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Champ Clark’s Washington Letter.
Hon. Champ Clark, member of Congreea for the Ninth Miaeour! district,
was born In Kentucky In 1850, and for twenty-two years held the record for
being the youngest college president in the United States. In hie varied ca
reer he worked ae a farm hand, clerked in a country store, edited a country
weekly and practiced law. He was permanent chairman of the National
Democratic Convention at 8L Louie in 1904. He ie now eerving his sixth
term as a member of Congress.
It is rare indeed that a Democratic
representative in congress from the
wild and woolly west has the distin
guished honor of a correspondence
with his excellency, the governor of
Massachussetts, even on a public
question. This honor has lately come
to me. It will be remembered by
those who pay any attention to poli
tics that the Hon. Curtis Guild, Jr.,
was elected governor in 1905 and
re-elected in 1906 as a Republican, As
soon as he was first elected he wrote
a letter to the president urging him
to incorporate a tariff revision section
in his annual message to congress, in
which letter he stated that had not
the Massacuhsetts Republican plat
form of 1905 declared for immediate
tariff revision he and all the rest of
the Republican ticket would have been
overwhelmingly defeated. President
Roosevelt paid no attention to the let
ter, so far as any one ever discovered.
At least he made no such recommen
dation to congress. From that time
to this certain Massachussetts Repub
licans, of whom Governor Guild is the
most distinguished, have been agitat
ing for tariff revision with great earn
estness and voting the Republican
ticket with great regularity notwith
standing the fact that the Republican
machine in the United States is com
pletely in the hands of the stand pat
ters. Quite recently Governor Guild
wrote me the following letter, with
the inclosure, to which he refers in
his letter:
“Executive Chamber, State House,
“Boston, Mass., Feb. 12.
“Hon. Champ Clark, House of Repre
sentatives, Washington:
“Dear Sir —I beg to inclose for your
information a copy of a petition ad
dressed to the president and congress
in regard to a matter of public impor
tance and also a copy of my letter of
transmittal. With high respect, be
lieve me, faithfully yours,
“CURTIS GUILD, JR.”
Copy of Letter from Governor Curtis
Guild, Jr., of Massachusetts, to the
President.
“Feb. 12.
“To the President of the United
States, White House, Washing
ton:
“Sir —I have the honor of transmit
ting to you herewith a petition signed
by me and by more than three-fourths
of the members of each branch of the
general court of Massachusetts in sup
port of the tariff policies recommend
ed by Secretary Root and by the late
national foreign trade convention.
Copies of this address have, been for
warded to the members of each branch
of congress.
“You will, I am sure, appreciate
that a signature by which the indi
vidual makes himself publicly respon
sible as indorsing the views to which
he subscribes is of greater signifi
cance than anonymous assent to reso
lutions passed in the legislature by
vive voce vote or even a record by
roll call.
“The signatures to this memorial
include those of the governor, the
president of the senate and speaker
of the house and of every member of
the legislative committee on federal
relations. There are 280 members of
the general court, of whom 221 have
signed this petition. Os the 40 mem-
bers of the senate 34 have signed. Os
the 240 members of the house of rep
resentatives 187 have signed. Os the
203 Republicans in the general court
154 have signed. Os the 77 Demo
crats in the general court 67 have
signed. 1 am confident that, were it
deemed desirable to keep this peti
tion open longer for signatures, more
members who, because of absence or
other personal reasons not affecting
the merits of the matter, not yet
had sufficient opportunity to sign it
would do so.
“In the conviction that this expres
sion of public opinion will be given
every proper consideration, I have the
honor to remain, very respectfully,
your obedient servant,
“CURTIS GUILD, JR.”
(Copy of petition.)
“Boston, Mass., Jan. 30.
“To the President and the Congress
of the United States:
“Believing heartily in the mission
of Secretary Root to establish closer
relations between the peoples of
America and being also of the opinion
that tariff laws should be changed as
conditions change, we indorse the at
titude in behalf of tariff revision taken
by the late national foreign trade con
vention at Washington.
“We indorse the principle there ap
proved of the creation of maximum
and minimum tariff schedules to be
applied without the intervention of
treaties, but otherwise following the
general precedent of the reciprocity
clause in the McKinley tariff in favor
of such countries as will make con
cessions to us.
“We further favor the establishment,
as urged by the convention, of a tariff
commission that shall impartially in
vestigate and report from time to time
to congress when schedules appear to
be in need of modification, whether in
cases where duties are needed for the
protection of American industries
have become or may become obsolete
or unnecessary or, on the other hand,
where new industries may require
new protection or new expenses fur
ther revenue.
“In all cases of tariff revision, how
ever, the test should be not ‘ls such
f
a duty demanded?’ but ‘ls such a
duty needed?’ •
“We respectfully urge upon the
president and the congress immediate
action along these lines, and should
the limitation of time make this im
possible in the present session of
congress we respectfully petition the
president to use the powers placed in
his hands for the consideration of this
subject without further delay.
“CURTIS GUILD, JR., Governor.
“WILLIAM D. CHAPPLE, President
of the Senate.
“JOHN N. COLE, Speaker of the
House of Representatives.”
To Governor Guild’s letter I replied
as follows:
“House of Representatives, Feb. 19.
“Governor Curtis Guild, Jr.:
“Sir —Your favor of February 12 to
Aand, inclosing copy of your letter to
the president, together with copy of
a petition to the president and con
gress of the United States in favor of
tariff revision. I beg leave to suggest
that you have just about as much
chance to be translated in a chariot
of fire aa you have to secure tariff re-
THE WEEKLY JEFFERSONIAN.
vision at the hands of the stand pat
ters, who now control the congres
sional machine. They are deaf as
posts to all appeals in that behalf.
“They will never agree to any maxi
mum and minimum tariff scheme un
less perhaps to that of Mr. McCleary,
of Minnesota, who proposes to make
the Dingley rates the minimum and
rates still higher the maximum,
which from the standpoint of tariff re
visionists would be the old and con
demned performance of jumping out
of the frying pan into the fire. Indi
vidually I am in favor of a rational
and comprehensive revision of the
tariff. Yours respectfully,
“CHAMP CLARK.”
•t
The Lumber Trust.
That the lumber trust is a great
iniquity everybody knows. Not long
since the house passed a resolution
authorizing an inquiry into the why
and wherefore of the astounding rise
in the price of white pine lumber, with
special reference to the manipulations
of lumber prices by the trust. My
own judgment was and is that the
high tariff on white pine lumber is
the why and wherefore of the trust.
One of my most valued constituents,
Judge H. C. Lackland of St. Charles,
Mo., a prominent lawyer and business
man, wrote me the following letter on
the subject, which is well worth con
sideration. Judge Lackland says:
St. Charles, Mo., Feb. 15.
Hon. Champ Clark, Washington:
Dear Sir —I wish to call your atten
tion to the iniquities of the lumber
monopoly in these United States, nur
tured by the tariff. As you know, the
whole lumber business is in the hands
of a trust composed of a few thousand
men, which levies tribute on and op
presses and defrauds eighty millions
of people without any corresponding
benefit whatever. This syndicate or
trust has got possession of all the tim
ber lands and sawmills of the coun
try, and it dictates the prices of lum
ber to the whole country. There used
to be a few independent mills, but
they have all been compelled to come
into the trust, and every bill of lum
ber ordered by any retail dealer from
a supposed independent mill is sent to
one general office, and the order is
filled from that office and the money
collected by it. Every once in awhile
this trust raises the price of lumber.
Last January it raised the price of
the retailers $2 a thousand; last week
it raised the price again another 75
oents and $1 a thousand. The orders
for rise of price are given to the re
tailer, and he is obliged to obey at his
peril.
But, worst of all, they swindle, de
fraud and cheat the purchasers and
users of lumber in a most shameful
manner. For instance, you are going
to build a home, we will say. You put
in a bill to the retailer for a certain
number of 2 by 4 studding of the de
sired length, a certain number of 2
by 12 joist and a certain number of feet
of plank 1 by 10 of any desired length.
Instead of giving you the dimensions
your order calls for, they will give you
studding 11-2 by 3 1-2 and joist 11-2
by 111-2, or even 11, and plank 3-4 by
9 or 9 1-2, and so on. No matter what
dimensions you order, the lumber is
cut down in dimensions from half an
inch to one inchon all sides, and you
are measured up and charged just
as if you got full dimensions. If you
do not take it that way, you cannot get
it at all. The mills make in several
ways by this method. They make all
they cheat you out of in the dimen
sions, which is a great deal. They can
make more lumber out of a log in saw
ing it up, and they can carry more in
a car from the mill to the retailer,
and, lastly, they shave a very thin
skin off one side of each piece of lum
ber (which is no advantage to it what
ever) and use the shavings under the
boilers for steam. Thus you see this
trust is not satisfied with the monopoly
of the lumber business in this big
country and the big prices they make
the people pay, but they swindle and
cheat and defraud them in the meas
urements in a most shameful manner.
1 know whereof I am speaking, for
I have been compelled to buy a great
deal of lumber for many years.
If anything deserves to be investi
gated by congress, it is this swindling,
cheating lumber trust.
The bar of the tariff on lumber
ought to be thrown down so that it
can come in from all the world.
Very respectfully, .
H. C. LACKLAND.
P. S. The price of lumber has be
come almost prohibitive.
More Evidence.
Under the caption “The Lumber
Problem” the Kansas City Times, in
dependent, says editorially:
Minneapolis has been obliged to
close down building operations because
of a lack of shingles. This is due to
a shortage of cars resulting from the
blockade of transcontinental railroads
and also to the lumber trust, which
controls the traffic and the prices of
lumber. The conditions call attention
to two phases of the building situation
which deserve serious attention.
It has been suggested recently that
congress shall lease the reserves for
the cutting of such trees as have grown
to maturity and are threatened with
decay. In this way not only would
the waste of lumber be prevented, but
competition would be established with
the lumber trust, which is pernicious
and an obstacle to economical build
ing.
Another remedy is that now being
considered by the Pennsylvania legis
lature which concerns the future of
forestry. It is proposed to preserve
the state lands intact and make them
nurseries for coming forests. Not only
are the Alleghanies almost entirely de
nuded trees, but the forests of Mich
igan ar ‘ Wisconsin have been laid
low, while the great northwest, in the
grip of the trust, is fast being stripped
of trees. It has been argued be
fore the Pennsylvania legislature
that, while iron ore can be turned into
steel in a few hours, not all the wealth
of the world can make a tree grow
faster than nature has from the begin
ning intended.
The fault has been our great pro
fligacy in the beginning. Where a
few years ago lumber was sawed and
sold green at from $4 to $8 a thou
sand feet it is now being cured and
planed and brings from S3O to SSO a
thousand. There are probably enough
trees to last a couple of generations,
but what will posterity do if we not
only refuse to preserve the small area
of forests remaining, but, like the fool
ish farmer who raised a single crop
of wheat and then let the field He fal
low for years, refuse to make provision
for future growth of forests?
The Stand Patters.
As another demonstration of how
completely the stand patters are wed
ded to their idols the following trans
action will show: Last week Hon.
John Sharp Williams, the Democratic
house leader, brought up in committee
on ways and means the following bill
providing for reciprocity with Cana
da on coal, which was promptly ta
bled by a strict party vote. If there