The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-08-03
TAFT BLAMED FOR
HIGH PAPER RATE
President Responsible for the
Duty of S3.75 Put on
Print Paper.
STATEMENT BY Mr.. NORRIS
CAMPAIGN OF THE PUBLISHERS
PREVENTED A BOOST IN PRICES.

New York, Aug. John Norris.
chairman of the committee on paper of
the American Newspaper Publishers
association, has issued "a bulletin relat-
ing to the tariff on pulp and paper, ia
which he says.
I'm the proposed tariff bill publishers
have secured the abolition of the duty
Of Sl.61 per ton on ground wood. They
obtained q reduction from SIS per ton
te $40 per ton on print papeT-a saving
of approximately $2.100.OOO per annum
ln the cost of print paper TO consumers.
The publishers had asked for free
print paper. The select committee If
the house had recommended 81 per ton.
TIE senate recommends the rate of 81
per ton. and the cOnferees had substan-
TALLY agreed upon a compromise rate
of So, when President Taft announced
10 congressional callers, on or about
Saturday, July -, that a s. rate was
necessary for applying the protection
principle to print paper.
Taft Did Not Know.
1.-THE president made this announce
ment without that FUN and impartial
asoertainmeut Of cost to which the con-
sumers were entitled, and In disregard
OF numerous and voluntary assurances
that NE was given in favor of the lower
rate. la accordance with that intima-
ticu from the president, the cOnferees
reported S3.lj per con, which viii prob
ably be adopted.
IF tho publishers had not inaugu-
rated their campaign for a reduction Of
duty, il is likely that the paper makers
would have secured an increase to IS
or $40 per ton on print paper upon their
presentations that American wood
had increased i'm cost to the extent of
50 per ton on paper produced.
Under the ileW schedules, each Can
adam province is regarded as q unit
SO that Nova Scotia and New Bruins
wick VIII have no restrictions of any
kind upon expectation of pulp or paper,
and can immediately avail themselves
of the new tariff rate. Quebec has
stumpage tax of % cents per cord on
wood cut from crown lands for eXpor-
t8tion, There is no stUmpage tax in
Quebec on wood cut from other lands
Ontario prohibits absolutely the expor-
tation of wood cut from crown lands
Newfoundland also prohibits the OK
portation Of pulp wood
Leases Held by Americans.
American paper makers hold. leases
on 1900 square miles of crown lands
in the province of Quebec, for which
they pay am annual rental and i'm addi-
ton a fixed price of So cents for every
cord cut. Those leases expire IN 1910 and
1t Is given out that within three weeks
from the date of The signing of the
Payne bill the terms of the now Quebec
leases viii be promulgated.
1T is barely possible that Quebec
may regard the new legislation as the
best obtainable and abolish its stump
age tax. If it should prohibit the ex-
portation of pulp wood cut from crown
lands. the American owners of timber
rights are prepared to set up a COM
plant OF cOnhscation. A serious tangle
is threatened with possibilities of
pulp wood shortage and trade wa
between Canada and the United states.
which have business inteTChanges to the
extent of two hundred and fifty million
dollars per anuUm."