up to $135 per suit. If the wool cost $8 in the $135 suit of clothes, then $128 represented something else in the suit of clothes besides wool. On the average the cost of the wool in that suit of clothes is about $4 or $5, dependent on the quality. There is something more important than wool, at least more valuable apparently, that goes into the clothing than the wool that the sheep breeder grows.

We have heard a good deal lately about agricultural conditions in the country. Yesterday morning's Washington Post carried an editorial, which I will not read, dealing with that problem.

The Agriculture Department recently gave out some figures that bear very closely on the question of the wool production of this country, and it is that I want to call your attention to, but not at any great length. It says:

The extent and importance of the movement away from the hill farms is shown by some of the letters received by Mr. Shepard. Thus a reporter in the Finger Lake region writes: "One must recall the time a few years ago when the farms on the hills were prosperous, well tilled and occupied, but to-day all is changed. I counted about 20 unoccupied houses within a radius of a few miles, and many acres here in Schuyler County have been left untilled the past five years. Every year more people have left. During this past year every younger man who worked or hired to some farmer has left to work in town.'

There are a multitude of these statements made by farmers. This was up in New York.

Another circular sent out by the Department of Agriculture says: The discouragement that exists among farmers in the less prosperous farming districts is well shown by their letters. A farmer in a stony clay section close to the St. Lawrence River was so discouraged that he wrote: "Conditions are getting worse every day on the farms. We can no longer get any good help. Lots of farmers are getting discouraged. One of my neighbors just sold his farm with good buildings all complete, 210 acres, for $5,000. He is moving off and no one going on. Unless we can get help on the farms there will be a famine in this country within three years. I am going to try it just one more year."

Mr. SIMS. Where was the farm sold?

Mr. ATKESON. That is contained in a circular sent out by the Agricultural Department.

Mr. SIMS. In what State?

Mr. ATKESON.. New York.

Another statement sent out by the Department of Agriculture shows that the number of sheep in Argentina has been more than doubled in the last two years. In my own State of West Virginia we have in round numbers about 15,000,000 acres, and we can work comfortably about 5,000,000 acres and without comfort 5,000,000 more and the other 5,000,000 are covered with hills and mountains. I take it that the modern farm appliances can be used only on comparatively level land. Parts of this country, especially throughout the length of the Appalachian Mountain region, are being practically abandoned, because of the competition of machinery and other facilities for cultivating the more level land. These hill lands are now being abandoned because, if for no other reasou, they are becoming less productive and less possible of fertility. in order to clothe and also feed the people of the country the lands should somehow be utilized, and there is no better way by which they can be utilized than to develop the sheep industry in the country. There seems to be a reason for the sheep industry of this country declining under

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present economic conditions, and the reports of the Agricultural Department seem to substantiate that fact. Sheep not only produce wool out of which clothing is manufactured, but they also produce a wholesome meat product that it seems should not be lost sight of.

Mr. SIMS. How is the dog industry in West Virginia?

Mr. ATKESON. The dog industry?

Mr. SIMS. Yes, sir.

Mr. ATKESON. There is one county in my State where a few years ago they had 15 sheep and 1,500 dogs.

Mr. SIMS. You will have to do something to discourage the dog industry, because that accounts for the sheep industry in West Virginia and Tennessee amounting to nothing.

Mr. BARKLEY. I did not know that the dog was an industry; I thought it was a pest.

Mr. SIMS. From the sheep viewpoint I suppose it is.

Mr. ATKESON. I am not able to say that any of the bills pending are absolutely perfect. After having given as much study as I could to the French bill, it seems to more nearly meet the requirements of the situation.

There is one peculiar thing about this particular matter, and with this I will close my statement. So far as I know, every farmer organization in the United States is behind this proposition to guarantee to the purchasers of woolen goods that they get what they buy; that is, that they get a product manufactured entirely from virgin wool, or that they know what percentage of some other commodity enters into that fabric.

We believe that is fair and right to everybody. As I say, there has been a good deal of difference of opinion among various farm organizations, and we have a multitude of them, but on this question, so far as I know, we are absolutely agreed, and, so far as I know, every consumer except the manufacturer of woolen fabrics, is in favor of this protection against deception and fraud in the sale of woolen goods. I think every agricultural newspaper in the country is in favor of this proposition, and so far as I have seen every great daily newspaper, outside of some class publications, is in favor of this proposition. I feel perfectly sure that no proposition has ever come before a committee of Congress upon which there is such universal approval, except, of course, the people who are interested in manufacturing the goods.

I had something to do in years past in promoting the bill against the selling of oleomargarine as butter. There were people opposing that proposition who ate oleomargarine-I was surprised that that was true but upon that question there never seemed to be the same degree of unanimity among the primary producers as there is among the wool growers and the ultimate consumer, who is the wearer of the product. As to whether it would increase the price of virgin wool clothing or not, I do not know, but if it decreased the use of shody it would increase the quantity of wool and to that extent at least encourage and promote the sheep industry of this country, which I believe is sound public policy. If we are willing to pay more for the virgin wool clothing, it seems to me that is entirely right and proper. I just wanted to say that much, gentlemen. I am through. The CHAIRMAN. We are much obliged to you.

Is there any witness who can fill in the time between now and 12 o'clock?

Mr. FRENCH. Mr. Chairman, perhaps you might like to go over.

The CHAIRMAN. This afternoon Judge Sims and myself will be engaged in the conference on the water power bill, and as there will probably be some votes on the District bill this afternoon it may be wise not to have a meeting this afternoon, but to meet to-morrow morning at 10.30 o'clock. If there is any gentleman who desires 10 or 15 minutes, we will hear him now.

Mr. FRENCH. I think that Mr. Davisson might go on now.
The CHAIRMAN. Very well.

STATEMENT OF HON. F. B. DAVISSON, PRESIDENT WEST VIRGINIA SHEEP GROWERS' ASSOCIATION, BRIDGEPORT, W. VA.

Mr. DAVISSON. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I am the president of the West Virginia Sheep Growers' Association, and a farmer. I want to say that in one sense of the word I am a cattleman in sheep's clothing. You might ask how could that be, simply because I have not any sheep to-day on my farm. I have 62 cattle in my stable which, if I put them on the market in New York to-day, would lose me $50 a head. I might say that I did keep sheep in the days of my youth. I want to say right here that in 1879 I was in Philadelphia with cattle and there was some sheepmen from the West-I do not know but what it was my friend who talked-had two carloads of sheep. They sold the sheep. The man stayed at the hotel at stockyard. I did not get acquainted with him. They hunted around to find the sheep owner from the West. They said that the sheep did not bring what the freight cost. That was in 1879. I do not know whether this was the man or not, but the man had left the town and did not pay his hotel bill. I guess it must have been an older man than you are. I sold my cattle along the yards of Philadelphia against the cattle from the ranges of the West. There were 150 carloads of range cattle selling for about 2.75 cents a pound. I sold my cattle at 3 cents, 4 carloads, and made $24 and a white cow, and then lost the cow. That shows something of what was going on in 1879. In 1879, my brother and I bought 6,000 sheep in West Virginia. We did not ship the lambs then. There were 1,800 fat sheep in the 6,000 that we bought. We gave 2.75 cents a pound for the 6,000 sheep. The 1,800 fat sheep were shipped to Philadelphia to be sold.

We sold owes to the farmers where they would take them, and some would not take them except in this way. They said: "We will take these sheep on shares. We will give you half the wool. That is, if you will give us half the wool and half of the lambs, we will put no money in it, but we will keep the sheep for you." Well, we put some sheep out there.

Gentlemen, I am glad I came here to this congressional school, I may call it, glad to meet you people, glad to meet the factory people. I am glad to meet the people who have been working our wool, glad to meet the people here who make the laws, the various laws which will be coming for you people to mediate about. I used to hear it said when I was a boy that "My head is kind of wool gathering to-day;

I just don't know about things; I will have to wait awhile." Now, we are all getting wool in our heads more and more, and shoddy as well. I never knew what shoddy was before, and I want my factory friends to take my overcoat there and look at it. This man here [indicating], I want him to tell you what is in this suit. I do not know. Now, you can meditate about that while I talk. If you factory people do not know, this man said that he could take virgin wool and make good goods out of it. I will tell you what comes in right there. Virgin wool may be of a very low hairy grade. They used to pick out what they called hairy wool in West Virginia and sold it at 5 cents a pound when they were getting 15 and 20 cents for other grades of wool. This man says he would use 60 per cent of virgin wool. Well, that is all good, as far as it goes, but what about the other 40 per cent? Where does it come in? Does it come in on the shoddy end of it or the other stuff that is worked in with it? According to this bill, the definition of shoddy is broad. There is hardly any end to it. Hair is mixed into it-dog hair. I have hair spoken of here, so many pounds of hair, but they did not say whether it was dog hair or cattle hair or horse hair or anything of that kind, but the stuff that is being worked into the goods is on our backs to-day. If any of you gentlemen here to-day were told that you could wear somebody else's suit, he would not touch it, because of the idea of wearing other people's clothes. According to the story, we do not know, I do not know, according to what I have heard, the route of the material that is in my overcoat and my clothes I have on me.

Mr. WHITMAN. That went straight from the sheep's back. Has it worn you well?

Mr. DAVISSON. I have worn it for one month. Why did it get slick there [indicating]?

When I

Mr. WHITMAN. It is pretty poor virgin wool. Mr. DAVISSON. I will tell you what happened to this. was getting ready to come here the other day my wife said: "I notice your breeches is busted." I said: "Well, they are."

She said: Let me sew them up." I threw them there [indicating], and my wife darned them right down the leg where they were busted. I put on my socks and got ready and I put these breeches on. bending over and tieing my shoes and she said: "Your breeches is busted again. Take them off and let me sew them." I said: "I won't take them off." She said: "You won't go to Washington that way." And she made me take them off and she resewed them there [indicating].

Mr. WHITMAN. That suit is 100 per cent virgin wool.

Mr. DAVISSON. Now, I am big, you see, and it takes room for me. Mr. WHITMAN. What did the suit cost you, Mr. Davisson?

Mr. DAVISSON. $77. Now, how many pounds of wool is in that? They say the farmers are getting too much, that farmers are all prosperous and getting too much for their cattle and sheep and meat and wool. The consuming public

Mr. WHITMAN (interposing). I should think that is about 12 or 13 ounces to the yard. It would take about 34 yards or 4 yards to make a suit for you.

Mr. DAVISSON. How many dollars' worth of wool is in that?

Mr. WHITMAN. I could not tell you what that particular wool is worth. It is not a high-grade virgin wool. I would say possibly that wool is worth about $1.50 a pound.

Mr. DAVISSON. You talk on until I get my overcoat.
The CHAIRMAN. You have a few minutes more.

Mr. DAVISSON. Now, the sheep is a peculiar animal. It will both feed and clothe us, men, do not forget that. The sheep is good to eat. I was here down at the Raleigh Hotel and ordered some lamb chops from the waiter. I looked at the bill of fare and I saw lamb chops, 50 cents. I said, "Well, how much is that?" The waiter said, "50 cents." I said, "How many bites in a lamb chop?" He said, "Well, it depends on how big your mouth is." I said to him, "Would one be enough for my breakfast?" He said, "No, sir; it would not." Well, I ordered four lamb chops down at the Raleigh for breakfast. This is sheep statistics from the breakfast table of the Raleigh Hotel. There is where I am stopping. I ate four lamb chops. I gnawed all the meat off of the ribs. There are the four stockings, the paper stockings that were on the ribs of the lamb-chops [indicating]. I bit into this with my mouth and there were 13 bites out of the four lamb chops that cost $2. Now, these are facts. These are plain things. I ate four warm rolls and drank two cups of coffee, and I was not foundered-this was last Friday morning. I asked the waiter, "Are these mine? May I have these lamb chop stockings to take home to show my wife?" He said, "Oh, yes; take them with you, they are yours."

Now, we have a complaining public about our meats, and we have a complaining public about our clothing, and don't you forget, gentlemen, as to this bill, that this is not strictly a sheep man's bill. The sheep growers of America are not the only beneficiaries under this bill, but I will tell you the great army of consumers of America are the people who are more interested in this bill and it is more to them than to the sheep growers. As to our factory friends, we need them to run the business. This gentleman [indicating] said they would have to go out of business. I do not know how that was. Here is Mr. Silver, from West Virginia, and whom does he represent? He told you the other day whom he represented-the American Federation of Farm Bureaus. He belongs in West Virginia. He was raised in West Virginia. He was at Chicago. They have a committee of 52 in the National Federation of Farm Bureaus-have you not, Mr. Silver?

Mr. SILVER. Yes, sir.

Mr. DAVISSON. You are one of that membership?

Mr. SILVER. Yes, sir.

Mr. DAVISSON. He is the eastern representative of the American Federation of Farm Bureaus. Who are the Farm Bureau people? I am one of them, in Harrison County, W. Va. I was president of our farm bureau association for two years. I was in the legislature in 1915 when we created that law which hitched up with the SmithLever bill, a fine law. I live in Harrison County, where Senator Goff was raised, and where John W. Davis, another noted man, was born and raised. You have heard it said that West Virginia has produced as good wool as they did anywhere in the world. I heard a man say