Evening star., 1932-01-08
FORDNEY, TARIFF
AUTHOR, EXPIRES
Served IL Consecutive Terms
in Congress; introduced
Soldier Bonus Bill.
Py the Associated Press

By the Associated Press.
SAGINAW, Mich. January S.--Jo-
seph Warren Fordney, member Of Con-
gress for "a years and co-author of the
Fordney McCumber tariff of 1921, died
at his home here at 7:06 am. today.
He was 7S years old.
He had been in i'll health for months,
but death was caused by an attack Of
erysipelas which developed Sunday. He
had been in virtual retirement since
1928, when he completed his twelfth
consecutive term in Congress as Rep
resentative of the eighth Michigan dis
trfct.
Example Of Conservatism.
In Congress he succeeded the late
Ferdinand c. Brucker, Democrat and
father of Michigan's present Governor,
WILDER NJ. Brucker, and built up ira
dition of answering Republicanism in
the eighth district which was not broken
until last year, when Representative
Michael I. Hart, a Democrat, was
elected.
The man known affectionately 10 his
constituents as uncle Joe" Fordney
was, according to one political writer.
the shining example of conservatism
in Congress" For nearly a quarter OF
q century he was q leader among the
so-called protectionists, and the 1921
tariff bill to which he gave his name
was largely written by him.
introduced Bonus Bill.
During his last term in Congress he
held the coveted post of chairman Of
the Ways and Means Committee and
had an important part In making the
laws during the first session of Con-
gress under the postwar Republican
administration.
He introduced the soldier bonus bill
in the House and, despite criticism from
within the ranks of his own party,
clung tenaciously to support of the bill.
1T is the only honorable thing to do"
he declared in pleading for its passage.
He was born in Blackford, Ind, Mo-
vember s. 1858, but came to Saginaw
County when young man and became
a lumbernan. Enlisting the aid of a
capitalist, he acquired great tracts of
undeveloped timberlands. Adding mills
and yards to his holdings, he amassed
a fortune before he entered politics.
Started as Chore Boy.
The basis for Fordneys activities, in
the timber business was laid through
knowledge gained at his fathers saw
mill in Indiana. When the family
reached Saginaw he took job as chore
hNx Oh napfc loU hafnra "a
a cook. Meanwhile he continued to
study the business. When he set out as
a cruiser and estimator, he found him.
self well equipped for the work.
His arrangement with the capitalist
called for salary Of $1,000 a year and
one-half Of the profits. The business
Later, when the Michigan
forests had been cut over, Fordney
transferred his interest to the South
and Pacific Northwest, in the region Of
the big trees"
-Four years after his retirement Sagi-
nav experienced an oil boom, and Ford
ney became president of an oil field de-
company. Farming also oc-
cupied part of his attention after he
bought tract of land some distance
from Saginaw.
Although he had only an elementary
education and never made an address
until he entered public life, Fordney
came to be known as an able speaker.
He gained an extensive knowledge of
the tariff through diligent study, and
his speeches on the floor of the House
of Representatives often led him into
heated arguments. .- :.
His first activity in the tariff fight
was for an amendment to the Payne
Aldrich act for higher rates on lumber.
and his final tariff speech in Congress
was in the closing debate on his own
bill in September, 1921.