Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-08-12
PULP PAPER AND TRADE WAN
WITH CANADA,

| WITH CANADA.
GFrom the Springfield Republican,
AS set forth by Congressman Mann
OF Illinois in his noteworthy speech OF
littlc over n week ago. which has Just
| appeared In the Congressional Record.
| the conference tariff law places the
manufacturers and consumers Of pulp
or news print paper In an extraordin-
airy situation. Hero are thu chief
facts OF the matter Under the late
Dingley law pulp wood or spruce was
admitted free of duty; mechanically
ground wood pulp at s1.G7 a ton. and
pulp or news print paper at Sc n ton:
ana to the duties on ground wood
pulp and paper was added the amount
or any export duty any exporting
country or province imposed. Canada
IL tho only country to he considered.
we have not in the United States near
enough spruce wood or forest 10 sun
ply our needs. and what little we have
IL largely confined Ia Maine with
some IN New Hampshire. One-third
OF the material used by our pulp ard
print paper mills is now imported
from Canada. and our own SUNNY ia
steadily diminishing
Much or Canada's supply OF pulp
wood Is on crown lands, and Ontario
forbids Ito cxportotion from such
lands Tho province Of Quebec nj
ready imposes export duties on such
cxportat!ons. and is proposing 10 for
bid exportation altogether Thus orr
pulp and paper mills were threatened
with exclusion from n laruo and mecca
sary part OF their material. and rr,-.es
were going MP hand over hand on tho
newspaper puhlirhers vixen n selcct
committee was chosen by the national
House of Representatives., headed bv
Mr.. Mann. TO investigate and report
Tn" result Of that Investigation r.
wei known. rricnr tho committee
fou0! tina with wood pulp made frao
OF import ana expert tax n duty of &.
n ton on print paper instead OF Sc
would suffice for the protection of our
pulp paper manufacturers, IT wesos-
surcd furthermore that with auch CON
lcsTsions tho Canadian general and
provincial governments would I'M
! doubtcdly brin- about removal OF
, tho export restrictions Then orr pa
per mills would be assured nm abund-
ant supply Of cheap pulp wood ard
wood pulp. md consumers of such pa =
per would md relic: from high and
rising prices of paper. So the Pavne
tariff bin as II passed tho House em-
ho1iod thes, provisions. and II OK
| prc"siy eTe'0pted the pulp and pulp
paper schedule from the opera lions Of
| the ma HlinuT and minimum tariff It
provided reciprocal Arrangement OF
It's own.
Now how does the conference bill as
enacted leave the matter? PUN wood
Is still free. but under expert tax IN
Canada Ground wood pulp stands as
before at sl.67 plus any export duty
Print paper Is placed at s375 ton.
with So additional plus any export tax
on pulp wood, wood pulp or paper
when imported from a province impos-
Ing export taxes. This Is only half
tho story. The new law does not ex-
enpt the pulp and paper schedule from
tho maximum retaliatorv tarifY. which
becomes effective on presidential proc
lama ton next April. This retaliatory
tariff Is % per cent. of the value OF
the imported article. II IT should he
applied. print paper imported at s34 a
ton would he tavod $3.50 additional
TO the above taxes. Wood pulp. val
ucd say al 800 q ton, would be taxed
81 ton additional to the taxes al
ready noted.
VIII tho maximum or retaliatory
tariff apply as against Canada Mt.
Mann thinks II must. The nav tariffs
on pulp and paper conccde little md
threaten much. Canada will there
for" liEolv be stiffened in its EXPORT
tax attitude. and the President would
have "a clap on the - PEI cent ma vi
mum duties. I'ut Canada also has
'antidun1inE" duties which We have
not. and this alone may compel the
President TO apply tho maximum du-
ties, As Mr.. Mann said
BY the provision in TIT, conference.
report W. ~ 20 C3naG" nos ms n con-
c"Sf'on or NJ an inducnmcnt. but as n
big Stick 'G'nless YOU are So little,
so ready TO be hrowheaten, that YOU
viii yield the advantage you have in
holding the main supply Of pulp wood
on this continent will impose n
maYiwum tariff on every pound of
wood pulp and print paper. adding
thereby to the other tariff, on print
paper at least $3.50 Il ton" DO you
think that any men with Anglo Saxon
blood In their veins are 50 craven ms
TO yield before this threat? No. G.oud
applause on the democratic side)
SO here we are brought to the por-
tails of a desperate trade war with
Canada, affecting especially the pulp
paper industry and the consumers OF
such paper. Where the riccs of print
paper Will go when the contest has
fairly begun. who can tello Rather
perhaps should we asl; where the value
OF III" spruce lands still remaining in
Maine ard New Hampshire is likely to
Eo' 1t Is the owners of these lands
VINO are responsible. apparently,
through their henchmen In Congress.
for all this mischief. As for American
pulp paper mills which have no spruce
OF their own-wcll, they are perish
ing in III" Western States under the
Ontario prohibition, and they can per-
ish in the Fast also. Only-they NAV
find comfort In the hope held out by
the Paper Trade Journal OF last week
that, while the war Is on with Canada
"A war rather chcekily charged I'D
to the publishers for their bitter
campaign against the paper manurac-
turcrs"-"A invention will be
busy and will no doubt find a cheap
substitute for spruce wood. Such Is
'tarff reform" and "revision down
ward" for paper makers and con-
sumers.
STIMULUS To FLYING.
From the New York Evening Post)
Rleriots feat is OF the kind which W,
speak Of In advance as being nothing ex