Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1922-05-26
Big Business Concerns
Not Always to Blame
Merrill Daily Herald In Plea
for Lumbermen Who Are
Prosecuted Regularly
by Government

The following article taken
from the Merrill Daily Herald
contains SO much that we con-
cur in, not only as regards the
lumber industry, but nearly all
other goods manufactured on a
large scale, that we gladly re-
produce it.
For the past twenty years or
so there has been hue and cry
against nearly every kind Of
big business, railroads, manu-
facturers, etc., to the effect
that they were robbing the pub
lie at every opportunity, and as
a rule, also robbing the employ
ees that work for them. We
have always believed that the
man or men with the immense
sums invested in business enter
prises have as much right to a
fair return on their capital as
the man or men who have none
to invest in anything, but who
talk very loudly on all occasions
about the down-trodden poor
man and the way he is treated
by the capitalist. On this &C
count, the Herald article is in
teresting to us and we are glad
to pass it on for the considera-
ton of others who think with
out foaming at the mouth. Says
the Herald:
Why the Lumbermen?
With remarkable regularity
the United States government
brings criminal actions against
lumbermen, alleging they are
bound together in trust con-
trary to the Sherman Anti
Trust law. 1t looks very much
like some government official
had it in for the lun1bermen.
Each time a prosecution is brot
the program. of the lawyers,
court costs, etc., follows and
either the government with
draws the charges or is beaten.
This has been going on for sew
eral years and only recently the
attack was renewed on the man
ufacturers of hemlock and the
hardwood lumber in this part OF
the country.
IF the government could only
know, as some of us people who
live here know, how badly Grip
pied financially and how nearly
broke all lumber manufacturers
are, probably there would at the
least be a sympathetic feature
to such prosecutions. Lumber
men have had the hardest
game" to play the last ten
years of probably any other of
the manufactured products or
commodities in this whole coun-
try.
It sounds fine to tell or talk
about "stumpage" only costing
say, $500 a thousand feet and
the finished product is sold for
say, $500 per thousand or in
some cases more, but he who
has never been covered with
sawdust or "bucked" the slab
pile has no conception of the
turbulent road with oil of its
bumps, briars and bruises be-
tween that $500 and $500; he
cannot know how much labor it
takes, how much worry, perse-
verance, patience and bank cred
it it takes to bring $500 per NJ
finished into lumber suitable for
present day civilization for use
in buildings, etc.
Once upon a time, the Merrill
Daily Herald held up it's hands
when the government moved
numerically upon the climber
barons" who were "despoiling
natures parks" and footing the
public domain" But no more.
Our sympathy is with the poor
boob who plays the lumber
game and thinks he can beat it.
He has one good year ont of ten
and during the entire ten years
everyone from every county as
SCISSOR to the encouragement
at Washington, D. c., is trying
to get his little goat and keep
him from recording in the bank
the few dollars profit which the.
one year in ten might bring.
The roulette wheel, the polk
er game, the fight for gold in
the hills all have it over the lum
Der business when one figures
it over a period of years, and
the government should become
acquainted with this phase of
the game.-Merrill Daily Her