22 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



February 25, 1921 



News from the National Capital 



General L. C. Boyle, counsel for the National Lumber Manufac- 

 turers' Association and the American Hardwood Manufacturers' 

 Association, again appeared before the Ways and Means Committee 

 on Feb. i, and made a brief statement to the effect that the 

 National association is not taking any position regarding the tariff 

 on lumber. The free list was under consideration, and E. B. Hill 

 of Pittsburgh, on behalf of the National Betail Lumber Dealers' 

 Association, said that the association is against any tariff on 

 lumber. 



Mr. Hill told the committee that the retail lumber dealers are 

 trying to create a building boom, and they feel, he said, that if a 

 tariff is placed on lumber it will retard this program. Upon being 

 questioned by Chairman Pordney, Mr. Hill stated that the retail price 

 of lumber is about 40 per cent less than it was six months ago. 

 Chairman Fordney stated that in his home town no such reduction 

 had taken place. Mr. Hill said that the retail lumber dealers esti- 

 mate there is a shortage of 1,250,000 homes in the United States, 

 and he said further that the amount of revenue collected on 

 imported lumber, which might jeopardize the home building move- 

 ment, would be very small. 



Donald D. Conn, assistant to the vice-president of the Shevlin, 

 Carpenter & Clarke Company of Minneapolis, requested that lumber 

 be allowed to remain on the free list. 



Mr. Conn said that he did not believe that a tariff is needed for 

 protection of lumber, because the cost of production on lumber in 

 Canada is higher than in the United States. He said that Southern 

 pine displaced Western woods in the Canadian local markets. He 

 told the committee that the United States competes with Canada 

 successfully in foreign markets, and, therefore, that it can do so 

 in home markets. 



E. B. Chinn of the Loggers' Information Association of Seattle 

 said that it has been suggested occasionally that it might be no bad 

 policy for this country to allow the foreign logs to come in as long 

 as they may, because this would tend to conserve the American 

 forests. It would do nothing of the kind, he declared. 



"The milling interests of the state of Washington, who are the 

 purchasers of loggers' products, are applying for a tariff against 

 lumber manufactured in Canada, and my association believes that 

 the logger should have protection against the Canadian logger if 

 the American lumberman is to have protection against the Canadian 

 lumberman," he said. 



"While a mere anti-dumping act would not be sufficieut protec- 

 tion against the Canadian product, it is proper to notice that the 

 Canadian Parliament, by an act adopted in 1907, has protected the 

 Canadian provinces against dumping into Canada by foreign coun- 

 tries," he concluded. 



* * * 



The American Wholesale Lumber Association in a brief filed with 

 the Interstate Commerce Commission, submits that the proposed 

 cancellation of water competitive rates on lumber in Eastern Trunk 

 territory and the increase asked by the carriers are unreasonable. 



The association declares that the proposed increase is as high 

 or higher than existing rates over routes on which lumber moves 

 in heavy volume to consuming and distributing centers in other 

 territories. 



The association further contends that the increase would destroy 

 existing relationships between lumber producing territories and 

 would disarrange the economic structure of the lumber industry 

 in the Eastern water competitive territory. It is asserted that 

 the increase would result in impairment of revenue of the carriers, 

 and that the tendency of water competitive rates to depress other 

 rates is not established, and, even if it were proven, would not be 

 a proper ground for cancellation. 



The discrimination in rates between water competitive points 

 and interior points is not unlawful, according to the association, 

 and the existence of fourth section violations, if any exist, is not 

 proper ground for cancellation. The adjustment of tariffs to com- 

 ply with the Hog Island decision, does not require a cancellation 

 of water competitive rates, the association contends, and in con- 

 clusion states: 



The reason assigned by the Baltimore & Ohio for the cancellation, to-wit, 

 the fact that the rate through Norfolk is being cancelled, is at best only 

 an admission of the tacit understanding between the carriers to eliminate 

 competition for this traffic by eliminating all existing routes on which 

 water competitive rates apply. 



The Georgia-Florida Sawmill Association and the Southern Crate 

 Manufacturers' Association of Jacksonville assert that the water 

 competitive rates have become the normal rates and that water 

 competition has not disappeared. The substitution of the proposed 

 rates would create discrimination and deprive the shippers in 

 Alabama, Florida and Georgia of the benefit of their natural loca- 

 tion, the protestants declare. It is said that the carriers failed to 

 show that the present rates are unreasonably low, and it is asserted 

 that the proposed rates are higher than the traffic can bear. 



The carriers contend that the rates in question were reduced to 

 meet water competition and state, in a brief filed with the Inter- 

 state Commerce Commission, that several of the lumber shippers 

 concede the fact. The carriers declare that they do not desire to 

 continue to meet the water competition and, therefore, seek to 

 restore the reduced rates to a normal basis, which, they assert, is 

 reasonable. The long continuance of lower rates is of no value 

 as evidence where they were instituted to meet the water competi- 

 tion, it is argued. 



It is stated that the rate to New York City is not representa- 

 tive of the rate basis to Eastern points, and it is declared that 

 the proposed rates will not create fourth section violations in con- 

 nection with the Hudson river points. The division of the through 

 rate has no bearing on the reasonableness of the rate itself, accord- 

 ing to the carriers. They conclude that commercial considerations 

 are entirely aside from the question of the reasonableness of the 

 freight rate, and that the commission, in several of its recent 

 decisions, has held reasonable the normal rate structure. 



* * # 



The Treasury Department announced that it has received from 

 the Interstate Commerce Commission the first certificate directing 

 final payment to a carrier, under the guaranty provisions of the 

 Transportation Act. Payment of $611,700.63 was made to the 

 Norfolk Southern Railway Company and represents the amount 

 certified by the Interstate Commerce Commission as necessary to 

 make good the guaranty to the carriers less the amount of advances 

 previously certified. 



Total payments to the carriers to date aggregate $44.5,.509,045.20. 



* * * 



Pursuant to President-elect Harding's suggestion, and in response 

 to the efforts of Republican leaders, the Senate on Feb. 19 made 

 marked progress toward eliminating the legislative jam threatening 

 the passage of the big appropriation bills. Three of these bills 

 were passed on that day. Democrats and Republicans alike worked 

 for action and results. 



The postoffice bill passed, carrying $574,307,552. Next came the 

 diplomatic and consular bill, in charge of Senator Henry Cabot 

 Lodge, the Republican leader. The bill carried an appropriation 

 of $10,404,378. The first deficiency appropriation bill for 1921, 

 carrying $275,918,878, was also passed. All three bills were passed 

 without a roll call. 



