Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-04-10


pound; poultry, now 10 per cent.
ad valorum, should be 3 cents per
pound live weight, and 5 cents per
pound dead weight; haxseed, now
20 cents per bushel, should be 80
cents; potatoes, now IS cents per
bushel, should be Is. There is
now a duty of 20 per cent. on
live stock imported except for
breeding purposes; this should be
at least double. The present duty
on pork and beef is 1 cent per
pound, that should be double; on
hams, bacon and lard, the duty is
2 cents per pound, and it should
be 4. | believe the figures I have
given will be but fair to the agri-
cultural interests and no more
than fair; and hope the commit
tee will seriously consider them,
and not incorporate in the bill a
less increase than | have indicated.
Mr.. La Toilette. You intro
duced a bill which was referred to
this committee increasing the duty
on potatoes from IS to 20 cents
per bushel. You now recommend
an increase to 25 cents.
Mr.. McCord. Since introduced
that bill | have received many
letters from potato-raisers in
different parts of the country,
saying that the duty ought to be
25 cents per bushel. At that time
I did not know that over 8,ooo,-
900 bushels of potatoes were
imported into this country in 1888
many Of them being brought in
vessels from the islands of the
Gulf Of St. Lawrence and from
Europe as ballast, and when
brought that way they are brought
with only nominal freight charges
upon them. The value of these
pstatoes thus imported for the
yesr 1883 was over 100000
which sum ought to have gone
into the pockets of the American
farmers. The American people
should be clothed with American
goods, manufactured in America,
and supplied in all respects with
American products, and l most
decidedly believe that the Ameri-
can people should buy the
products of the American soil,
produced by American farmers.
Mr.. Chairman, [ would like t.
say a word about the tariff on
lumber, as | represent one of the
largest lumber manufacturing
districts in the United States, but I
feel that l have already trespassed
too long on your valuable time.
Mr.. La Toilette. Give us your
opinion briefly as to whether the
present duty on lumber ought to
be reduced or left as it is?
Mr.. McCord My opinion is
that it ought to remain as it is.
If the duty on lumber was
taken off, I do not think it would
reduce the price of the lower
grades of lumber, to any appreci-
able extent and on the upper
grades not at all. The manufac-
turers of lumber are not making
an unreasonable profit on their
manufactured product, when the
amount of money invested and the
amount of labor employed is
taken into account. The pine
land-holder would not reduce the
price of stumpage no matter how
low the price of lumber might 60.
The only effect a reduction in the
tariff on lumber would have in my
opinion would be to appreciate
the value of pine stumpage in the
Dominion of Canada.
In conclusion allow me to say
that believe the great mass of
the laboring people, and this of
course includes the farmers, will
be the best subserved by taking
the duty entirely off of sugar or
as nearly SO as the needs of the
Government for revenue will
permit.
There was meeting here Satur-
day of the executive committee of