The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-10-24
Hon. Allen Weir Talks Back.


ing at Kneeland's Hall. addressed
by Allen Weir. Secretary Of State,
and Mr.. Dorr Of Dayton. a large
number of copies of little hand
bill issued from the Sentinel office,
attacking Congressman Wilson.
were circulated through the town.
A copy thereof was handed to Mr..
Weir by Mr.. Freeburger, just as
the speakers were entering the hall.
with request that it be answered.
In the course OF his speech Mr..
Weir read the "dodger" and COM
mented upon it with some humor
and logic, to the discontinue OF
the Opposition. Since then Mr..
Weir prepared and handed in to
the Sentinel Office for publication
the following letter which we pub
fish in full:
SHELTON, Oct. 90, 1890.
EDITOR SENTINEL: DEAR SIR A
printed slip said to have emanated
from YOUR office was handed to me on
Saturday evening as [ WAS entering
the hall, with the request that it be
answered. From hasty glance at
pertinent thereto, Which may not
have been as comnlete or AS specific as
the occasion would seem to demand.
In order to make sure that | he fully
and fairly understood the following is
submitted with a request that if con-
venIent it be given space in your col
umns. The printed document is as
follows:
Congressman John Z. Wilson voted for the
Mckinley bill. which laised the price OF house
hold goods, clothing and dress goods. musical
instruments, canned goods. hardware, logging
and mill supplies. All of which reduces the
surplus" cash in or homes makes the manu-
facture of lumber more extensive; and vet re-
duces the tariff on lumber and brings in foreign
logs free! This s n't Fair to the Sound country.
The tariff makes logging more expensive; vet al
lows British Col. logs, which can be cut at less
expense than Cr!rS, TO core il and compete with
us, duty free. The bill also reduces the duty on
foreign lumber ~ Il Der NJ If the duty on hard
ware, canned groceries a'id supplies had been re-
duced, so as TO make our logging and numbering
business less "a pensive, then it would have been
just to reduce II etariff Oh INN Der also
AS it is Mr.. Wilson voted great Injustice to
Puget Sound lcggers and lumbermen: Let him,
or his friends answer this if thev can. John l..
Wilson voted to give the Northern Pacific Rail
way fourteen million acres of land in the STATES
OF Oregon ana Washington that it was not enti-
tied to: while the government Withdrew from
reservation six million acres which the railroad
did not claim. The ralr"ad get all # asked for:
the people GOT the goose Let Mr. Wilson or his
friends an'wei the above also;if they can.
A vote for Car~1lI as n "a int Wilson, is a vote
to repeal the tariff law. and will place orr Pu-
get Sound logging and lumber business on equal
footing with other interests.
If [ understand the import Of the
foregoin it is that-FIRsT, the McKin-
ley bill recently enacted rs law is
unjust to Puget Sound loggers by
reason Of an alleged INEQUALITY in
tariff reduction. This specious reas
oning, directed to single class of our
people, is flied with sophistrv, and is
unworthy of one who assumes to
discuss the tariff question from a
standp o'nt broad enough to cOmpre-
bend the greatest good to the WHOLE
people,-farmers, mechanics, manu-.
facturers, merchants and consumers
generallv-as W II as loggers. I have
read yonr editorial articles on the tar
if question, wherein YOU denounce
our tariff as "blackmail' and "rob-
berry," arguing by logic and illustra-
ton that it is wholly wrong. This is
free trade argument, pure and simple.
Your objection to the Mckinley bill.
for reducing the tariff on lumber,
however, is from the standpoint of IA
protect.onist. You denounce Mr..
Wilson for failing to keep the tariff up
on lumber, in order to protect loggers,
vet you propose to REMEDY The evil bv
repeating the tariff on lumber al
together. This is similar to the reas-
oning that was used by Chas. S. Vor.
hees who, while our Delegate in Con-
greSs, urged that the unearned rail
road lands of the Northern Pacific r.
r. Co, within our borders, ought to
be restored to the public domain, and
then proposed to remedy the evil by
refusing to consent to tie passage Of
a bill through congress restoring
these lands to the public domain un-
less that bill would also declare the
railroad lands forfeited through Idaho,
Montana and Dakota where the road
had been built and the company had
received patents for its lands.
Briefly, we deny that the Mckinley
bill increases the cost of producing
lumber on Puget Sound by incre,sin .
the cost of loggers' snpplies-except
as to those supplies furnished and
produced BY farmers. No other sup
plies necessary for running the log
ging business are increased in price.
At least, he AGGREGATE of other
kinds of supplies is not materially
changed. Oar tariff laws hitherto
have been somewhat unequal in their
etfect-by protecting manufacturers
to greater degree than they have
protected farmers. The Mckinley
bill gives farmers incidental protec-
ton upon their products similar to
that hitherto enjoyed by the products
of manufacturers. This is an Equal
IzING effect-NOT AN INEQUALITY, as
you assume. If it increases the cost
of logging, we say that such increase
of cost tends merely to DECREASE the
PROFITS Of logging and increase the
profits of Turning. The Mills bill
placed a duty Of about fifty per cent
upon sugar; the Mckinley bill places
sugar on the free list Sugar is an
article of consumption by loggers as
well us by farmers. The aggregate
decrease of revenue to the govern
ment through duties on foreign i'm
ports, effected by the Mckinley bill,
amounts to seventy millions of dollars
annually. This is reduction, how