The Washington socialist. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1914-1915, 1914-12-24
BEFupDLED MIR. WILLIS
Calls for the Wrong Protest
4 CORRECTION AND A REMEDY

MoFuluS AtAuuhSs "
one r. II. Willis throws fit over the
damage done "the thousands of un'
employed men who have been thrown
out of employment by the curtailment
OF production caused by the enormous
increase OF imports into this country
from British Columbia mills and the
consequent loss of markets for lumber
and shingles heretofore supplied by
American mills and manufactured by
our own citizens"
Mr.. Willis further points out that
British Columbia mills have sold, in
markets belonging to our mills, dur
ing the first nine months Of opera
ton of the present tariff S26,6sS,075
more shingles and 10,169,699 feet more
lumber than in the same time in the
year before"
"This certainly means" says Mr..
Willis. that our mills have had to
curtail their production just that much
and therefore lay off the men who
would otherwise have been employed
if this output had remained with us"
we Socialists do not, as rule,
argue with non-Socialists over the tar
iff question; but this shingle-and-lum-
ber-tariff controversy comes straight
home to the most vulnerable spot of
the average wage-slave of the North
west. namely, his stomach. The lum-
Der Jack and the mill man finds him
self out OF work. A gink comes along
with a bunch Of tariff junk and some
import statistics, and the jobless man
who, a moment previously. was about
ready for Socialism and the Socialist
ticket from president to constable,
falls for the republican quack doctor
who would restore prosperity in this
country by killing off the industries
Of a neighboring ("Christian'O prov
ince. Therefore we feel impelled TO
answer this Willis communication and
his call for protests to President Will
son to a1et him see the damage his tar
if has caused this state We are the
more willing to embrace this oppor-
tunity to clarity this situation with
some Socialist reasoning in that the
incident win serve as an example, or
illustration, of the proper view OF the
tariff question as whole, anywhere,
at any time.
THE FIRST POINT
The first point we would have our
readers bear in mind is this The sta
tistics furnished by our consul at Van
couver do not state that the shingles
and lumber which were shipped into
the United States from British Column
bia were TO remain in markets former
ly controlled by mills of this state.
If we are not very much mistaken,
very large portion Of the shipments
into this country were destined for
Canadian markets via our railroads.
WORTH CONSIDERATION
If it is true that Eastern dealers
are not buying shingles and lumber
from Washington mills because they
can be purchased cheaper from Cana
dian producers, owing to president
Wilson's tariff and that thousands
Of workers Of the Northwest have
thereby been thrown out Of employ
ment, then the whole problem re-
solves itself to this lumber and shin
gle dealers are as heavy purchasers
now as before Wilson's tariff" the
cause Of unemployment in Washington
being therefore due only to the fact
that the workers of British Columbia
have the jobs formerly held down by
Yankee wage-slayes.
SOME DIFFICULTY HERE
While this is the logical conclusion
to which republican tariff tinkerers
would drive the conscientious student,
no one knows better than Mr. Willis
and the Washington mill owners that
the lumber and shingle business of
the Middle West and East is dead, and
has been dead for some time. even
previous to the Wilson tariff We
have read in the Tribune time ana
again and so has Mr. Willis that the
stocks in the Eastern yards, and else
where are the lowest that they have
been for years, owing TO the fact-not
that the dealers are buying cheaper
from British Columbia than from
Washington-th building operations
have been virtually at a standsull for
months: shingles and lumber are not
being bought in the markets of this
country; therefore they are not being
sold And therefore the wage-slaves
Of the Northwest hre out OF work be
cause the people of the United States
cannot buy lumber to build homes
barns fences, furniture, etc, etc.
tariff or no tariff.