The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1912-04-05

restraint of trade and therefore failed
to give the lumber producers the YER
dict which they asked for at a confer
ence with the President, Secretary
Nagal, and Commissioner Smith in
Washington, January IL, 1910.
Prices of lumber at the mills" says
the petition, Advanced during the
seven years from 1899 to 1906, about
thirty-eight per cent. This cores
ponded with the advance in other
commodities which enter so greatly
Into the cost of lumber, and in part
to the increased values of stumpage.
Prices to the consumer in some
sections of the country remote from
lumber-producing sections, advanced
probably in still greater proportion,
due in part to the exhaustion of near
supplies, making necessary the pay
ment of greatly increased transporta-
ton charges
Notwithstanding these sufficient
reasons it is charged and seems to
have been commonly believed that the
Increase in prices at the mills was
due to the existence of controlling
combinations or agreements common
ly known as trusts and that the 1um-
Der trust was and is an oppressive
entity"
The petition then says that respon.
sive to public charges Congress adopt
ed resolutions for an investigation of
the lumber business. Attention is
particularly called to the fact that the
resolutions required that the investi-
cation should be conducted with the
particular object" of ascertaining the
existence of any combination, con-
spiracy, trust, agreement or contract
in restraint of commerce.
The petition says further that while
the effect of these resolutions was in
furious to the lumber industry, the
investigation was welcomed by lum-
Der producers who had long been
FESTIVE under the loose unfounded and
ignorant charges made against them"
and that every assistance to the in
vestiagtiOn was given.
With this active and hearty co-ope-
ration of the lumber industry it was
felt that the inquiry should produce
early results" On the contrary, saws
the petition, it was not until February
13, 1911, more than four years after
the passage of the resolution, that
any report whatever was made by the
commissioner of corporations, who
had charge of this investigation I'M
der the Secretary of the Department.
of Commerce and Labor The petit
ton calls attention to the fact that
this report was only partial one
and failed to give the lumber pro-
ducers the verdict they desired.
The petition closes with an urgent
request that the charges against the
lumber manufacturers of the United
States be as promptly brought to a
conclusion as seem likely to be those
against lumber dealers who have been
brought into court"
Secretary Nagel in transmitting to
the President the answer to the lum-
Der mems complaint, says the r7poF;
of the Bureau of Corporations was not
only important and relevant TO the is
sue involved in the resolutions of con
gress, but that the amount of standing
timber and the concentration of it's
ownership were absolutely essential
to the discussion of the questions in
volved. The Secretary says the bureau
found a wholly unexpected and very
remarkable degree of concentration of
standing timber. 1t thus applied a
second and absolutely essential basic
fact in the discussion of lumber prices.
The Secretary says the Bureau of
wi pOl udo Ilit mas
nitude of the task, supplied necessary
facts as rapidly as possible; that it
is now carrying on also an investiga-
ton into competitive methods, a re-
port on which will be presented as
soon as possible. Referring further
to the statement of the lumber men
that the first and only report made by
the Department of Commerce and La
Dor was the report in 1911 on standing
timber, Secretary Nagel says the Blu
reau has also for some time been car
rying on investigations into the actual
course Of the prices Of lumber, and
this too will be presented as soon as
q