Wisconsin.-White pine, 41,000,000,000 feet; and the census reporter says that to this should be added large quantities of valuable oak, cedar, etc. Minnesota.-White pine, 8,170,000,000 feet. Missouri. In this State there are very large quantities of timber, but the census gives no estimate of the quantity. Virginia. The census gives no estimate of standing timber in this State, but the report says: "The mountains and ridges of the western border are covered with a heavy growth of pine, hemlock, and white oak, cherry, yellow poplar, etc.; over the region east of the mountains oak and pitch-pine, and the eastern counties with extensive pine forests." West Virginia.-The census reports give no estimate of the standing timber in this State, but says that there are immense quantities of pine, oak, spruce, hemlock, walnut, poplar, maple, locust, cherry, etc. North Carolina.-Merchantable pine, 5,229,000,000 feet. South Carolina.-Pine, 5,316,000,000 feet. The census reporter says 25 or 30 per cent, may be added to these figures, as the estimate is probably too small. Georgia.-Pine, 16,778,000,000 feet. The census reporter says 10 per cent. should probably be added. Florida.-East of Apalachicola River, 6,615,000,000 feet pine; cedar, cypress, etc., in large quantities in addition. Alabama.-Long-leaved pine, 18,885,000,000 feet; short-leaved pine, 2,307,000,000 feet; total, 21,192,000,000 feet; and abundance of hard woods in addition. Mississippi.-Long-leaved pine, 18,200,000,000 feet; short-leaved pine, 6,775,000,000 feet; total, 24,975,000,000 feet; with a large variety of other woods in great quantity. Louisiana.-Long-leaved pine, 26,588,000,000 feet; short-leaved pine, 21,625,000,000 feet; total, 48,213,000,000 feet; cypress, sycamore, etc., in unlimited quantities. Texas.-Long-leaved pine, 20,508,200,000 feet; short-leaved pine, 26,093,200,000 feet; loblolly pine, 20,907,100,000; total, 67,508,500,000. Arkansas.-Short-leaved pine, 41,315,000,000 feet. Tennessee. The census reports give no estimate of the quantities of standing timber, but it has large bodies of cypress, oak, hickory, and other hard woods. In east Tennessee there are large quantities of oak and other hard woods, hemlock, pine, and spruce. Kentucky.-No estimate is given by the census reports, but the conditions are very similar to those of Tennessee. Illinois. For the trade in lumber see page 548 of census reports. Washington Territory and Oregon.-See pages 573 to 576, etc. California.-See pages 578, 579. There is no estimate of pine, but the amount is enormous. The census estimate of red wood in this State is 25,825,000,000 feet. Montana.-Large quantities of yellow pine (no estimate). New Mexico.-No estimate, but census reports say that this Territory has more timber than will supply indefinitely all the population that will probably occupy this part of the United States. Idaho.-No estimate, but there are extensive and valuable forests of fir, pine, and larch. The Saginaw Board of Trade puts the amount of Southern pine at 235,000,000,000 standing timber, and Canadian pine, standing timber,. at 50,000,000,000. The duty on lumber is not prohibitory, for one-half the entire lumber product of Canada comes here already to compete with the home supply. (Saginaw Board of Trade.) One hundred and twenty million dollars' worth of dutiable commodities are used annually in the production of American lumber. Board of Trade.) The forests on the Pacfic coast are reproductive. (Saginaw The Gratwick, Smith & Fryer Lumber Company of Tonawanda, N. Y., under date of March 7, 1888, places the capital employed in the lumber business in the United States at $300,000,000, and estimate that one million of men are engaged in the busines in one capacity or another. The same company estimates the average value of pine lumber to the consumer at $20 per thousand feet, board measure, on which there is a duty of $2 per thousand feet or 10 per cent. ad valorem, and as probably nine-tenths of the people who use lumber are people not belonging to the laboring classes the duty is not in any any sense a burden upon the community. They say further that everything necessary to produce lumber is at least 25 per cent. cheaper in Canada than in the United States; and further, that the Canadian lumber mills being situate nearer the Eastern States than the mills of the producing pine regions of the United States, they have an advantage in the item of freights of at least one-half of the present duty. If such were removed it would give Canadians the control of the markets of the Eastern States, where their product is most largely imported, so that the present rate of duty is absolutely necessary in order that the western pine lumber may be shipped to the eastern markets. Careful estimates by practical lum bermen show enough standing timber in the States of Michigan and Wisconsin to last twenty years. The Government forestry bulletins are thus shown to be entirely erroneous. But there are larger quantities of yellow pine and other timber suita ble for building purposes in the Southern States than ever existed of white pine in the Northern States. (See Gratwick, Smith & Fryer Lumber Company and Census Reports.) HISTORY OF TARIFF LEGISLATION AS TO LUMBER. The first tariff imposed upon lumber was by the act of August 30, 1842. By that act boards, plank, etc., not planed or wrought into shape for use, paid a duty of 20 per cent. ad valorem; if wrought into shape for any specific purpose, 30 per cent. ad valorem. The act of 1842 continued in force as to lumber until the acts of May 1, 1872, and June 6, 1872, when the rates were fixed as they now are, viz: $1 per thousand feet, board measure, for hemlock, sycamore, white wood, and bass wood, and $2 per thousand feet, board measure, for all other sawed lumber. No change has been made from 1872 down to the present. WEST BRANCH LUMBERMAN'S EXCHANGE, WILLIAMSPORT, PA. At a general meeting of the members of the West Branch Lumberman's Exchange, held at the exchange building in the city of Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pa., on February 3, A. D. 1888, the following resolution was unanimously adopted: Resolved, That the lumber interest of Pennsylvania, represented by the West Branch Lumberman's Exchange, view with alarm the pro posed change in the tariff in relation to lumber as destructive of the best interests of the timber owner, manufacturer, and the vast army of laboring-men employed in the business, and they protest against any change in the present tariff in relation to lumber that will add to our already overburdened industry, for the following reasons: (1) That the difference between the cost of production in this country, and especially in the State of Pennsylvania and in Canada, including New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, is more than the amount of the duties (viz, $2 per 1,000 feet), in labor alone. And as all political parties agree that the difference in labor shall be protected, we fail to see the justice of protecting it in iron, woolen, or other products, and placing lumber upon the free list. (2) That as the rate of wages in the State of Pennsylvania at the present time, and during the past five years, has averaged $30 per month and board in the woods, and $2 per day in the saw-mills, while the wages for the same class of labor in Canada, including New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, have for the same time been only just about one-half of the above sums, and as the cost of producing every 1,000 feet of lumber in this State represents not less than $6 in labor alone, it follows that a difference exists at the present time of $3 per 1,000 feet between the cost of producing lumber here and in Canada; hence in no way can we compete against Canada lumber in our common markets except by a reduc tion of our wages to a price corresponding with those paid in Canada, and that all parties have declared against and we hope will never have to resort to. (3) That so far as Pennsylvania is concerned there is nothing in the cry of "saving our forests," for the reason that the greater part of the hemlock timber in the State is owned by tanners, who are cutting it for the bark alone, at the rate of from 500,000,000 to 600,000,000 feet per annum, and they will continue to do so, whether the timber is manufactured into lumber or not. Already hundreds of millions have been left on the ground to rot after having been peeled, because it could not be taken from where it lies and manufactured at a profit. Thousands of millions more must be left in the same condition if the duties are removed and we are forced to compete with the low-priced labor of Canada. (4) Our saws, axes, chains, iron of all kinds, and everything used in producing lumber are protected by a tariff much greater than we receive the benefit of, and as nothing can be mentioned in the whole list representing more labor in producing it than lumber, we again protest that we can not see the justice or necessity of singling out our industry alone for slaughter, to please a few speculators who have purchased large tracts of timber land in Canada, and who aim to transfer our now thriving haunts of industry to a foreign country. (5) That as immense stocks of lumber are now being held in Canada, waiting for the duties to be removed, and as the cost of transporting the same, especially from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, to our seaboard cities is less than from the interior of Pennsylvania, on account of their water facilities, the sudden throwing of said lumber upon our markets would have the effect of stopping our production for years, and cause widespread disaster and loss to the laborers and manufacturers engaged in the business. (6) That it is a well-known fact that when we consider the vast and almost undeveloped forests of our Southern States, together with the very valuable finishing lumber that can and will be furnished by our fast increasing transportation facilities from the great Pacific slope, that our country can furnish all the lumber it will need for more than one hundred years to come. When it is considered how poorly our southern brethren have been remunerated up to the present time for their immense investments in lands, mills, etc., we protest against the cheaply produced lumber of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick being placed in free competition on our Atlantic seaboard (our leading market) with that produced in our own and the Southern States. Lastly. We therefore earnestly request our Senators and Representatives in Congress to oppose this monstrous wrong, that is intended to 'solely benefit a foreign country, and use all honest efforts to prevent lumber from being admitted to this country free of duty. And now, February 3, A. D. 1888, it is hereby certified that the foregoing resolution was passed unanimously at a meeting of the members of the West Branch Lumberman's Exchange, held this day in the city of Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pa. COCOA MATTING AND LINOLEUM. STATEMENT OF D. J. CURNEN, PRESIDENT OF THE MAT-MAKERS' PROTECTIVE UNION OF BROOKLYN, N. Y. I wish to recall to the minds of your committee the fact that I ap peared before them and made a statement in relation to the injury done to our industry (the cocoa mat and matting) by the products of the cheap cooly labor of India being permitted to come in at such a low rate of duty (20 per cent. ad valorem); this rate is but a farce; the goods might as well be on the free list, as far as protection goes. If the statement made by Mr. Hale and me is not satisfactory enough to the committee to cause them to insert our amendment in the bill, we would be glad to furnish anything further required to make our claim good. All that we ask is that we be informed what is wanted, so as to have a chance to get it in before it is too late for the bill. I desire to call the attention of committee to the action taken by the House on our amendment. The vote was close-ayes, 86; noes, 95. The proceedings will be found recorded in Congressional Record of July 17, on pages 6944 and 6945. The circular submitted herewith shows plainly the evil of cooly-labor goods being put in competition with goods made here. A proper tariff must be placed on those goods, or else our industry must go to ruin by the cooly labor of India, and the still worse evil of convict labor of England and Germany and our own country. Our prison officials place convict-made goods on the market at such low rates that competition is out of the question; and manufacturers who, by perseverance, built up a good trade, must stand aside and allow their trade to go to prison officials, who have more than a public interest in resorting to the methods they do, in order to secure trade. JULY 10, 1888. DEAR SIR: We are in thorough sympathy with the "Mat-Makers' Protective Association" in their effort to have the duty adjusted, that their labor may be protected from unequal competition with the coolie labor of India and the convict labor of Europe. The present duty of 20 per cent ad valorem does not equalize the cost of foreign labor with the labor of this country engaged in our industry, and for several years our factories have been running on half time, not having a market for our full production. The annexed schedule shows the relative cost of cocoa mats and cocoa matting made here and in India, and from this exhibit you will see that it takes a specific duty of 10 cents per square foot on mats and 15 cents per square yard on matting to place American labor and capital on a par with foreign. We therefore hope you will use every effort to have the tariff bill so amended as to provide for a specific duty of 10 cents per square foot on mats, and 15 cents per square yard on matting made wholly or in part of cocoa yarn, or cocoa fiber, or rattan; and that cocoa yarn, cocoa fiber, and rattan remain on the free list. Yours, very respectfully, W. & J. SLOANE, New York. Exhibit showing comparative cost of cocoa mats and cocoa matting made here and in India.* Entered value, per lincal and square yard, of coir matting, covered by invoice 20800, March, 1887, series. NOTE.-Number of yards per piece not given in the invoice. Estimated at 40 yards to the piece. H. E. E. The duty and freight charges to New York are included in the cost of the India goods. |