42 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



insertod on the billing, and other cases showed 

 that the assessed weights were exorbitant when 

 compared with recognized estimates. This evi- 

 dence tends to show that as a general rule it 

 Is as easy for a weigher to make a mistake in 

 inserting the gross weight on a weight eertifl- 

 cate, which it is impossible to detect except by 

 means of an estimate, as it is for a weigher to 

 insert the wrong tare or make an error in calcu- 

 lation which can be detected. 



Mr. Phippen also gave evidence covering fifty 

 shipments which were loaded on flat and gondola 

 cars equipped with car stakes, and on which 

 no car stake allowance had been made at the 

 time of scaling : this being the allowance ob- 

 tained as a result of the famous car stake case 

 brought before the Interstate Commerce Commis- 

 sion in 1905 by the National Wholesale Lumber 

 Dealers' Association, A strong argument was 

 made for the uniform allowance of five hundred 

 pounds for car stakes on all flat and gondola 

 cars which are equipped with car stakes, re- 

 gardless of whether such shipments consist of 

 lumber, timber, logs or any other forest product, 

 said allowance to be made at the time shipment 

 is weighed, and the scale weights, including the 

 allowance, to be shown on freight bills. 



Mr. rhippen submitied resolutions as adopted 

 by the joint committees of the National Lumber 

 Manufacturers' Association and the National 

 Wholesale Lumber Dealers' Association in Chi- 

 cago last March and also at the annual meeting 

 of the latter body in Louisville, Mar. 7, 1912. 

 The resolutions were to the effect that carriers 

 be required to show on the bills of lading the 

 gross, tare and net weights, less allowance for 

 stakes, dunnage, etc., if any, on each ear, or 

 furnish a weight eertiflcate — and that in the ab- 

 sence of scale facilities at point of origin, the 

 carriers be required to weigh each car at the 

 nearest scales and forthwith furnish the shipper 

 a certificate showing the gross, tare and net 

 weight of the shipment, less allowance for car 

 stakes, dunnage, etc., if any. Should the con- 

 signor or consignee request another scaling, same 

 shall be made at the next weighing point ahead 

 of the ear, and if a difference of over one 

 thousand pounds be shown between the first 

 weight and the certificate of said reweigbt fur- 

 nished the consignor or consignee, then the 

 weights authorized b.v the various lumber asso- 

 ciations shall be recognized b.v the carriers in 

 settlement of claims between the shipper and 

 the carrier. 



It was further resolved that a joint committee 

 consisting of railroad officials and Uimber ship- 

 pers shall within a reasonable time agree on a 

 schedule of weights to be used between the 

 parties at interest, and that the present weights 

 authorized b.v the various lumber associations 

 shall govern in the intei-im. 



Belting Company Doubles Capacity 



The New York Leather Belting Company has 

 been so successful in marketing its production 

 that it has found it necessary to greatly increase 

 its power plant and other parts of the factory. 

 Power plant has been more than doubled, the 

 heating system enlarged to heat increased space, 

 and many other changes all through the large 

 Brooklyn factory have been made and are now 

 under construction. When finally completed, this 

 will place the compan.v in better positon to pro- 

 tect its friends in the way of delivery, especially 

 in very wide belts, which are now Ix'ing made, 

 contrary to the usual theory that such belts are 

 being replaced by the use of directly connected 

 installations. It was but a short time ago when 

 the lace leather tannery in Brooklyn was com- 

 pelled to put on material additions to its facili- 

 ties. 



Foreign Market for Wooden Handles 



Consular reports on the wooden handle market 

 in Argentina show that there are various kinds 

 of woods imported into that country. Most of 

 the broom handles come from Brazil because 

 they are cheaiier than the .American handles and 



better adapted to the style of broom made there. 

 The end of the stick is square, the balance of 

 the handle being round. Broom handles manu- 

 factured in Argentina are three to four feet long 

 and sell for 2.12 to 2.97 cents gold. 



In Cienfuegos there are two broom factories, 

 one of which imports 50.000 and the other 20,- 

 000 handles annually from New York. No chair- 

 rounds ari' imported at this place, turned wood 

 products of any importance being handles for 

 mops, hoes, axes, picks, hammers, flies, sledges 

 and chisels. All of these articles are imported 

 from the I'nited States. 



Austria does not offer a very inviting field 

 for handle makers, as most of the tools used in 

 that country are fitted with roughly finished 

 handles driven into an e.ve in the upper part of 

 the tool. This is true of hoes, rakes, shovels 

 and forks. Handles there are made of beech and 

 oak. 



In the Malaga district of Spain, foreign made 

 handles are not imported. The working classes 

 in that section cut the lengths to suit and turn 

 them exactly to the thickness desired by the in- 

 dividual. The exceedingl.v small cost compared 

 to that of the imported handle makes the sale 

 of fori'ign bandies in that country practically im- 

 po.ssible. In fact, sevent.v-flve per cent of the 

 common tools are shipped without handles. 



Building Operations for November 



Oflicial building reports from some fifty build- 

 ing centers throughout the country, as compiled 

 by The American Contractor, Chicago, show an 

 aggregate gain of S% per cent for November as 

 compared with November. 1911 ; and the past 

 eleven months show a gain of oVs per cent as 

 compared' with the same months of the i>ast year. 

 The building industries enjoyed prosperity last 

 .vear. and it is gratifying to know that this year 

 promises to be still better. Over one hundred 

 per cent increase for November was scored in the 

 following cities : Atlanta. 199 per cent ; Duluth. 

 251; Indianapolis. ISS : Kansas City, 15.3; Nash- 

 ville, a09 ; St. Joseph. 105 ; Worcester. 194. 



Particulars will be found in the following 

 table : 



November. November, 



1912. 1911. Percent 



Cost. Cost. Gain. Loss. 



Akron $ :i97.980 $ 209.6.'?.-, 80 



.\tliuita 1.2.38.181 418.508 109 



Riiltcmore 668.871 (;.'i4..'is;i 2 



Buffalo 838.000 80(1.000 X7 



Cellar RapUls 178.000 2ns. (lOO 11 



Chicago 7,625,000 7,174.000 6 



Cincinnati 528.145 554.i^9o 5 



Cleveland 1,230,812 1.071, 2.-)0 14 



Colnnibus 247,9.'" 241.070 2 



Denver 318.010 421. .'iOO 24 



Des .Moines 138.915 ISO.W.") , , 27 



Iletroit 1.548.085 1..378.075 12 



r.ulutU .•!95.H5 1!2.4£5 251 



Evansville i:i9,.54fl Ol.liiS 52 



Ft. Wayne 185.8,'i.- l:U.l,'.5 26 



liranil Rapids 240,240 2.'U.n2:J 4 



IlanNlMirg .i4.480 .80.000 ,, 2S 



11.11 tl.. Ill 269.475 .'887.044 ,. 28 



liiili.iiiniiolis 700.085 247,970 183 



Kiinsns City : 1.838.965 1145.787 153 



r.os .\n!:eles 2..i97.723 1,797.233 44 



Louisville 257.5.30 171. S45 49 



Maneliester .S2.,'-01 tl.-.,l!l7 28 



Memphis 58S..505 490.411 17 



.Milwaukee 1.648.540 991.710 88 



Minneapolis 707.645 659. .-.40 7 



Nasliville 256.9.58 82.801 :ifl9 



Newark 706.806 898.964 . . 21 



New Haven 322,828 504.245 , , 35 



New Orleans 197.980 1.-|6.197 26 



.N'oifolk 110,172 131,188 ,. 16 



Manhattan 9,364,6.55 9.4,87.175 .. 1 



lirooklvn 2,420.074 2.827.6.32 14 



Uli.n.K 2,013.243 2.1^6.205 ,, 7 



New Ynik 13.797.972 14. ,501, 012 .. 4 



(laklanil ,889,432 721, S35 20 



(Imahn 323.800 :!li7.sl7 5 



ratei'sim 103,9.S2 110,024 12 



Philailelphla 1.919. S.8II 1.815.115 IS 



Pittsburgh 694.329 639,148 8 



Portland, Ol-e 688.585 2.012.985 ,, 65 



Rochester 908,503 808,838 58 



St. .loseph 92.112 44.91S 105 



St. Paul 1,092,608 780,650 39 



St. Louis 1.079.423 1.011.862 ,. 33 



Salt Lake City 93.350 888,400 85 



San Kianeisco 1.912.932 1.817.s!IO 18 



Sernnton' 154.260 121.825 26 



Seattle 40.3.310 449,1115 10 



Shreveport 87.520 84,145 'M 



Spokane 130..57O 187,285 ., 21 



Toleiln 272.270 1117.915 37 



Wilkes-Barre 101.308 78.988 31 



Worcester 739.001 2.50.792 194 



Total *51.5o7.032 S47..594 485 SV, 



The Forest Fire Menace 



The Forest Service has issued two important 

 publications dealing with the problem of forest 

 fires. They do not cover the same ground, but 

 take up different phases of the question. Bul- 

 letin 11.3, by Daniel W. .\dams. forest examiner, 

 bears the title, "Methods and Apparatus for the 

 Prevention and Control of Forest Fires, as Ex- 

 emplified in the Arkansas National Forest," 

 and bulletin 117, by Fred G. Plummer, geogra- 

 pher of the Forest Service, is entitled, "Forest 

 Fires, Their Causes, Extent and Effects, With a 

 Summary of Kecorded Destruction and Loss." 



The latter bulletin is historical, and contains 

 much valuable and interesting information of a 

 scientific nature. It is a companion publication 

 to Mr. Plummer's recent bulletin concerning the 

 agenc.y of lightning in starting fires. It is as- 

 serted that forest fires have occurred ever since 

 there were forests on the earth, and that geo- 

 logical records of charcoal, far antedating any 

 human history, is not wanting. Evidences of 

 tires many liundrcds of years ago in both the 

 East and the West are found in many places. 

 There is said to be geological evidence that al! 

 parts of the United States, except the loftiest 

 mountain summits, were once forested ; and it 

 is believed that much of the open plain and 

 prairie in the Mississippi valley was bared by 

 fires, probalily set by Indians to improve the 

 food supply of birds and beasts, thereby making 

 hunting more profitable. 



The total remaining stand of timber of all 

 kinds in the United States is estimated at 2. .SCO 

 billion board feet ; the annual cut for all pur- 

 poses 100 billion feet ; the annual area burned 

 over, 10 million acres. No estimate is given of 

 the total financial loss due to fires, for the 

 reason that records are so incomplete that defi- 

 nite figures for the whole country are not pos- 

 sible. The evident purpose of the bulletin is 

 to deal with facts, and to present to the timber 

 owners of the country all available information 

 which may help them to attack the forest fire 

 problem in an intelligent way. 



The other bulletin referred to, that by Mr. 

 Adams, has a much narrower scope, but the 

 work is no less important. The author is not_ 

 concerned with the history of fires, nor with 

 natural phenomena over wide areas ; but he has 

 worked out a plan whereby he believes flres may 

 be controlled more effectively than in the past. 

 The bulletin describes the fire-fighting appli- 

 ances and the way to use them. He tried them 

 out in the national forests of Arkansas, and 

 success there has led to the belief that similar 

 success will result elsewhere, lx)th on public and 

 private lands. 



To begin with, there is a system of watch 

 towers located on mountain peaks, and connected 

 by telephones. During dangerous fire periods, a 

 watchman occupies each tower. Three or four 

 towers will keep watch over many hundreds of 

 square miles of forest and the first smoke by 

 day or the first glare by night is instantly de- 

 tected. The towers are each equipped with com- 

 pass and graduated scales of degrees, and with 

 certain other appliances which enable the obser- 

 vers to determine instantly the direction of the 

 fire from two or more towers. Telephone com- 

 munication enables them to plat the lines on 

 charts already prej)arcd. anil the meeting of the 

 lines of direction locates the tire as to range, 

 township, and section. That information is 

 telephoned to headquarters, and in a lew min- 

 utes the lire fighters are called out and are on 

 their wa.v to the fire, knowing exactl.v where it 

 is, though it may be many miles distant. 



Under the old system one of the principal 

 difficulties has often l>een to locate a fire. In 

 the char atmosphere of the western country, a 

 smoke or glare may be seen fifty miles, but it 

 may not look to be ten miles ; or it may appear 

 only ten, and be fifty. It has often happened 

 that tire fighters lose a whole day in locating a 

 fire, and when they reach it, it has gained such 

 headway that it cannot be controlled. That 



