

All of these removals of duty on sugar from our own possessions have been in force a sufficient length of time to give opportunity to test their effect upon domestic sugar production. The quantity of sugar imported from Porto Rico increased from 86,607,317 pounds in the fiscal year 1897 to 408,149,992 pounds in the fiscal year 1907. The sugar imports from the Hawaiian Islands have increased from 431,196,980 pounds in 1897 to 822,014,811 pounds in the fiscal year 1907; and those from the Philippine Islands decreased from 72,463,577 pounds in the fiscal year 1897 to 25,164,756 pounds in the fiscal year 1907-the reduction in imports of sugar being, of course, due to the destruction of plantations and machinery during the war. Thus the quantity of sugar imported from Porto Rico, Hawaii, and the Philippine Islands in 1907 was practically double that of 1897. The entire quantity of sugar brought into the United States in the fiscal year 1907 amounted to 5,224,259,732 pounds. Of this total importation, 1,230,164,803 pounds came from Porto Rico and the Hawaiian Islands, and was absolutely free of duty, and this formed 23.5 per cent., or practically one-fourth of the total; while that from the Philippine Islands, which amounted to 25,164,756 pounds, came in with a reduction of 25 per cent. of the regular duty and formed about 1⁄2 of 1 per cent. of the total. Thus practically one-fourth of the sugar coming into the United States in 1907 was admitted absolutely free of duty from the Hawaiian Islands and Porto Rico. In 1897 the amount which came in free of duty from the Hawaiian Islands was 431,196,980 pounds, and this formed 8.9 per cent. of the total sugar importation of that year.

Increase of Beet Sugar Production since the Annexation of Hawaii and Porto Rico.

Here, then, is a fair basis upon which to determine the effect of the importation of sugar from our own possessions free of duty. In 1897 practically 9 per cent. of the sugar imported came in free of duty. In 1907 practically 25 per cent. came in free of duty. If such free importation were likely to affect disadvantageously beet sugar production at home, an increase from 9 per cent. to 25 per cent in the importations of free sugar would doubtless have made itself apparent by a reduction in the sugar production of the United States. But let us see what the beet sugar production of the country was in the two years in question-1897, when 9 per cent. of the sugar was imported free, and 1907, when 25 per cent. was imported free. The reports of the Department of Agriculture and Bureau of Statistics show that the beet sugar produced in the United States amounted in 1897 to 88,892,160 pounds. By 1899 it had increased to 141,230,160 pounds; by 1901 to 279,682,160 pounds; and in 1906 was 967,224,000 pounds. Here, then, is an increase of 988 per cent. in the beet sugar production of the United States during the very period in which free importation of sugar from Porto Rico was established and that from Hawaii made absolutely permanent by annexation and its establishment as a customs district of the United States, in which period the quantity of sugar imported free of duty increased 185 per

cent.

If an increase of 185 per cent. in the quantity of sugar imported free of duty, coupled with absolute assurance that the sugar fields of Porto Rico and Hawaii are to have permanently free access to the markets of the United States, was accompanied by an increase of 988 per cent. in the production of beet sugar at home, there seems little ground for any anxiety as to the effect of free sugar importation from our own territory in depressing beet sugar production at home.

Tables published on another page show the importation of sugar into the United States, the home production of various kinds of sugar, and the total home consumption for a term of

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