The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1905-04-13
CANADIANS BUYING
AMERICAN LUMBER
British Columbia Dealers Say
Home Trade Is Cur.
tailed

A +. Stephenson, superintendent and
general manager of the Moyie Lumber
ana Milling company, limited, of Moyie.
y. c.. arrived in St. Paul yesterday on
MS way to visit his old home in Chi
cago, after an absence of many years
Mr.. Stephenson says that the British
Columbia mills are at distinct disad-
vantage when competing with the
American mills because of the prohibit
tive tariff erected by the United States
and more particularly because at the
same time the Canadian government
allows the rough lumber from the
American mills to come into the prov
ince without the payment of duty. In
telling of the system and its workings
he said:
The prairie sections of Alberta, As
slnlbola and some parts of British
Columbia are simply flooded with Ore
gon and Washington lumber and we
have our troubles in meeting the prices
at which the American product is sold
to Canadians
IF Canada has one product of more
value at present than any other it is
lumber and the Canadian markets are
left wide open to American trade. II
the dominion government enacted a
lumber tariff or If the American gov
eminent would remove the present OBJ,
stacle to trade in this country our mar
ket in British Columbia would be i'm
mensely wider than it is.
Cheaper for Canadians
Then again if the American tariff
made any difference in price to the
American consumer it would be differ
ent, but actual figures prove that the
Oregon and Washington planks, tim
bers and shingles are sold for less to
the settlers In the Canadian. northwest
fx, h. NJ
vile country.
1.-The Canadian Pacific is the only
real monopoly 1 know of. That road
has the biggest and tightest cinch on
British Columbia that / could imagine.
The railroad owns more land than
anybody ever heard of, and while our
company is a large one, the Canadian
Pacific possesses in the immediate
vicinity of our property more than
two and a half times as much timber
land as we do.
The road fears nothing in the domin-
ion of Canada, but it has a wholesome
respect for James ]. Hill and his rail-
road projects. The new Victoria spur
of the Great Northern caused a sensa-
ton and something of a panic to the
Canadian Pacific and the spurs which
the big American road is throwing out
in the direction of the Canadian Pacific
ness to that road.
Mr.. Hill and Mr.. Hill alone is the
object of fear to the greatest railroad
monopoly in Canada.
THE granting of the right of way of
the Canadian Pacific was one of the
wonders of modern times. The govern
ment agreed to give a certain amount
of lands and timber for each mile of
track. And the way that track was
built was a marvel.
Line Is Very Crooked
In Alberta where a large part of
the line of the road was surveyed to
run across prairies as fiat as a bill
lard table the track zigzagged in
way that would put to shame the
Rocky mountain loops of some of the
railroads that have to run ten miles
in order to get half mile. They shot
hither and yon and each mile brought
in more good land and timber and
made it available for basis upon
which bonds could be issued.
This line is not crooked now. It is
as straight as the edge of a ruler, but
the kinks We're taken out only last
year. In one province the main line Of
the road was shortened eighty miles
and only the engineers of the road
know how much slack was removed
from the line as a whole.
In spite of disadvantages, however,
business is not bad and we all are able
with little care to make a living and
save dollar occasionally"
Mr.. Stephenson is accompanied by
William Carey Hay, assistant cashier
of the First National bank of Belling-
ham, Wash, who is making trip
home after quite a long residence in
the Puget sound country