THE AMERICAN WOOL KING.

Evening Star, Issue 3093, 17 January 1873, Page 3

THE AMERICAN WOOL KING.

The calamitous fire in Boston appears to have been turned to good account by “the Wool King,” who spread exaggerated reports as to the quantity of wool destroyed, and endeavoured, according to leading American newspapers, “to make mill owners run on half time, in order to raise the price of winter overcoats and blankets.” Of coui>e, such a seanda ! ous pice of “speculative smartness” could not have been attempted hut for tbe close Protective tariff of the United States. This enabled “the Wool King” to turn the calamity which destroyed twenty millions of propelty in the city of Boston into a money profit to themselves. That portion of the cress, however, which is in the interest of Free Trade, speedily ran “the Wool King” to the earth. They collected and published statistics, which effectually disposed of the speculators. It appears, as the result of their enquiries, that, at the very utmost, “ tw'o million pounds would cover the small quantity of bonded wool, and the sample lots iu owner’s stores, which were actually destroyed.” But even this estimate, it appears, is far in excess of what ultimately will be found to have been burnt. An American exchange says :—“ It is bei g ascertained daily, now that the first excitement is over and the debris are being cleared away, that the e is a large salvage in this as well as other kinds of merchandise in the burned districts, and the streets in Boston which were principally occupied by wool houses, for the past few days have been blocked up with wool hales, blackened and charred ou the outside, but whose contents on opening are found to be in good comlition. No doubt a very large quantity of wool will yet be found when the ruins are cleared away, which had hitherto been considered by the owners as entirely destroyed.” This i- extremely satisfactory, and bears out the statement in a Hoston wool circular, of date October 28, 1872, to the effect that “ there is a scarcity of fleece wool, and a straight lot is difficult to find at current rates, the purchases of tho last two weeks having cleared the market of all available lots of fine fft-eces.” This was issued immed ately before the fire It appears, also, that the wool growers of thp United Btates, having been disappointed in the prices ruling at the July and August sales, held back a large quantity of their wool, as much as forty percent, of the entire year’s clip being still in their hands. The foreign wool in Hoston was mostly stO'edMn the United States bonded warehouses, and these were situat d outside “the liie di tnct.” Instead, therefore, of from seven to fifteen million pounds of domestic wool having been destroyed in tbe fire, as was telegraphed by “ tho Wool Ring,’’ between one and two millions would represent the total;---an inappreciable quantity, which could not influence the price of wool in the English market. The domestic wool produce of the United States for 1872 was 109,840,358 lbs., and the importation for the same year (1872) was 95.248,024 lbs, making a total of n ,05,088,382 lbs. These figures go tP show that the destruction of wool in Boston by the late Rre was not a sufficient exense for the proposal submitted to the Now England woollen manufacturers to run their mills ou half time. We deem it right to publish these particulars, because we have been told that the exaggerated reports of tho destruction of wool at Boston induced specula ion m this Colony.— X. Z. Herald.