HARDWOOD RECORD 



15 



leaf pine for general structural pui-poses. 

 The same is true of all the states of the 

 middle West, since the practical extinction of 

 Norway pine. The car builders long ago 

 demonstrated the high value of this wood for 

 car sills, car flooring and general car build- 

 ing purposes. In addition to this has been 

 the immense drain on these forests for floor- 

 ing, finish and an infinity of other uses. Aside 

 from the destructive saw of the lumberman, 

 the turpentine industry has exhausted and 

 largely ruined no inconsiderable area of this 

 magnificent growth. Abroad, notably in 

 Great Britain, the esteem in which "pitch 

 pine ' ' has been held has taken many thou- 

 sand shiploads of the material to foreign 

 shores, and the present demand is greater 

 than the producers are able to supply. How- 

 ever, the distribution of the wood is so wide 

 and the general aggregate to the acre so 

 heavy, that Pinus palustru will occupy an im- 

 portant position in the lumber commerce of 

 the world for perhaps a decade to come. 



The picture of yellow pine herewith re- 

 produced is typical of its forest appearance. 



He 



CONK AND STRAW OF LONGLEAF YELLOW 

 PINE. 



and the drawing well illustrates the cone and 

 straw. 



Penobscot Bill 



{See Supplement.) 



"Well, I jist tell ye, young feller, if ye 

 kin git Penobscot Bill to 0. K. yer scheme, 

 us boys will be iu it all right. It looks pretty 

 good to me." 



The picturesque group about the great box 

 stove in the bunk shanty were thrown into 

 fitful light and shadow as the flickering coal- 

 oil lamps made evident their rugged faces and 

 brawuy frames. The young man who had 

 been talking to them seemed almost a pigmy 

 beside these woodsmen, who had gained 

 strength and muscle by years of constant bat- 

 tle with the forests. 



This -was the first time that "organiza- 

 tion" had been suggested to them, and, in 

 the last half hour, under the specious argu- 

 ments of the young man who had conceived 

 the notion of being walking delegate of Local 

 No. 1, Woodsmen 's Union, the idea had grown 

 into a dream of short hours, big pay, the 

 dignity of labor and the grinding power of 

 capital. 



The young man talked well and the men 

 listened eagerly, but they all assented when 

 Jake said the matter should be ' ' left out ' ' 

 to Penobscot Bill. 



"Who is Penobscot Bill?" asked the union 

 promoter. As if in answer to his ques- 

 tion, the low door opened and a stooped fig- 

 ure appeared. He was a tall man and seemed 

 to come through the doorway in sections; 

 first a pair of sinewy arms pushed forward 

 into sight — in one of the muscular hands a 

 board rule and in the other a branding ham- 

 mer. Then came a shrewd and wrinkled face 

 whose high cheek bones showed under the 

 skin tanned by years of wind and weather; 

 an old slouch hat was pulled so far down on 

 his head that it seemed to rest on his great ears, 

 but the deep set eyes were kindly, and the 

 mouth closed firmly under the heavy grizzled 

 mustache. Lastly, one heavily booted foot 

 followed the other and Penobscot Bill looked 



inquiringly at the faces turned toward him. 

 "Bill," said Jake, the teamster, "here 

 is a young feller that wants us to combine 

 our forces agin' the tyrant capitalists, and 

 we told him we 'd let yer be the man to de- 

 cide f er us. ' ' 



Penobscot Bill turned to the young man, 

 but said nothing, and the chap, under the 

 level glance of the older man, seemed at a 

 loss to begin. At last Jake spoke: "He 

 says we work too long and don't get enough 

 pay, and that if we organize we can make 

 the old man do right by us. ' ' 



"Oh, he says that, does he?" remarked 

 Bill with suspicious friendliness. "What 

 else does he say?" 



"Well, you see, mister — mister " the 



man hesitated. 



"Never mind my name," said Bill, "just 

 give me yer spiel. ' ' 



"Of course you know- the great strides 

 that labor has made in the last few years 

 since it has organized. With the exception 

 of the woodsmen almost every department of 

 labor has welded itself together to combat 

 capital, and today it is able to demand that 

 for which a short time ago it only pleaded. 

 It seems to me you fellows up here are get- 

 ting the worst of it." 



There were looks of assent from those 

 around the stove and a grunt from Bill, which 

 might mean anything. 



The speaker continued : ' ' You get up 

 in the middle of the night and with the first 

 streak of light you are at work, and you 

 are at it as long as you can see, while in 

 town we work but eight hours a day. Your 

 pay is surely not adequate for the hardship 

 of cold and unremitting labor. Y'ou are con- 

 stantly in danger of bodily harm from falUug 

 trees, your food is coarse and all through the 

 long winter months you have no recreation, 

 only hard work and sleep that gives you 

 strength to work again. The man you are 

 working for, however, grows steadily richer. 

 He sits in his office piling up the money he 



gets from his increasing timber values. 



cares nothing for you, only " 



' ' Hold on, young feller ! ' ' ejaculated Pen- 

 obscot Bill. "Do you know Joe?" 



' ' No, I can 't say that I do, " answered 

 the promoter. "Who is Joe?" 



" He 's the man you are lying about, ' ' said 

 Bill calmly. "Joe is the man that you tell 

 us cares nothing for us. How many times, 

 Jake, has he kept you out of jail when you 

 have been arrested on one of your sprees? 

 How many times, Jim, has he supported 

 your wife and children through the summer 

 after you had spent all your winter's wages 

 on one drunk? What did he do for you, 

 Pat, when, through your own damned care- 

 lessness, you crushed your leg — he kept you 

 in the hospital with private room and nurse 

 for three months, didn't he? Where would 

 you be tonight, Jake, if he hadn't happened 

 along the night that outfit from across the 

 river got after you?" 



There was no mistaking the old scaler 's in- 

 dignation as he leveled a bony finger at one 

 after another of his fellows as he addressed 

 them. 



' ' Y'oung man, I think you 're in the wrong 

 camp. We get all that's coming to us. If 

 we work hard and long it is because we're 

 better off working than loafing. Eight hours 

 a day! Hell! Do you suppose we could get 

 out forty million feet of logs this winter 

 working eight hours a day? I've had nearly 

 twice as many years at sealing logs, young 

 feller, as you've lived, and I have learned 

 many things you may find out if you live 

 long enough. Joe — that's the .old man — he 

 and me were boys together down on the old 

 Penobscot. Both of us started out together, 

 and I was said to have the best chance, but 

 I got the big head and I went around talk- 

 ing loud as you are doing — but Joe he kept 

 on working and saving his money. I wanted 

 to be a good feller, and I spent mine. In a 

 little while he bought a chunk of land on 

 the river where the pine run three to the 

 thousand — I know, for I did the scaling. 

 Then he bought a tract up in Canada and I 

 went with him, still talking big of what I 

 was going to do. 



"We both fell in love with the same girl 

 and she, God bless her, for some reason, took 

 to me. Joe said nothing, but he raised my 

 wages, and he has helped me as he has the 

 other boys all these years. When Annie 

 died he clasped my hand over her cof- 

 fin and walked with nie to her grave. Don't 

 tor a minute, young man, think I begrudge 

 him one dollar he has made. I have got all 

 that's coming to me, and so have you, Jake 

 and Jim and the rest of you. Don't think 

 you're being trampled on by Joe's capital, 

 boys, or that the few hours labor of yer 

 hands each day is worth the days and nights 

 of ceaseless thought and tireless energy he 

 has put into his work. Y'oung man, I think 

 ye had better be going, the boys want to 

 turn in. We must be up early tomorrow as 

 this winter's cut is running twenty to the 

 thousand, and it takes a lot of time to put 

 in forty million. Thank ye, kindly, but I 

 guess as I have got along without a union for 

 sixty years, I'll try and weather it fer the 

 few more winters that are to come." 



The young man looked about, but the faces 

 of the men had changed expression, and there 

 was a sigh of relief as Jake the teamster 

 rose, and with careful emphasis said: "Good- 

 night, young feller. ' ' 



