The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-11-12

thai his grosslv untrue statement has
found It's wav into respectable journals
makes ne feel justified IN making. on my
o.u responsibility and az the risk Of pay
ing the gentleman more attention than ae
deserves. an indignant, point-blank denial
OF whas-hs says. and n doing 50 / chal-
Ie7ge lin TO prove, If he can. any one OF
his wild statements.
II vii pay Cot. Chsaneey w. Grigys
81 1o9 If ne will lay before me the proofs
OF the existence N Canals today Of even
one lumber mill n which al Of the esi-
psoyes are Chinese except the foreman.
Furthermore. / xii bear the cost Of TAX
ing 9 complete census Of the employees o.!
Canadian lumber and shingle mis- If the
result Of such census viii sslog that one
cut OF every 10 CT these employees Is q
Ghtnanans furthermore, 1 assert and am
prepared 10 support my assertion, that
bota our wages and cost of living are
higher in British Columbia than yours on
Puget sound.
british Columbia millmen. permit me
10 say. fail 20 see tina. their conditions are
any improved at the present time by the
recent changes IN tariff that have been
made reclprocally By your governments
and orr osn- We stand our chances OF
losing as much as we may gain, rs il is a
weil-known fact that your mills have
suffered very much more than our own
for lack OF profitable trade, there
fore Col. G-iggs' untrue state
nents seem all the more uncalied for
and for one fail TO see that they have
any significance whatever, except TO snow
that IN making them lie had some end
and OBJECT in view. political or otherwise;
he may be endeavoring TO pave the way
to make q reduction in the wages of his
own employees, 10 bring them, if possible,
on level with these mythical Cinnamon
az 70 cents per day.
L. - 4. u
speak of British Columbia affairs as ig-
norantiy and sntagonisticalfy as If this
country Was pcopled by q Class OF foreign
ers for whom you had the utmost fear; a
matter OF few hours journey viii bring
any OF You here who choose TO come aud
/ am sure that any Puget sound lumber
man will merely have to announce who he
IS 10 be made heartily welcome at any OF
the half-dozen or so mills that British
Columbia possesses. and possibly visit
here on the part OF some would tend 10
remove present fears. Yours truly,
j. G.. ScorT.
The reading of the signature was omit
ted.
"who wrote that?" the colonel de-
manoed.
~. G.. Scott" replied the reporter
"Don't believe he's worth q dollar" Col.
Griggs rotor tartly. "But | don't want
to talk about it," and his hands went up
as If commanded by highwayman.
But that 81. CO., Don'tyou want thatr"
.'0h, | have business TO attend 10, and
I'm sorry that ] was drawn into this thing
at all. 1 was opposed TO 1t In the hrst
place. and / don't want to say anything
now / have been in business for many
years, and no man can truthfully say that
] have not lived up to my promises and
told tho truth. II any man with standing
should deny my statements in that man
ner, or If any man OF standing ever does.
through with it"
Col. Griggs failed to yield to the ordinary
inducements to discuss the matter. He
was very much in earnest. and. after defin-
ing himself on the tariff proposition like
President Grover Cleveland, he delivered
the following body blow in an offhand sort
Of way that was truly startling:
al don't see why Drum, Paulson and
Thompson invested in q sawmill in Can
ada when they did unless they expected a
failure. I've nothing to say against these
men, but | see that Mr.. Paulson says it
costs more to carry on the sawmill BUSH
ness over in British Columbia than 1t does
here, and, taking him at his word. il does
seem a man cannot have much business
sense who will go into the business where
il costs him more TO produce his lumber
than il does here.
Then he got up and walked over to the
open fireplace and tiecked the ashes off the
end of his cigar. As the talk logged on. it
came to be mutually understood especially
on the interviewer's side that in the mat
ter referred to Mr.. Paulson was supposed
TO speak for his partner, Henry Drum,
chairman of the Democratic state CON-
mittee.
And about the things Mr.. Scott says
are untrue?"
al have no doubt about what / said be-
ing true | have no reason TO doubt it 1t
came TO me, as q business man, in a BUSH
ness way. 1t was the report of men sent
10 British Columbia TO look into the con-
ditions there. That's their report. Re-
ports of this nature are considered the best
evidence in matters of this kind. The men
reported the prevailing wages from 80
cents TO 81 per day, and from three-quar-
tiers to two-thlrds Chinese employees. and
the 81 per day being the pay OF men above
the average skill"
Col. Griggs' attention was called to the
fact that Mr.. Scott referred to Canada"
and not british Columbia" Col. Griggs
did not originally refer TO Canada in con-
nection with Chinese cheap labor, but
confined his remarks to British Columbia
A close observer might easily arrive st the
conclusion that the colonel considered
such a trick unworthy of comment.
In word, Col. Griggs does not retract
one iota from his original declaration
regarding Chinese cheap labor in British
Columbia saw mills. In passing, he re-
ierred to the 500. 0oo pay rolls of his COM
pany's big mills here. and also TO the fact
that this and other interests in which he
has taken a part have run their pay rolls
up TO as much as $500. 600 per month. Col.
Griggs continued:
IL never had strike, and in our mill
We have never reduced wages but once.
and that reduction was made a. the sug-
gestion OF various members OF the COM
pany. who saw that We were paying more
TO produce the lumber than We were re-
ceiying for il. If have In nv employ .
man who | think Is not WORKING Tor the
very best Interests Of orr company 90
not want him about. and In the long run
/ believe il the best policy to pay men
good wages and have then Work earnestly
VA your behalf | do not tninx IL pays In
the long run 10 employ chinese cheap
labor. because what is paid additional Tor
intelligent white LABOR Is much more than
made up IA the skill and efficiency OF the
work performed. We do not have IN mind
the reduction Of wages. Oar lowest wage
now ~ 81. 50 per DAY. and the scale runs
from that up to s. per day. over oto men
are now employed by Us in this county"
OF courss politics were touched upon
now and then, and the fragments put to-
gethsr a. follows express Coz. Grggs'
views:
"No fusion with Popuiists emphatic
aliyI Not biz of i'll Thsre are two