Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-03-31

ommendation of the pulp and paper COM
mittee. of which he was chairman, for a
reduction of the duty on wood pulp and
paper, and which recommendation the
ways and means committee adopted
Mr.. Mann said that the committee. in
the face of the impending campo. gn last
summer. when it might have been claimed
that report from the committee red icing
the tariff would have been of inestima BILE
benefit to the republicans. declined ito be
influenced by the newspaper clamor in
favor of reduction of the tariff In its
maj report he declared also that the
committee declined to be unduly infiuenc i
by the demands of the manufacturers. 1t
was but just for him TO say. he remarked.
mat not only he but the other members
OF the committee in making their report
acted according to what they believed was
right, "uninf1uenced by the demands of
the newspapers on the one hand or by the
demands of the manufacturers on the
other Whether the report was right or
wrong, he said the committee did what il
promised to do, and that was Ito make a
report according to the light i. received
according to it's best, it's honest judg-
menu
Problem Of Cheap Paper.
Discussing the various processes FOR
making pulp. Mr.. Mann said that the
whole theory Of cheap paper depended
upon the cheapness of the ground wood
and Of the supply of spruce wood Read
ing from official statistics. Mr. Mann said
fair estimate was that there were ff-
teen million acres east of the Mississippi
carrying thirty-five billion feet of spruce
timber. but he declared that if the use
OF spruce timber for lumber or wood
pup were to be confined to the domes-
tic supply 1t would last only from ten
TO hfteen years. By natural reproduction,
plenished in ten or twenty years To
attain a growth of ten inches he said
would require from seventy-fve to one
hundred years Four inches was the
usual diameter that contracts called for.
but the mills had been so anxious to
get spruce wood that they had been
glad to get it of much smaller size If,
he argued, the United States was to
have cheap paper in the future. the
question was where would the spruce
come from. and he pointed out that the
reduction of the duty on mechanically
ground wood pulp would bring the de-
sired relief
Paper Companies Arraigned.
Mr.. Rothermel (Pa.), in brief but Wig
orous speech, favoring a reduction on
wood pulp and print paper. severely ar
raigned the Gould Paper Company and
the Continental Paper Bag Company. He
quoted from testimony of representatives
Of those companies under oath before
the Mann committee, in which it was
stated they knew of no agreement or un-
derstand1ng among them fixing prices
and yet, he said, both companies pleaded
guilty to indictments charging them with
unlawful combination in restrain of trade
during the period beginning September
~, 1906. and paid fines of 5000 each.
Mr.. Rothermel maintained that so long
as the fines were SO small it would re-
suit In placing premium on wrong
doing and also be considered a good in
vestment on the part of the lawbreaker
The provision of the Payne bill widening
the scope Of the drawback system was
took issue with Mr.. Underwood (Ala.) on
the subject. and denied that such a law
operated against the American laboring
man.
Without any preliminaries the House to-
day resumed consideration of the tariff
bill. AS yesterday. the early morning at
tendance of members was small.
Protection Of Zinc Wanted.
The first speaker was Mr.. Morgan (Mo),
who addressed himself to the zinc sche-
dule and presented arguments tending to
show that that industry. should be pro-
tected.
quoting from speech by President
Taft that the primary purpose of a tariff
was that more revenue may be provided
for the government, Mr.. Brantley ga }
declared this to be true democratic doc
trine. But the Payne bill, he said. owing
to the seclusion and secrecy under which
it was framed, carried on it's face the
s. amp of insincerity, far as it's pur-
pose to provide revenue for the govern
ment was concerned. The primary pur-
pose of the bill, he commended. was not
revenue, but the maintenance of the re-
publican theory of protection.
Mr.. Brantley laid the present deficit
at the door of what he charged was re-
publican extravaganza.
In the opinion OF Mr.. Brantley, the
Dingley tariff on sawed lumber Of 81 a
thousand was not prohibitory, but a
revenue rate, and he said if given the
opportunity he would vote to have it
restored. He attacked the cotton sched-
ule on the ground that it was solely
in the interes, of the New England man
ufacturer.
The cpuntervailing duty on coffee was
opposed by Mr.. Douglass of Ohio. since.
he said. Brazil. at which country it was
directed, would be unable. without i'm
pairing her finances. to remove her eX-
port duty on the product.