The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-06-30
TILLmAN
On the Lumber Tariff.
Congressional Record.

Senate before, two or three weeks ago,
I voted for the amendment proposed
by the Senator from Alabama, Mr..
Johnson, to put lumber and all build
ing materials Oh the free list. In the
discussion l remarked that / was in
favor of free lumber. When the Sena-
tor from North Dakota, Mr.. Cumber,
offered an amendment, which did not
give US free lumber, leaving the duty
on wildwood sycamore and Eastwood
at so cents a thousand, I voled against
it, because it did not give US free lum-
Der. The Senate adjourned immed-
lately afterwards, giving me no oppor-
tunity to vote for free lumber. There
has been no opportunity to vote for
free lumber. There has been no
amendment proposed for free lumber
today.
Mr.. McCumber. The Senator will
recall that some time ago | Introduced
Ian amendment for free lumber, and it
was defeated.
Mr.. Tillman. I was not present.
Mr.. MeCumber. Oh. yes it was
argued here for days and then defeated
by a very decisive vote.
Mr.. Tillman. If the Senator will
look at the Record, he will see hat he
did not offer any amendment for free
lumber, but only one for Sawed lum.
Der not specially provided for" and so
forth, leaving in the bill so cents a
thousand on Eastwood, sycamore, and
80 forth.
Mr.. McCumber. I did not change
that, it is true.
Mr.. Tillman. 1 voted against the
McCumber amendment. 1t was de-
feated by a very decisive vote, SIS, l
think, or something like that, to 80, or
around there. I still think we ought
to have free lumber, and [ will give
my experience and my reasons for that
belief. I know, of course, we can not
get it.
Twelve years ago, when the Dingley
bill was on its passage, I voted for q 81
tariff on lumber, and remarked, very
much to the disgust of some people and
the edifcation of others. 'lf, there was
to be stealing, I wanted my share" I
have found out that ! can not get my
share; that the conditions of the South
are such that the articles and products
of the region which are capable of he
ing protected are so few in number
that If we were to throw around every
thing down there a. high protective
tariff, we would not get. anything like
a proportionate benefit with the New
England and manufacturing States of
this Union.
In regard to this matter Of lumber I
have watched the result ofthe duty.
immediately afterwards our timber
lands, which had previously been neg
lected so there were comparatively
small numbering industries down there
began to be in demand. Men from
Wisconsin and Michigan and Other
northern States where numbering hat
practically denuded the forests of tim
Der, or were about to flush them up
came into the Stale and bought vi
very large tracts of timber at q very
small price. They did this all over the
,ISouth. Large mills were established
and the numbering industry began t.
pick up, showing investment of capita
and q large export. At the same time
the price began to rise, a little faster
apparently, than the industry itself.
Now, consider for q moment that thu
people of South Carolina are in abou'
this shape the State being a triangle
the upper part cutting off like the let
ter "a" is largely the white section o
the State. Nearly twotthirds Of tht
'Tpeople, although 1t is only One-third o
the area, live there. They are con
sumers of lumber and they have NJ
yellow pine or very little. They hav'
been importing that lumber from tn
lower belt of counties next to the sea
and that region is occupied almos
wholly by the negroes that is, tn
negroes outnumber the whites in Beau
fort County, for instances, 10 negroe
to l, Colleton Z, Georgetown Z, VIII
lliamsburg 4, Sumter 6, and 30 on. II
this coast region the lumber industr.
!, has taken root and Is now very exten
8 sively carried on.
noticed after three or four years o
this introduction of numbering on al
defensive scale that the price wen
I steadily up, up, and it very soon be
+ came noised abroad, I do not know OF
what foundation, that these lumbe
. linen had formed a combination ant
'lthey would not sell under each othe
to the consumers in the upper part o
the State.
II Lumber is not u luxury. 1t is a ne
cessity. It is one of the n~ecessaries o
life. When I saw that the farmers
who had to build houses and fences
land barnes in the whole upper coun
try, were being charged steadily in
lcreasing prices for their lumber, L be
gan to change my opinion as to wheth
er I was getting my share of the.steal
ling or not. It looked like somebody
not very far away was getting an un
reasonable profit out of our trees
(which had cost them a very small sun
of money relatively. So my opinion
In regard to the benefits of the tariff il
our State changed very radically.
I believe in the greatest good to the
preatest number d; and when l saw tina
the people who use lumber, practically
four-ffths of them, were paying an in
creased price, I decided if l ever got {
chance would take that tariff OF
That is all there is about it. l do no
feel that it is my business here to pro
tect the industry of lumber which, per
haps, involves the interests of $4,000
good and worthy people, as against the
Soc, 600 equally good and worthy peo'
) ole who have to use lumber, and We
would not be saved from an exorbitan'
price, because, 1 think, those people
formed a combination and agreed thai
thew would not undersell each other.
The only reason why we were able
or will be able. to get lumber at a rea
sonable rate was due to the fact thai
J there were some old field pine secono
growth left in the upper part of the
State and small patches, OF small areas
two or three hundred acres or 500 acres
lali through in the middle lower region