Michigan Lumber Helped

Logs were put on the free list seven years ago owing to tlie rapidly dlminishing supply of our lumber to enable Cinadian forcsts in helping us out. Tliereupon our lumbermen purcha9ed thousands of acres of Canadian pine lands to get logs from for their milis in Michigan. But we received no advantnge from tbU since the Dominion at once levied an export tax of $2 a thousand feet on pine logs, aftenvards increasing it to $3. Tliis was a direct tax on American consumera of lumber. The McKlnley bilí makes a reduetion of one-half In the duties of sawed pine lumber and sawed timber from Canada, provided tliat if she maintaius her export tax our duties shall remain the same as before. This oflers to them an opportunity for opening our markets to them if they repeal their export tax on logs. This is just since our own timber is becoming exhausted. It does not hurt our Michigan milis because if Canada reciprocates it will give us free logs on whlch there is now a $3 tax, thus reducing the duty on lumber some $2 a thousand fcet. By this lumber is cheapened to the buyer without taking away protection to Michigan milis. On the other hand it will give employment here In milis which otherwise would have to shut down and move away. on account of the scarcity of supplies. This law had only been in forcé a week when the Canadian government abolished the export tnx not only on pine logs but on spruce logs and shlngle bolts. The effect will be to open up the great pine forests of Canada containing some 250,000 square miles of pine lands, or an área five times the size of Michigan. It means the running for many years of the milis in this state, and better still the lumber to the consumer for from $2 to $3 cheaper than It would otherwise be In the future, for prlces have been stcadily advancincr in view of the rapidly failing supply at home. The Canadian lumber we would soon need at any prlce, anc through the passage of the new tarín" law we shall get It cheaper. The significance of this fact will be apparent to every reader, when it is remembered that we consume twenty tïtousand million feet of sawed lumber every year and that we shall in the near future have to depend malnly on Canada for lamber as she does on us for coal.This is one of the effecta of the new tariff law that our free trade friends say nothlng about, for obyious reasons.