The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-04-24
SPLITTING A STEAL.


has so far penetrated the United States
senate that a proposition is discussed
to reduce the proposed tariff of 81 a
thousand to 81, as far as white pine is
! concerned. This is little bit of con-
cessiOn to that shame which every hon
est man ought to feel when he is asked
to vote for a tariff on lumber Of any
description or of any amount This is
the most outrageous and indefensible
steal in the Dingley bill, and it would
be hard to match it in the legislative
history of this country. The consun-
ers Of lumber are, in the MAN, the poor,
Woodworking people Of this country.
Every man who takes up a claim and
! attempts to turn it into a home, every
! farmer who wants to build a bin for
! his grain or shelter for his stock, every
workingman who rents a house, is in
terested in lOw-priced lumber. There
is no tax perhaps, in the whole list
which touches so closely the pockets
and bears so severely upon the re-
sources of the millions as this On the
opposite side stands nothing but a
great industry, already a pretty close
monopoly, and one that has made mil
lionaires quickly. The lumber produc-
ing interests of the country are in
few hands. These men mostly own
their own stumpage, and a large share
Of it has been acquired either from the
government for nothing or from small
holders for mere song. The tax on
lumber is for the benefit of these men,
who combine at their pleasure to limit
production and to fix prices. There is
no competition which they have need
to fear, and the tax upon imports is as
direct a bonus as if the cash We're
federal treasury.
The argument for this lumber tariff
has not a leg to stand upon. 1t has
sheltered itself heretofore behind the
| frail barrier of an alleged Canadian
competition. The G 0 b has pune
! tured this bubble thoroughly 1t has
! given the facts and figures. challenged
! criticism or reply, and not one word
has been heard from the beneficiaries
! or attorneys Of the lumber interest that
| fattens upon the necessities of the
| poor people Of the West and North
west. We have given the prices Of
lumber in Canada and in the United
! States. We have published the sched-
ules of wages in the two countries
where the industries come into compe-
! tition with each other We have on file
the documents which bear out our
/ statements and the proof that Canada
| is not a dangerous competitor with our
! lumber interests is complete. There
FORE the plea that the lumber kings
need protection falls to the ground.
The tariff on their product, outrage
| Gus as it is when imposed upon the
! toilers Of the country, becomes dOubly
odious and criminal when it is stripped
of the garb of alleged necessity for
| protective purposes, and stands forth
in its naked shamelessness as propo-
sition to tax the whole people in this
country directly, not for protection,
not for revenue, but solely for swelling
the profits of men already worth their
millions. If there were nothing else
in the Dingley act that deserved con-
demnation, if it were in other respects
as beneficent as it is abominable, this
one item ought to consIgn it to ever
lasting obloquy. If this lumber tariff
stands, even If 1t should be split down
the middle, as is proposed by some of
those who fear the far off mutter-
! ings of popular wrath, it would still
remain a sufficient cause for thrusting
| out of power a party that could be
guilty of fathering it.