Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-03-14

short lumber down with the long lumber.
We made up our minds that this was inc
reason at the bottom Of the opposltion.
| Now, as to the price of tolls we mace
/ mn our minds that under the old system
| Of driving over these falls 1t would COS.
very much more, taking into consiaera-
ton waste and breakage, than the toiis
called for in this law. The experience ~
those who were on that commlttee WAS
that tho expense of driving logs under the
old system would be far greater than inc
10 cents asked for by this cofporatlon.
And as to the 5 cents per cord for SNORT
lumber, we made up our minds that tha1
was extremely low. Another thing we
took into consideration was this, that were
it not for the long lumber, in low water
at least, it would be the next thing to inn
possible for the short lumber to be driven
over the falls at all, and for this reason,
that the driver cannot stand on this short
lumber. One man tried to get drive OF
short lumber through there alone, and he
was late in the season and thought he
would wait till the next season, and the
greater part of that drive is in those falls
today, utterly wasted.
This company differs from other COM
panies in the State of Maine in this i'm
portant particular, that they agree to take
your lumber from dead water above the
falls, and take it down through their
sluice, and deliver the logs into dead
water about mile below the falls.
| The question has been raised that this
is a bad precedent l say, gentlemen, that
this Legislature has granted hundreds of
| exclusive rights before for dam companies
charging toll in the same way. There
fore say it is no new precedent what
ever.
The question also arises, why does this
company do it? This company has come
into the State of Maine, and brought into
the State So, 0O0, 900 of capital, and they
bought water rights at Rumford Falls,
and they wish to make this sluice so that
they may save their water power. Under
the old system it uses more water than
they wish, and therefore they are willing
to go to the expense themselves and build
this sluice way for the sake of saving to
them the water that would be obliged to
be used in driving these drives over the
falls. They can conserve this water by
this means, as very small amount of
water in this sluiceway will carry the logs
down there in perfect safety to their desti-
nation.
Under the old system it took a long
time to get drive over the falls; under
this new system they will get them down
20 to 30 days earlier. The advantage of
this will he evident to all.
I believe that if there is any policy
which this State should uphold, it is the
bringing of capital into this State, be-
| cause by doing that we build up indus
tries, we set our idle labor to work, and
we establish home market for the bust
ness of all classes of the community
We also bring large amount of taxable
property into the State, which returns a
revenue right to the State. and in more
ways than can imagine it is of immense
value to have these industries started
here.
Mr.. Hume of Washington offered Sen
ate amendment A.
Mr. Marston said that this amendment
would mean the establishment of piers and
booms, sorting booms, above the falls, as
these drives did not come down separate
iy, but all mixed together, and he would
like to ask the gentleman from Washing
ton If he offered this amendment as q
practical llmberman. or had got practi-
cal lumberman to draw it for him, as he
thought it would incur a tremendous OK
pense if this amendmentswere adopted.
Mr.. Hume said that there was not any
one In or out of the State House who drew
up his amendments for him, he made his
own amendments, and he did not think
that if man wanted to drive his own
lumber over the falls he should be COM
PEELED to pay toll to this corporation, us if
it had gone through their sluice.
Mr.. Morrill,: AS far as the running
Of short lumber is concerned, if drive
of it ever so large, in an average pitch Of
water, were to come to these falls unmo-
Tested, it would go over them easily as a
load of pumpkins. ask who Is to blame
for the jams at Rumford? ! ask is it fair
for the short lumbermen to be subject to
this toll at Rumford, when, if we had
nothing but our short lumber in the river
we should never have u jam at all? /
shouldn't want to pay for my lumber 60
ing through the sluice when l could take
it over the falls myself just as well.
Mr.. Marston said that he had not in
tended to insinuate that the senator from
Washington, (Mr Hume was not able to
himself, but he merely asked for informa-
tion If it was drafted by man who was
a practical lumber man, or merely on
general principles. He reminded the
senator from Cumberland, (Mr. Morrill,
that Mr.. Chisholm had tried to get a
drive of short lumber alone over the falls,
and had failed, and that most of that
drive was there now, and had only come
out below in small pieces.
Mr.. Morrill, replied that that drive
was begun when the season had almost
ended, and there was not water enough
to drive anything He reiterated his
opinion that a load Of short lumber, If
not mixed with long lumber, would go
over the falls as easy as load of pump
kins.
Mr. Engel of Penobscot, made strong
argument in favor of the bill in the course
of which he gave clear and concise de-
scription of cutting logs, hauling them to
the river and starting them in a drive,
and of the difficulties caused by jams, in
which jams the short lumber, he said,
acted as pins, pinning the whole mass to-
gether and making the jam much more
difficult to break UP than If it consisted
of short lumber alone. He then went on
q Ii.