Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1870-03-25
No a..
LUMBER.
EDIToR REPUBLICAN (.


cred, like iron: is an important one
to the masses Of the whole country.
Like iron, but more generally, it
enters into the mechanic arts to such
an extent that almost every man,
woman and child is made to feel,
and that keenly too, the effect of its
advanced value or increased cost.
+ Like as in coal and iron, the Gre
ator of the world was mindful of the
wants of His creatures, and caused
the earth to be covered by dense for
ests, not only to protect the earth
from the scorching rays of the mid
summers sun, but as we'll from the
keen blasts of winter The God of
nature intended those vast forests
not only for cheap fuel, but as we'll
for cheap shelter for all bis crea-
lures. But man has sought out
many inventions, and amongst the
rest he is ever inventing some pan
to horde up the mammon of Earth.
"W hen, in the course of human
events, it became necessary to i'm
pose duties on almost every article
of merchandise to raise enormous
revenues to carry forward the
wheels Of Government through the
dark days in our past history as 3
nation, duty of 20 per cent was
imposed upon all lumber coming
into the United States.
The British Provinces lying
north of us had supplied great quan i,
titles of lumber for many years, on
which this duty was more especially
to operate. But, as there was not
found the "cheap labor of Europe
of course No. 100 OF 120 per cent
need be added, or imposed, to pro-
duce equality in labor So 20
pcr cent. was deemed sufficient in
this case.
No sensible man will deny that
this was not equivalent to prohibi
ton Of foreigl lumber. Such being
the fact, what was the result? Those
who have not forgotten the past
will very well remember how
ssharp'' men of our Eastern and
Northern cities at once purchased
Immense tracts of "pine timber
lands ~ The valuable pine lands of
the United States, were found only
in the mountains Of Pennsylvania
Eand Maine, and in the higher lati-
tudes of Michigan, Wisconsin and
Minnesota To those regions at
once repaired the cool, calculating,
moneyed men of the north and GOV
cred millions of broad acres, at low
prices-almost all indeed that was
accessihle-with their deeds Of gen
eral warranty and patents, and then,
at once commenced the "advance in
lumberr' Having the title to the
lands, of course they had the timber
the projections, and with all
that they unitedly said ''we want
the money!" Very soon after in
stead of % dollars and 30 dollars
per thousand we paid so aaI
so dollars per thousand feet for
pine lumber These prices, Of
course. prompted men using large
quantities OF lumber to seek a cheap
er article, and hence poplar, cotton
wood, oak, ash DC. and in every
shape was largely demanded and
substituted for pine. The great de-
mand, thus created, as rapidly ad
vanced the price of those more com
mon kinds Of lumber to such an ex-
tent. that ''saw- mills became almost
the song of the land, while vast
quantities Of our finest timber fell a
prey to the woodlands ax,regardless
of results, further than money! To
be the owner of q 'saW-milr with a
fine lot of good timber, was the sure
index to fortune, if not to fame
The great drain upon labor, to sup
ply the demands of the army, caused
also, great demand for machinery
and with the great advance, under
the reign of necessary protection
for revenue, ofiron and lumber com
posing such machinery (as we'll as
fpaints and oils all these things
reached the farmers hands, neeessa-
.rily, at enormous prices The
great, greedy and enthroned Land
and Lumber King" now 9loried i'll
the shadows and green back smiles
of Protection toAmericanLumber! y
And well they might, for he who was
SO fortunate as to be thus situated
need not toll and sweat for liveli-
hood while he had the country, the
whole country, as one man toiling
and sweating for him, whilst he wa,
only busy in charging his vaults SO
as to contain the rich, the more than
kingly reward he was reaping under,
to him, the charming words of'pro-
lection to American lumberH! And
yet from all this enormous tax lev
led upon the people of the nation
| ftheGovernment was scarcely getting
a ten per cent interest, and remem-
tber, such is still the fact.
Every man, rich orpoor, through
/ tout the land, who desired to build
Ia barn, house, fence, wagon. plow
or machine of any kind had to do so
at more than double the former cost
| for the article of lumber alone In
deed the price made prime lumber a
luxury almost.
Now is there man, although
married to protection by triple vows,
who can or will stand up and say
that this is right, and that it must
be to equalize labor between the
British Provinces and the United
States? Is not the result and effect
of such protection, in times ofpeaec
but little less than robbery, of theft
under the sanction of law? Is it not