Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-03-25
AN EFFORT TO RUIN.
A Gigantic scheme in Which all
D0wn.River Lumbermen are the
Derenda Eau Clare Com

The Burlington Hawkeye, in writing
up the Eau Claire lumber combine, the
monopolistic tendencies of which have
vlready been made public through THE
ARGUS says;
A serious matter that has been mensc-
ing the .lumbermen below ST. Paul for
two or three years, and which is now
worse than ever, is the attempt of the
Wisconsin lumbermen in what is known
as the Eau Claire combination. to ruin
the business of all the mills on the Mis-
sissippi below st. Paul This was tried
last year in the way of the manIpul alton.
The effort was made to induce the inter-
state commerce commission. and the
western roads through it, to make higher
rates to western points on lumber ship
ped from points below st. Paul than they
did on that shipped from the Chippewa
mills. This failed. Now there is bill
pending before the legislature of Wiscon 6.
sin that is AIMED directly at all these low
er mills. The lumber manufacturers of
the Chippewa hold that the rapid clear
ing OF the pine forest there will soon eX-
haust 1t If the mills all the way along the
Mississippi continue to cut as many logs
as they have been doing. They want to
retain that forest for themselves, in spite
OF the fact that eight per cent of the logs
cut below st. Paul came off that land
and that the land that produces them is
owened by these lower mill owners. The
bill IN question is to the effect that no
loose logs shall be run out of the Chippe-
Wa river, but that all logs handled from
its banks shall be brailed before being
hoated. 1t further seeks TO sec IRE To- the
Chippewa lumbermeu the right to
construct boom where they may sort
their own logs at theiI own convenience
This Is all right Of itself, but the fact Is
that this boom in the place il is desired
by these men, would be simply block.
| ade of the river. 1t would be very diff
cult for the lower mill men to get their
logs past IT, brailed or not brsied. in time
to supply them as they are now supplied.
Ii the owners and operators of the boom
choose to do so they might hold back logs
| definitely, and the delays thus caused
would be so serious as TO close all the
mills below those points. All the way
from St. Paul to St. Louis the mill owns
ers are organizing to fight this combina-
ton. There are mills at Dubuque. Gin
ton, Comanche, Davenport, Rock Island.
Moline, Muscatine, Burlington, Fort
Madison, Mont Rose and Keokuk Iowa,
Quincy, Illinois, and Hannibal and st.
Louis, Mo. If the bill passes and the
project is carried into effect, all these
mills will be closed The uppe. mills
will manufacture the lumber. and the eff
feet of the withdrawal of this amount of
competition from the business can be
imagined. Last year all these places or
gsnized and defeated the effort to carry
the matter with the traffic department of
the railroads. This spring the first gun
has been fired at Rock Island The
dealers met and took action upon the
matter. All the public is permitted to
know is that committee consisting
of J. B Phelps and George W. Cable,
the latter the brother of the presi-
dent of the Rock Island road,
have been appointed to appear be-
fore the Wisconsin legislature and defend
against the act pending The other c;ties
will follow suit. The interests repre-
sented in the lower mills whose destruc-
ton is sought, aggregate many millions.
The lumbermen of Davenport cut 100.
00O 600 feet of lumber in 1890 and to-
gether with those of Rock Island and Mo
line, they cut nearly 250,000.000 They
are fearful, however, that they will no;
equal that huge run this gear. for it was
the largest cut ever made The same
favorable circumstances do not prevail
now that did then. News from the
pineries of Wisconsin, notably along the
Chippewa, where most of the logs that
are sawed below St. Paul are grown and
cut, is to the effect that there is now
plenty or snow and that the logs are GO
ing to the river banks in large quantity.
the roads being excellent. 1t is feared
however. that there will be foods that
will cut large figure in the near future
The ground became frozen to the depth
G: several feet before the snow fell, and
when warm weather strikes it it is ex-
pected to go off with a rush. This will
he apt 10 fill the river valleys to over
flowing, shut down the booms and do
large damage, as is always done when
there is extreme high water. There is
some uneasiness among the mills all the
way along the river on this account
DON'T LIKE BIG RATS
A secret meeting of river pilots WAS
held at Clinton the other day to consider
matters in regard 10 the size of RATS to he
handled during the coming season. At
the last annual meeting of the pilots a
schedule as to the size of RATS to be
handled was adopted. but it appears that
some of the steamboat captains and mill
owners are inclined to kick against the
schedule, claiming that the RATS proposed
to be carried are too small. A good
sized responsibility rests on the shoulders
of the pilot when he is coming down the
river with a raft half mile long. The
pilots will consider the matter again at
another meeting