Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1883-02-17
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POST INTELLIGENCER.
gRRE LUMBER AND FOREST PIE.
SERyATIOS.

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gREE LUMBER AND FOREST PIE.
sERyATIOS.
The Luu5erman's Gazette vigorously
takes up the question Of removing the
tariff on lumber, with view to pre-
serving the forests of the country, and
il puts considerable sense and logic
into its side of the argument. Ii saws
there has been abroad in the land for a
few years a number of people VINO
have gone daft With the idea that the
forests of America are being denuded
at q tremendous rate and that II some
{ hing is not instantly done the CONT
nsnt will speedily become a Sahara OF
desolation. The idea popped up IN the
Senate the other day as an argument IL
favor of placing lumber on the free list
The thought of the statesman who in
troduced it seemed to be that it would
be altogether generous and polite Tor
the United States to admit Canada
lumber free and encourage the people
of the Dominion TO destroy their coun
try by stripping it of its forests. IL
never seemed to have occurred to the
Delaware senator that il was quite as
important to preserve the Canadian
forests AZ the forests OF the United
States, the former exerting rather more
influence upon the climate OF the CONT
pent than the latter. ingalls,, of Kan
sas, a State whose forests were destroyed
centuries ago, or never existed, but
which seems to be progressing pretty
we'll without them, caught on to Bayard's
notion that "there was striking incon-
sistency in keeping upon the statute
book law Offering bonus for the cul
tivation of timber and at the time keep
ing out foreign lumber by duty" he
thought it plethoric of wisdom, but it Is
rather catch-penny notion, after all.
Preserving the pine forests of Michi-
gan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, the
Gazette remarks, would not ciothe the
prairie States with the shelter of trees
needed 10 make them more acceptable
and delightsome as places of residence.
Renewing the duty on lumber would
not justify the stoppage OF forest cui-
ture. Michigan is not suffering from
the destruction of her forests. IL other
States are let them pay bounty for
tree planting, if it will pay. The duty
on lumber is justified by the duties on
iron, steel, wool, wooden goods, tea, gu
gar, coffee, etc., and the general policy
OF protection, and it should stand or
fall with them. Whether at some fn-
ture time there will or will not
be dearth of pine in the United States
cannot affect the question. The dsvel-
opment of Michigan will not be stayed
by any consideration of that kind. Bill
lions of feet of the best timber that ever
grew has been reduced to smoke and
ashes IN the progress of clearing Michi-
gan and other States, and the operation
will go forward until the utmost extent
that can be reduced to cultivation has
been reached. The pine and other
woods of Michigan will not be preserved
by rendering their conversion into mer-
charitable shape Improbable. When
the axe of the lumberman can no lon
ger be lifted up against them at prof,
tho axe of the settler will fell them and
the clearing fires sweep them away.
Should tho competition of the Canadian
lumbermen become so sharp as to
induce the curtailing of operations in
tho Michigan lumber woods, there
would be but little saving Of timber for
the future. Let some of the eloquent
advocates OF forest preservation go
through the woods and view the havoc
made by the fires Of 1871, and they will
be less urgent on the subject. The de-
struction Of the Huron peninsula in
1882 is another illustration of what a
fire in forest can accomplish. The
pine forests Of Michigan are moro and
more subject to such visitations, and
before such encroachments and the
axes of the settlers they are sure to 90
down, whether numbered or not. In
deed, if abandoned by the lumbermen
they would the sooner disappear. The
hardy settlers are among them engaged
In pushing the wheat line northward.
They will not cease their efforts on &C
count Of arguments advanced by the
advocates Of forest preservation. until
Northern Michigan is covered with cul-
nvated farms. II there is any argu.
ment in favor Of protective duties upon
anything whatever, it applies equally
to lumber. Forest cultivation is an
other matter, in no way complicated
with the duty ON lumber.