The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1898-10-20

stumpage, appeared in Washington and
used every effort to defeat this duty and
to place white pine lumber on the free
list, or at as low rate as possible. But
we were vigilant, and secured the CO.
operation of all the lumber interests,
those having yellow pine, spruce and fir,
some from the South some form the
North, and some from the Pacific coast
states. The senate took up the bill sched-
ule by schedule, and when the wood
schedule was reached. by securing the CO.
operation of all these interests and thus
securing the votes of some of the South
ern and Pacific coast senators, we sue
ceeded against very active and severe
opposition in retaining the rate as it had
gone from the house. After this schedule
fight had been won. The people of this
district will not wonder that was
Subsequently Surprised
to find that my predecessor from
this district and my opponent at
the coming election, who had
remained in Washington, was working
with this lobby to defeat our rate On
the morning Of the list of July, Senator
Teller, just as the consideration of the
bill was being completed for final action
by the senate, moved to go back to the
wood schedule, so that he might offer an
amendment. OF course the courtesy and
the rules of the senate, or rather the
absence of rules in that body, permitted
this, and he offered his amendment That
amendment was that rough lumber man
ufactured from white pine should be
placed upon the free list. He supported
that amendment in speech which, if
you will read 1t, you will find must have
been inspired by someone from this dis
trlct. Indeed, the arguments therein
contained were exactly in line with what
is contained in an open letter to me re-
Gently written and published by my op-
ponent. 1t was also supported by Mr.
Mantle, another free silver senator and
intimate friend of my opponent, in
speech of the same character. The vote
was taken on it and it came within one
vote OF being passed Failing in having
white pine lumber thus put upon the free
list, Mr.. Teller then moved to reduce the
rate TO 500 per LOCO, and by majority
OF one vote this amendment was adopted,
and that would have been the rate, in
stead of 81, if the members of the confer
ence committee from the house had not
stood by me, being persuaded as they
were that the rate was fair and knowing
the methods by which and the persons by
whom the rate as fixed in the house had
been changed. My opponent says that
he was in favor Of the 81 rate. May I
not then ask the question why he did not
better post and train his friends Teller
and Mantle, and his other silver friends?
He says that the 81 rate is prohibitive.
Does he not know that nearly 1853, 0OO, 900
feet OF boards, planks, etc., have been
imported into the United States from
British North America in the last fiscal
year, 235, 900, 900 of which were imported
after the list of August, or after the
D1ngley law went into operation. The
rate was fixed so as to restrain and large
ly prevent the large importation of Can
adam lumber, especially of the lower
grades, which had been going on, and
which was Gripping our own lumber in
dustry, and the lumbermen rejoice, and
everybody else in this district ought to
and does rejoice, that it has largely &C
complshed it's purpose, reducing those
1mportauons from about $40 900 to
about $50, 100000. Does my opponent now
believe in
A Tariff for Revenue OnIys
And would he so fix the rate as still to
permit these large and injurious importa-
tons? He says the effect will be and has
been to cause our pine forests to be rapidly
cut off, and he hints that these forests
ought to be preserved and a policy
adopted which would discourage their
pelng thus rapidly cut. If the forests
government, as they do in Canada, that
might be well. But the forests in this
country which are being cut are owned
by private parties, who take all the risk
OF ire and wind, who pay taxes on them.
and who are cutting them not only to
AVOID these risks. but also to realize upon
their Investments, and in so doing are
conducting great industries and giving
employment to thousands of men, Would
ne nave these industries stopped or large
~ curtailed, and thus throw large num-
oers or our people out of employment?
And does he not know that these very
Michigan men with whom he was CO.
operating never thought of preserving
their forests, but on the contrary have
cut them down and now come forwa rd
with this idea of closing up our mills and
Keeping our Minnesota and Wisconsin
forests only after they have acquired
enormous holdings of pine in Canada?
Does he not further know that while they
were cutting their Michigan lumber they
favored the old So rate and protested and
worked against the placing of the 81 rate
in the Mckinley bill, and that they have
only changed their views since the great
lumber Industry has been largely trans
ferred to Minnesota and Wisconsin? He
seems to be concerned about what I shall
say to my constituents in the agricul-
tural sections about this lumber tariff
Let me say that come back to my con-
stituents the same kind of Republican
the same views and representing the
same principles. I do not stand for one
thing in this part of the district and for
another thing elsewhere. I told them in
the last campaign 1 would strive for
the ~ rate, and I have done it and the
rate has been obtained. The people of
this district, in every part of it, know
that the farm and the mill must develop
and grow side by side; that when the
great manufacturing interests are injured
the agricultural interests are injured,
and they are too broad and too patriotic
and too wise to vote for any policy which
would injure the manufacturing interests.
The people of this district, too, will not
fall to notice that Senator TeIler's mo-
ton referred only to white pine; that it
did not include any other lumber: that
1t was an attempt to take away the sup
port we were receiving from those inter-
ested in other kinds of lumber, such as
spruce, yellow pine and fir, and that It
was intended as blow at me as the
representative of this district, and
through me at the greatest industry in
the district, one which gives employment
to thousands of men and in which thou
sands of people are directly or Indirectly
interested. And they will be the more sur
prised at the course of our former repre-
sentative when they remember that he
was elected as a strong protectionist, and
they must be convinced that in this mat
ter he was entirely forgetful of the in
terests of the people who had honored
and preferred him.
Republican Pledge Kept.
The first great pledge, then, Of the Re-
publican party has been kept, and kept
to the letter. Their promise to give the
country right settlement of this great
question, and the rest resulting from
such settlement, has been absolutely full
filled. That the settlement Is right, and
that the country can count upon rest
from this particular agitation is shown by
the fact that from no quarter comes even
fha foiD 1s4 - IL