Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-04-16
NATIONAL CAPITAL NEWS AND GOSSIP
BY Ralph Smith

the Macon judicial circuit January 81, 1877.
and served in that capacity until January
81, 1881: was elected to the house of rep
resentatives of Georgia in 1882 and 1888
and again in 1854 and 1885. and to the
state senate in 1888 and 1889, from the
Twenty-second senatorial district; was
elected judge of the superior court of the
Macon circuit January /, 1898, and resign
ed that office on May /, 1894; was nominal
ed by the Democrats for congress, and
was elected to the fifty-fourth, fifty-fifth,
hfty-sixth, fifty-seventh, fifty-eighth, fifty
ninth and sixtieth congresses. and re-
elected to the sixty-first congress, re-
ceiving 6575 votes. all that were cast"
Speaker Cannon in a Hole
Although the house machine hoped to
obviate a record vote by voluntarily plac-
ing crude petroleum on the free list, af-
ter II was apparent that they were beaten,
Minority Leader Champ Clark forced AZ
Republican members TO go on record IN
the journal of the house as favoring pro
lection for Standard Oil. Speaker Cannon
hummed and hawed in an effort to stave
off the record vote. but Mr.. Clark was in
sistent. 1t should be said in justification
of the speaker. however, that he faced
the music finally with the other as stall
warts and voted against free oil.
AS has been pointed out in these dis
patches, Serene Payne voluntarily placed
oil on the free list after the house had
cut the Payne schedule to one pei
cent. 1t was shown how Mr.. Payne, by
this move, hoped to obviate a record vote
thereby saving the scalps of many Repub-
licans whose constituents are "agin
the oily octopus. The move did relieve
many Republicans from an embarrassing
situation, for it gave them ample excuse
for ignoring the party lash and desert
ing the party leader-Speaker Cannon. IN
deed, it excused the Republican whip from
the necessity of lining up all the regu-
lars.
When the free oil provision was reach
ed, Champ Clark demanded record
vote. Yeas and nays, Mr.. Speaker, ne
said. In vain did the speaker ramble
about the rule under which the bill was
being considered, and about the usua
procedure in such cases. Mr.. Clark was
obdurate Lets have a record he in
sisted and he got it, too.
w. S. StiIlwelI Pleased
w. S. Stillwell, president Of the board
of trade of Savannah, and one OF the
most extensive lumber operators of the
south, was in Washington during the
latter part of last week, watching the
closing hours of the tariff fight in the
house of representatives. He was tick
led to death" with the defeat of the free
lumbermen on the floor, when the RECORD
vote was taken.
Mr.. Stillwell is entitled in large part tc
the credit of having introduced Georgia
pine to the northern states. He and 9TH
err gentlemen interested in the industry
several years ago, shipped several sam
- nd ~
other points in that section of the coun-
try, to compete with Canadian lumber
that was being imported The samples
proved the worth of the lumber, and since
that time Mr. StillwelPs firm and many
other Georgia lumbermen have shipped
hundreds of cars of lumber to the north
IT realize that the average citizen
doesn't understand, or appreciate, how q
reduction in the duty on lumber would af-
feet our industry in the SOUTH" said Mr.
StillweIl. discussing the question. There
is no timber anywhere that can compete
with good Georgia pine-yellow pine. II
is the best to be had, and makes it own
market.
but you must understand that we
lumbermen cannot depend entirely upon
our first-class timber for profits. There
is other lumber that must be considered
In this question. Inc flrSt-claSS lufnDeI
represents only the best part of the tree
The common lumber represents the other
part Of the tree. One can easily under
stand how much of a tree would be
wasted If we manufactured only the best
Of 1t. The waste would be enormous. BY
careful management we may possibly
make the first-class lumber nearly pay
out running expenses. Our profits, when
we make any, must of necessity come
from the common lumber-the waste, as
it were.
"As 1 have said, our first-class lumber
makes it's own market and can compete
with any lumber, tariff or no tariff, but
our common lumber comes in direct com
petition with the common lumber of Can
ada. Our margins of profits, even with
the present duty and the freight rate
on common lumber are small. Place COM
mon lumber on the free list, and we would
be knocked completely out of the mar
ket"
Mr.. Stillwell explained that the so-calle6
lumber combine, or trust, is in reality
only an association such as the hard
ware men and others have. He denies
any attempt is made to fix prices, and
states that he has frequently lost large
contracts when bidding under the So
called list price, because other manufac-
turers cut the list price even closer than
he did.