The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1909-04-28

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BIT an 6d that during tie late
coal Splihen sone5o q tie Wesefn
states lying along ne canadlaa boz
der waen ever eGort was being made
TO get coal trains IN this country
thTopgh, the Canadian pfscials Were
ordered to ave their coal for their
own people, and not 10 send Il over
into the United states, and the Cana
dian railroad omcials put up their
rates-this when a great coal famine
was ON, when citizens Of the United
States were suffering from cold. Yet
we are to give these people the right
to say when our duties shall come on
or now long they shall remain on. Not
while / have voice and a vote.
The arguments -nich apply to
West Virginia and to It's relation to
the coal traAic apply with equal force
over the entire country. Renewing
the duty on coal would render a half
dozen of our Western States depend
ent on a foreign country for a Geces
sdty of rSe; would close down coal
mines in many States; would depop-
ulate many towns dependent upon
this Industry; would ruin numbers Of
American coal operations; would cut
wages, and would be no benefit to the
American consumer. q believe In
charity which begins at home. So 1
stand for a tariff that will protect the
coal industry OF West Virginia and OF
the entire United STATES. We will aid
the manufacturer, because he gets a
better quality of coal; we will give to
thousands Of worhngmen better
wages; we will offer to thousands OF
children better opportunities for edu.
cation and advancement; we will give
to the merchants more customers. to
the farmer more consumers. and to
the railroads more tonnage.
Lumber.
The south in rich in timber and
West Virginia Is not behind any Of her
sister States of this section in the pro.
ductIon Of this product. In the year
1905 100000 feet of timber were cut
and sawed at a value of nearly four.
teen millions OF dollars. From fifteen
toltwenty thousand wage earners were
employed and wages paid to the
amount OF over five millions of dol
lars. With such forests and products.
with SO many wage earners, It a
readily be seen that West irg!nia is
vitality interested in the tariff on lum.
Der.
Yet the tariff on lumber is cut from
what it was in TIE "Dingley bill"
Why? WI It mean cheaper lumber
and cheaper building? Will the Yves.
tern States. which are crying for
cheaper lumber. get it? These are
questions which senatores may well
ponder and may well study carefully
before answering. I can tell them
now, that It will not.
Even under a protective tariff such
as We o have in the Dingley law,
Canada imported INFO the United
States four times as much lumber as
the United States exported to Canada.
F~orty-eight per cent of all the lumber
manufactured in the United States
annually is produced in the south. And
the south is The section alone that
stands half the loss, or that is effect.
ed to The extent of one7half OF the cut
made in lumber. On that one-half
West Virginia must stand her proper.
tionate share. Many reasons are Civ.
en- why West Virginia should not be
ta1us affected. l have mentioned some
of them before in the questions which
l propouRded as to cheaper prices.
With many the cry for the reduction
in the tariff on lumber or even for IT
being placed on the free list is that
thereby We can conserve our forests.
Why. Mr., President. htat argument
alone should damn the entire effort
made to have lumber put on the free
list, or even to have a revised tariff.
OF course If lumber is pu; on the free
list Canada will come in and we open
up to her a market such as she never
dreamed of. Already she Is preparing
to take advantage of the situation
which she thinks is coming and is
reaching out for her snare. Listen to
what q wideawake Canadian wood
trade paper says. In a letter sent to
the 'Everglade Cypress Lumber Com,
pany, Of Parkersburg. w. Va, this pa.
per urges our West Virginia people to
Immediately begin to arrange for the
importation of Canadian lumber. It
says:
The Payne tariff bill o before the
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