FOREST POLICY. 



51 



(XLII.) CUSTOM DUTIES: 



I. On importations. (Logs, lumber, staves, naval stores, etc.) 



A. Advisibility for the United States. 



Reasons for custom duties are: 



Checking importation results in higher stumpage prices; hence 

 better chances for conservative forestry. 



The wages paid for logging and milling lumber should remain in 

 the United States. 



Revenue is obtained through a tariff on logs and lumber. 



Reasons against custom duties are: 



Only the wood owners close to the Canadian frontier are bene- 

 fitted since, practically, no other country imports dutiable lumber. 



An increase in stumpage price may accelerate the destruction of 

 the virgin forests, the owners doubting the stability of high prices. 



As a matter of fact, the tariff of $2. per 1000 feet of lumber in- 

 fluences forestry in the United States but little. Logs are on the 

 free list, a concession made to American holders of Canadian stump- 

 age. The United States export more lumber than they import. A 

 tariff on the valuable hardwoods (ebony, mahogany, etc.) cannot 

 effect forestry in the least. 



The chief importations of forest products into the U. S., in 1902, 

 were as follows: 



Product 



Quantity 



Value 



Hemlock bark 



Corkwood and cork bark.unmanuf'd 



India rubber and guttapercha 



Cabinet wood, unmanufactured 



Logs and round timber, unmanuf'd. 



Timber, hewn, squared 



Planks, deals and boards 



Shingles 



Other lumber 



All other unmanufactured wood 



House furniture 



Wood pulp 



All other manufactured wood 



Plants, trees, shrubs, vines 



Sumac, ground 



24,971 cords 



106,000,000 ft. b.m. 

 129,000 cubic ft. 

 666,000,00) ft. b.m. 

 708,000,000 



67,416 tons 

 '9ii82,917'lbs." 



! 103,930 



1,816,107 



V5, 652, 977 



3,3 1,275 



907,168 

 18,027 

 9,271,090 

 1,36?, 821 

 1,380,973 

 3,309,622 



714,857 

 2,059,092 

 2,050,838 

 1,172,023 



145,776 



B. Custom duties abroad, in Germany. There is no duty on fuel, 

 charcoal and pulpwood. Round logs pay $ .45 per English ton; 

 roughly hewn logs, raw spokes, raw staves, etc. $ .90; and lumber 

 $2.25. The custom duty scarcely affects the price of German stump- 

 importations of logs and lumber depend more on the prosperity of 

 business than on the tariff figures. 



2. On exportations. 



Export premia are granted by countries either wishing to en- 

 courage export or else wishing to meet custom duties of countries to 

 be invaded. Such premia are usually paid by means of a , differential 

 freight tariff; for instance, Austrian freight rates. 



