The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1909-04-28
As Il IS Now 10 Pass the
United States Con-
gress.


BofeIEn gogernmenis are watehiag
.Eith . narked degree 81 interest tia.
=proeress of Inc work uppn de new
.taFih measuFe Thes are sitaIly ~
|teres "A the rates OF duty flxea
upon the the articles which tiley
export 70 this country for the reason
that 1 material reduction ii certain.
lines may mean the opening 81 4
good market here. or An advance
may result il depriying them of
trade which they heretofore enjoyed.
There are foreign representattYes in
Washington today; ana they have
been here ever since the tariff dis
epssion began, who are following
the developments as closely as any
American manufacturer or prodacef.
Such Countries as Germany ana
Francs with their sliding scale Of
tariffs, by which they are enabled %
give preferential duties, are especial
" Interested in the maximum and
minimum provisions Of the Payne-
Aldrieh bill and the manner In
which 81 viii eject them. shonid
lt be unsatisfactory they are III 4
position to retaliate, ana 1t Is 6e-
canse Of this that the tafiff makers
are obliged to he very guarded In
drafting this section OF the measure.
England, being a free trade country.
does not enjoy an advantage in this
way. but with her great manufac-
turing industries and extensive c6i-
,onies she Is prepared to profit from
any slip which the American tariff
builders may. make. a
Canada. as our nearest neighbor
and anxious to increase her trade
with the United States. is extremely
interested IN our taritf bin, although
being an agriculture country there
are only a few articles upon which
she can derive benefit from any Of
the proposed changes. The slight
reduction in HARLEY which the
Honse made has been restored in
the Senate. and on other products Of
the farm the rates are such that no
advantage can come to the Canadian
farmer.
Canada Wants Reduction.
Coal and lumber, however are two
articles, concerning the duty upon
which, Canada is ESPECIALLY Interest,"
ed. The United States is canada's
largest market Tor ftInBef. baTtica.
larly second grade lumber The Ca
nadian lambermen, and the Amer
leans who are engaged in the Cana
dian lumber trade and have leased
large tracts of CANADIAN timbcr
lands, have been bending every eff
fort to obtain reduction in the duty
on lumber. and have re3oiced greatly
in the proposed cut from So a thous-
and. 1t now appears that even Ii
this reduction should be enacted
into law, these Canadian timber
men will not not be benefited. The
Dominion government purposes step
ping in and taking the generous do
nation which the American congress
offers to the Canadian lumbermen.
Under the Canadian system timber
lands are leased. The lessor pays a
fixed ground rent to the government
yearly and then a royalty OF fifty
cents thousand feet when he cuts
the timber. The rent is fixed by
contract, but the crown royalty Is
subject to change by parliament or
by the provincial legislature II the
lands are held by the province in
stead of the Dominion government.
The farmers, who predominant in
the Canadian parliament, are un-
willing that the wealthy lumber
men should get all the benefit which
comes from a change in the Amer
lean tariff. Their farm products
are to be Afforded no advantage. and
they are not disposed to have the
ttmbermen. made the sole benefci-
aries. Accordingly, they are
Planning to Absorb
the timherman's gain through a re-
duction in our tariff, by putting up.
the royalty which the timbermanI
must pay to the government for the
privilege of cutting timber. Thus, IL
the reduction Is one dollar a thous-
and. the government will increase
crown royalties to $3.50 thousand.
and the revenue of the Canadian
government will ibe increased Inn.
mensely but no advantage will
come either to the American con-
sumner OF lumber. or to the Canadian
producer. 1t is phase OF the situ-
alton which cannot be reached
through any retaliatOry provision In
our law.
There are immense deposits Of
-