Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-04-02

Il
celved. And. to bind matters NOR,
stronkIy, the covering in which sueaS q
imported must pay duty based 81, ~
weisnt, THIS seems % suit the Southern
protection 70 adyantage. The South fur
FISHES but little soil adapted TO the Guilt
vation Of the beet. But there r. wealth
cane, and Louisiana alone soon will b
able to supply the bulk Of sugar con-
sumed In this country. Texas and Flor.
ida have small areas which can be uffl-
available acre In the cane belt viii BE-
devoted 10 the growing Of that article.
There has been in the last four years
decided tendency In Louisiana to east
brace the new and hopeful doctrines OF
the Republican party. The sugar plant
ers In large measure have cut loose from
s hsr b rho o gCrrs sk ana there are
clearing up Of the clouds Of narrOwness.
1t may be urged that this change Of
opinion came only when the Wilson Law
brought wrcckage; but how far different
is this from other sections OF the country
which have seen clearly the blessings OF
protection only when those blessings were
taken away?
The sugar industry is fairly secure now
and probably will continue to enjoy
safety. The trainers Of the new tari6
bill were not frightened by the cry. OF q
free breakfast table They saw clearly
what was needed to develop the cane
growing industry, and, though Louisiana
has done nothing In the election Of Re-
publican congressman and senators. the
needs OF that Wilson bill,stricken state
As the forests of the great Northwest
gradually have been denuded of timber.
the lumber e men OF that tn section have
than q decade ago Michigan mill owners
invested In large tracts of land in the
South. buying largely In the pine belt.
brakes that abound. These soon were
followed by lumber manufacturers from
other sections, until today 1t Is safe to
say that more than One-half Of the avail
able timber land in the South Is held by
these Northern and Western men. Cy-
press. by the way. gradually has In
creased its sphere Of use. until 1t has be-
In many Of the handsome business houses
and homes erected In the North and East
A Southerner tells me that a few years
ago he saw schooner loading at a town
on a Louisiana bayou. two hundred miles
west of New Orleans. direct for a point
on the Hudson river. 1t Is true that
Louisiana lumber is largely protected
from its natural situation. Transports
ton charges on this bulky article are SO
great that the Southern mill man stands
in little fear of Canada. But ocean
freights are so low that the added meas
uTe OF pTOIeCtlOU III t0e new taf1M Dill
will inspire additional activity in South
ern lumber manufacture. The industry
soon will be safe from, possible c0mpeti-
ton of a dangerous kind.
All leading lines of railway In the South
pass through a pine belt. However poor
the soil the pine fiourishes. Mills have
sprung up in wildernesses and more are
projected. The cypress territory borders
the bayous and embraces the swamps.
Water courses abound, and the logs are
fioated easily to the mills. Tramways
have been constructed In many localities,
and far out in the low-lying swamps.
cypress shingles, which last for genera
lions, are sawed from the huge trees and
shipped by rail or river to the markets
Of the country. In Mississippi and Loui-
siana the cypress mills are many. At
Lake Charles, in Southwest Louisiana,
no less than dozen mills are In exist
ence With thorough protection assured.
the cypress timber industry will be quad
rupled in value in the next five years.
Lumber manufacturing in the South Is
more widely diffused than any other In
dustry. In the amount of capital inaest-
ed IL is doubtless second to sugar culture,
but the individuals benefited by prctec-
ton largely exceed in number those
whose prosperity is obtained by duty
on the saccharine product.-RoDert p.
Porter in n. \. Press.