The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-03-23

Mr.. Weyerhaeuser, who is the head of
syndicate of lumbermen who now
control the larger portion of available
pine in Northern Minnesota and Wis
Consin, gave to the G l the justifi-
cation, from his point of view, of the
proposal to tax imports Of lumber 81
. thousand feet, removing them from
The free list Of the present law, restor-
ing the rates of the act of 1883 and
raising them 81 q thousand above even
those of the Mckinley act. Summarized.
the reasons are the larger wages paid
In our camps and mills and the higher
cost of stumpage. Seven hundred thou
sand men are employed, he says, at an
average wage If $1,40 a day, against 70
cents day in Canada. 1t costs from
$3.50 to S4 a thousand to get the logs
cut and to the mill, and from SO to
$3.50 more to get the lumber on the
market, making a cost of 81. To this,
we suppose, although he does not state
it. is to be added the stumpage, aver
aging about $3.50 a thousand Taxes
are also higher here, amounting, he
claims, to from $40 to $50 a section on
a forty-acre tract" against S. a sec
tion in Canada. The imports of un-
taxed Canadian lumber were mot less
than 1,OOOOOOOOO feet
There is such a serious discrepancy
between the figures given by Mr.. Wey-
erhaeuser and others obtainable from
sources that should be fully as au-
1lGntlC q Of
seems to be necessary at a time when
1t is proposed to raise the cost of lum-
Der to the consumers of it; a consump-
zion averaging, he says 500 feet an
nually for each person in the country.
The first striking difference we find
is in the number of employees We are
inclined to accept the census figures Of
1890 as authentic for two reasons. 1t
was taken under the direction Of Mr..
Porter, one Of the most fanatical OF
protectiOnists, and the figures We're all
obtained from the employers them
selves. Neither would understate, espe-
ciany the wages paid; for, Judging
from their talk when it relates to tar
ifs, they exist and labor and plan sole
1y in order that they may pay big
wages to wOrkingmen. We shall as
sumo that the conditions Of the lumber
business We're even better in 1890 than
now, an assumption supported by Mr..
NV eyerhaeuser's statement that there
has been no profit in the business since
1893"
instead OF 100000 employees engaged in
the processes Of numbering from the
stump to the board, the census Of 1880
says there We're 2S6, 1877, including 49,
2S7 members Of firms and office force
leaving 252,129 male operatives over
sixteen years Of age The average
wages of the office employees were $500
d year, but to the operatives there was
paid $73, 723,635 in wages, which gives
az average IF 1922 each. instead Of the
S42O which Mr. Weyerhaeuser's 81 40 a
day for 300 days would give This is
but $67 year more than the Canadian
gets even if his wages are but rs cents
lay, and is an average Of 81 cents
Jay instead of $1.40. Even if we add
&c the number of operatives in lumber
tnose engaged in working lumber into
planning mill products, we would have
only 1888 more, which would give a
little more than half the number stated
by Mr., Weyerhaeuser, as the total en-
gagged; but this addition is not war
Tanted, as his statement is limited to
lumber from the stump to. the mil
yard. We have then 252, 1923 operatives
instead Of 100000 setting 81 cents a day
instead Of $l.4O.
Again Mr.. Weyerhaeuser disagrees
with the statistician in regard to the
amount of imports of free lumber
which, in the year ending June. 1896,
were 1885, 102 900 feet, instead Of mot less
than 1,OOOOOO0O0 feet whose import
price averaged $1O.So at point Of ship
ment Fer the seven months ending
with January, 1897 the imports were
43S, 601 900 feet. averaging about $1,000.
Again we cannot accept Mr.. Weyer-
haeuser's statement that unless we
have protection soon Or: Industry viii
fail as, and there will De some more