The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-06-04
The Tarinr and Il. T,mber rea.ur

The Tariff and Its Timber Feature
We wish that for the general peace o.
mind the 6. Q. P. luminaries would shed
light IN the purpose of the new Tariff
Is it being enacted to secure revenue. OIL
Is 1t being enacted to protect the Ameri-
ran w~orkingman, impoverished by the
Wilson Act? In a word. Is 1t designed te
increase imports or decrease them?
Yesterday. the New York Press, a a
cartoon exhibiting an American working
man and his family starving ON a steam
ship pier. while a vessel in mid-ocean
was making rapid progress towards our
shores. The A. w. was represented as
sxcIaimlng. 'swhy don't they hurry up
the tariff to keep out these ship loads of
goods for home consumption which I
should be engaged in manufacturing"
This is a comprehensive, If not very
admirable view OF the purpose of the AL
arich-Dingley monstrosity. But If the
result is to be What ohe A. w. cries out
for. the Inference is unavoidable that the
deficit of the last few years will be in
definitely perpetuated. How can it be
otherwise?
All the evidence shows that the greater
number of items in the bill are being
constructed, not on a revenue raising.
but on a prohibitive basis. In our news
columns today we print a letter from a
friend in Washington containing an ex-
posure of the duty on white pine. The
proposition is to advance the duty on this
timber from 81 per thousand feet, under
the Mckinley law, to g per thousand.
This is an absolute prohibitive rate, and
as white pine is a raw material and used
enormously in factories all over the
country. it is a tremendous boon to a
small and constantly narrowing coterie
Of capitalists. while 1t is a serious bur-
den upon thousands of workmen en-
ployed in working up timber products,
and upon other thousands of consumers.
The fact is white pine, as cut in Can
ada, costs rather more thar it does in
Michigan. American capital and labor
are, besides. extensively engaged in the
canadian pineries. These facts are so no.
torious that the advocates of protection
are obliged to abandon their usual 'ar-
guments" and urge the imposition of the
duty as a freight d~iferential." In 9TH
er words, we, In the East, are not to be
allowed to buy our timber and ship it
cheap from Canada. We must pay trib-
ute to the railroads for every foot we
use. To compel US to do this, we have a
prohibitive duty set on the Canadian
product. so that we can only afford to
buy what is hauled by rail from Michi-
gan. Wisconsin and Minnesota.
One of the most evil features of this
legislation is the premium which it sets
upon the destruction of the American for
ests. The amount of white pine cut in
the Northwest in ten years previous to
last year was about seventy-seven thou
sand million feet. The estimated amount
then left standing was thirty-three thou
sand million feet. or about four years
supply What is to happen when the last
Of this is gone. Yet here we nave a
premium Of 81 per thousand feet set on
Its immediate destruction.
In whose interest is this being done?
1t is being done to repay the political
contribution of the National Lumber
mems Association. There is Just about
000,0 900 in it for them. by the time the
last tree Is cut.-so the public be damned.
As for the p~retence that there is any
revenue in white pine at 81 a thousand
feet. it is nonsense. The Importation
Car d for home consumption in
1895 and Ss6 was about 400. 600. 900 feet of
p ne. This was with white pine
On the free list. Take from that figure
the duty will exclude. n how
mucf revenue will there be left at 81 a
sand feet?
ruly the blessings of D%ingleyism are
3 ordous. They appeal to the understand
,ng as well as the enthusiasm of a people
rolling in prosperity.
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