Hattiesburg daily progress. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 18??-1909, 1903-01-01
Movement to Abolish
Was Started
In NORTHWESTERN STATES
Where the Timber is Fast Becom-
ing Exhausted.
WHAT SAYS THE SOUTHERN STATES
The Plan Adopted by the Republi-
cans on This ISSue3
From New Orleans States.

Yes, it is fact that the North
western states, Minnesota, Michigan
and the others most engaged in the
furniture and lumber business are
now deeply interested in the PROPOSE
tiOn to have the tariff on lumber at
81 per thousand removed" said Mr..
W. II. May at the Denechaud hotel
this morning. There is almost an
unlimited supply of lumber that has
never been touched all the way to the
bay across TO the Canadian border.
As you know great industry at the
northwest is the manufacture of fur
nituTe. The price of lumber has been
gradually appreciating now for many
years and it has about come TO the
point where it is impossible to get
lumber for furniture outside Of the
south and the state of Washington
and some territory around this state
We are shipping lumber from Wash
ington now to our vicinity at the
price of $40 per car. Most of the
furniture lumber We are now using
comes from the south, starts from
Memphis. Thus it is that the fur
niture people are very keenly alive
TO the situation and appreciate the
fact that they must either get the
tariff reduced or remove their plants
to the south.
AS there is more lumber in Canada
than i'll the south, and if the tariff
was reduced, then it could, by the
building of railroads, be brought to
Michigan and Minnesota cheaper than
from the south paying the freight.
Hence the organized movement to-
wards the removal of the tariff.
Il do not believe that the removal OF
the tariff would injure the lumber
resources of the south to any great
extent, for after the tariff had been
abolished the railroads would still
have TO be built.
There is a constant flow of emf
grafton now from the northwestern
states into Canada as we'll as towards
the south, Many of the people who
have always lived in the cold north
west seem to prefer going to Canada
to coming south. That is largely
because they have never been in the
south and doubtless if some enterprise
could be originated here which
would bring large numbers of land
hunters here that they would desire
to remain here. This is an idea that
could possibly be turned to good in
Louisiana.
Il do not think there will be
any lumber left in Minnesota after
the next ten years worthy Of the name
and even now it has been pretty we'll
cut in the near vicinity Of the rail-
roads. In Minnesota, where the most
of the furniture factories are loacted,
the timber is even scarcer than in our
state. We believe, however, that If
we could have the tariff on lumber
abolished that we could gradually re-
plenish our forests by giving them a
rest until the closest timber in the
Canadian district had been exhausted.
At least that is the theory and nearly
every citizen in the northwestern
states is in favor of the tariff aboli-
tion proposition.
Our representatives in congress
and our senators are all working TO
that end and because Of the benefit
that such an abolishment would be
to the building trades of the entire
country | am told by our lumber men
that the movement is assuming very
large proportions.
If the tariff is not reduced then
all the furniture in the northwest,
which means nearly all that is manu-
factured in the whole United States
will be materially advanced in price.
1.-The south is now manufacturing
more furniture than the country at
large is generally aware Of. Many
of the southern furniture factories are
those which have moved from the
northwest or have been started by
men who have been connected with
factories in that section, and, un-
derstanding the situation, determined
to come south, seeing that the advan-
tages were greater than in any portion
of the country"