The age-herald., 1899-01-13
THE LUMBERMEN
 OF TWO NATIONS Americans and Canadians Meet in Conference in Washington. RECIPROCITY AGREEMENT Has Heretofore Been Impossible Owing to the Conflicting Lumber Inter-
 ests, and Satisfactory Arrange .--- ment Is Sought
RECIPROCITY AGREEMENT

Washington, January 12.-Representatives
 of the American and the Canadian lumber
 interests met in conference today. Among
 the American lumbermen were w. c. Mo
 Cure, of Duluth; S. T. Mcknight, c. A.
 Smith and B. F. Nelson, of Minneapolis;
 William Irvine. of Chippewa Falls, Wis;
 l.. Mccormick, of Hayward, Wis; Judge
 J. W. Cochran, of Ashland, Wis; Walter S.
 Eddy, of Saginaw; J. H. Parker and w. W.
 Brown, of Portland, Me-; c. w. Goodyear
 of Buffalo; Theophilus Tunis, of Maryland; l;
 MT. Thompson and Mir. Mason, of West yir-
 gina; E. G. Ames, of Puget Sound; ex-
 Governor B. D. Jackson. of Maryland;
 Alexander Stewart, of Warsaw, Wis, and
 MT. Dill, president of the Baltimore cham
 Der of commerce, and William s. Harvey,
 of Pennsylvania, secretary of the confer
 ence
 The Canadians were represented by Will
 liam c. Edwards, M. P; w. Anderson, rep
 resenting the J. R. Both Lumber company
 J. Eagan, A. Lumisden, o. D. Spain, R. ".
 Venning, Charles D. Reed, Eugene D. La
 fiuer and A. Gobiel, all of Ottawa, and George M. Clinky, of Montreal. There were also present United States High Joint Commissioner John A. Kasson, Congressman Stewart Broussard and Taw- ney and MT. Charlton, member of the Canadian high joint commission. MT. Charl- ton, the first speaker, was followed by Representative Tawney and he by MT. Ed wards.
 Lumber, 1t is said, has been the rock on which the United States and Canadian joint commissioners have split in every effort at agreement in a reciprocity treaty. The Canadians have been willing to make any reasonable concession for free white pine and have hesitated to agree to any con- sessions without important reciprocal ad- vantages on lumber. Free admission to Canada of American forest products and free export of saw logs and pulp wood are the contentious the Canadians offer. Pulp wood is now exported free from Canada. but an export duty has been enforced in retaliation for the duty on white pine. The provisional parliament of Ontario has im- posed reliatory duty on saw logs. In exchange for the proposed concession the Canadians, at this mornings session. put in a plea for free lumber The Ameri- cans, however, produced data tending to show that the manufacture of lumber in Canada is much cheaper than in the United States, and that their proximity to the New England market and the important concessions granted them by the Canadian roads places the northwest and southern product of the United States al a very great disadvantage, and consequently their de- mand Is wholly untenable. It seems proba- ble, however, that the American lumber men, rather than that the pending treaty | between the two countries should complete l ly fail, will consent to a concession of 20 l per cent. from the present two-dollar rate, which would make the rate $160 per ,000 l feet but under no circumstances, it is said, would they consen ito any further reduc- tion.
 The conference came to end this aft ernoon with no further results than, as one | of the Americans said, "to have had an ex- | change of views and a personal experience socially"
 | Nearly all those present had some obser- vations to make in behalf of the conten- l ton of their respective sides, the Canadians | wanting the $2 tax per thousand feet now | imposed by the Dingley tariff bill removed | and lumber admitted free and the Amerl- l cans refusing to make the concessions l There was expressed a willingness and hope | that some agreeable understanding might | be arrived at between the conflicting in- | terests, but the Americans were not will | ing to make any concessions that might 1 jeopardze their business to the benefit of thei imported product
 l Most of the visitors left for their homes l fn- .;oh