12 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Aijril 10, 1917 



descendants out of touch with many of the movements which brought 

 changes elsewhere, and developed traits which in some ways seem 

 peculiar. Isolation has Ijeeome a habit, and cabins scattered far 

 and wide among the mountains are the homes of families which 

 would feel lost if they should attempt to live in towns. Long isola- 

 tion has a tendency to narrow the individual, and while it blunts 

 some of the feelings, it develops others. On the whole, however, it 

 can scarcely be said that the individual is improved by too much 

 isolation. Yet, so long as the desire for better things remains active, 

 the individual has not been much hurt by solitude. 



The desire which the picture exhibits has been active enough. 

 Clumps of flowers, though half smothered in a jungle of orderless 

 growth, tell the story of effort to beautify and humanize the humble 

 cabin and its surroundings in the wilderness of mountains and 

 forests. 



This paper has no information as to the name or history of the 

 family living there. A representative passing along a trail which 

 traverses that region came upon this cabin, and being struck with 

 the evidences of refinement in such a place, made the photograph and 

 passed on, believing that the picture itself told the story well enough, 

 and that imagination could supply the details. 



The Parent Association 



AFFILIATED ASSOCIATIONS and the lumber trade at large 

 look to the National Lumber Manufacturers' Association for 

 leadership and guidance and assistance in the working out of the big 

 problems which are springing up every day. The parent body has 

 conducted itself in a confidence-ins]5iring manner in the past, the one 

 defect in the otherwise well-regulated organization being the often 

 discernible and sometimes threatening friction between important 

 manufacturing sections. 



An ambitious program had been mapped out for the reconstruction 

 gathering at Chicago last week, a program which, had it been adopted 

 as planned, would immediately have strengthened the lumber interests 

 immensely. However, it is of more imjiortanee that the factional dif- 

 ferences which have so frequently tlireat<>ned to block progress in the 

 past were ironed out and in the accomplishment of this necessary 

 cleanup and fitting together of opposing views, the organization 

 strengthened itself more than it would have had the program been 

 forced through in its entirety and embarrassing differences been left 

 unsettled. 



The trade, however, has not ejdiibited the vision with which it is 

 accredited and with which the second largest industry in the country 

 should be endowed in limiting its activities and the functions of those 

 directly responsible for trade building, particularly in the face of the 

 promise of surpassing activity by those whose aim is to wrest from 

 wood its markets wherever possible. There is no question but that 

 those actively in charge of substitute propaganda and trade exten- 

 sion have a sincere belief in the superiority of their products for 

 building pirrposes, that is, wherever it is possible for their products 

 to be applied. Unfortunately, too, for lumber they are supported by 

 public favor and by arguments that are apparently logical whether 

 they represent practical facts or merely general theory. So it is 

 indeed unfortunate that in the face of the promise of radical expan- 

 sion in the work in behalf of substitutes, lumbermen have declined 

 to go the full course and have advanced timidly rather than boldly. 



As far as the hardwood element is concerned, it is deserving of 

 double credit because in spite of the fact that of all factions in lum- 

 bering it is less directly affected by substitutes than any other, it of 

 all factions did as a unit express its willingness to come in for the 

 full share of responsibility on the basis of original plans for expansion. 



Keep on Sawing Wood 



NATURALLY WAR UPSETS CALCULATIONS. The entry 

 of this country into the conflict will call for many revisions 

 of plans in business matters; but it is difficult to figure out how 

 the business of the lumberman can be seriously hurt or greatly 

 helped. If disadvantages develop in certain directions, there will 

 be compensations in others. 



Our exports have already dwindled almost to the vanishing 

 point, and little more is to be feared in that dinction. The trou 



bles in transportation by railroads are already about as bad as 

 they are likely to become, and any change is as apt to be for 

 the better as for the worse. The labor problem seems to be about 

 the only thing that the war can make worse, and unless hostili- 

 ties last a considerable time, and large armies are put in the field, 

 the effect on the labor supply does not threaten to be serious, 

 although it will be noticeable. 



On the other side, compensation is promised by greater demand 

 for lumber for military purposes. Shelters for soldiers in training 

 camps and houses for the same purpose in regular camps will call 

 for a great deal of wood. Ship building on an unprecedented scale 

 is likely to take place, and wood will be the principal material in 

 demand. Strange as it may seem, war has brought the wooden 

 ship back to the seas. 



There is no reason to suppose that domestic uses of wood will 

 fall off much on account of the war. There may be decline in 

 some quarters, but increases elsewhere will offset local losses. 



On the whole, the lumbermen of the United States should con- 

 tinue to saw wood, in the firm belief that they will be able to take 

 care of themselves. Had this country entered the war two years 

 ago the situation might have been bad; but the period of panic 

 has now passed. Everybody believes that the worst has come and 

 has probably passed, and fear of the unknown no longer stampedes 

 business.- Under such circumstances, anything in the nature of 

 calamity or disaster is out of the question. The cards are all on 

 the table, and chance is no longer a factor, but the strongest hand 

 will win. The outlook is that the lumberman holds a pretty strong 

 liand at this time. 



The Remaining Problem 



LUMBERMEN ARE WORKING STEADILY FORWARD 

 toward the solution of their remaining major problem. That 

 problem involves the proper seasoning of lumber in the minimum 

 time with least damage to the lumber. The problems of manufac- 

 turing have been fairly well worked out. There is little call for 

 further improvement in mUls or in the machinery and methods by 

 which trees are converted into boards; but between the mill and the 

 factory which uses the lumber, the seasoning must be considered, and 

 in that direction lies the problem which has not yet been wholly 

 solved. A hundred years ago the drying of lumlx^r was not looked 

 upon as a problem. The mill stacked it on the yard and the wind 

 and sun dried it in the space of from one to four years, and the job 

 was well done. 



Modern methods demand that the time be shortened. No one is 

 willing to wait a year or more for lumber to season, or three or four 

 years when the seasoning must be exceptionally well done. To meet 

 the demand for shorter time, artificial drying has come in. Greater 

 heat is applied than is practicable in the open air, and kilns are used. 



Here is where science gets in its work ; but ' ' science moves but 

 slowly, slowly creeping on from point to point." A great deal of 

 brain energy has been devoted to the dry kUn. It has been devel- 

 oped from a very primitive affair consisting of lumber on scaffolds 

 with a fire beneath, to a highly complicated apparatus with means 

 for regulating heat, air circulation, and vapor. The impelling pur- 

 pose is the shortening of the time of seasoning, but many things must 

 be taken into consideration. As the process of seasoning is hastened, 

 the danger of injuring the lumber by warping, checking, case-hard- 

 ening, and hollowhorning increases. The ingenuity of the kiln maker 

 is taxed to maintain speed with the minimum of injury. Great 

 progress has been made, but there is room for more. Perfection still 

 lies a little way ahead. It has not yet been shown what is the briefest 

 time in which lumber of given kinds can b« perfectly seasoned. It 

 is difficult to imagine a problem more complicated than this one. The 

 chief obstacle lies in the great differences in the characters of the 

 \arious species of wood. Methods which might assure nearly per- 

 fect seasoning of one kind of lumber, may miss it if applied to an- 

 other kind. When it is considered how complex the problem is, it 

 must be recognized that dry-kiln manufacturers have made remark- 

 Ml>le progress toward its solution, though some things still remain to 

 lir mastered by experiments and discovery. 



