38 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Captain Bigolow was active in the work of the New York Lnmber Trade 

 Association, being for many years, up to his death, a trustee and prominent 

 in committee work. A committee representing that organization was 

 present at the funeral services. 



He is survived by a widow and two daughters. 



Large Tie Order 



The Chicago & Northwestern railronii has just h-t a contract for 400,000 

 ties to be cut in the state of Wyoming. The Wind River Timber Company 

 is the contracting party, which has purchased 125,000,000 feet of timber 

 on the Wind River national forest. Camps will be established at once 

 iind operations begun in order to make the first delivery on Oct. 1. The 

 timber purchased is principally Douglas fir and pine. 



Rock Castle Lumber Company Purchases Timber 

 The Rock Castle Lumber Company of Huntington, W. Va.. recently 

 purchased between 7.000 and 8,000 acres of hardwood stumpage on Cold- 

 water Fork and Rock Castle creek, Martin county. Kentucky. The con- 

 struction of ten miles of railroad and fifteen miles of logging road will be 

 necessary immediately in order to log the 30.000.000 feet of stumpage 

 which will be milled at the company's plant near Delong, Ky. 



New Plant for William Horner 



Ground has been broken at Newberry, Mich., for the new hardwood 

 flooring plant of William Horner, who is now operating a big factory at 

 Reed City, Mich. F. A. Horner of Grand Rapids, Mich,, has the contract 

 for the erection of the building. The main building will be 70 x 220 feet 

 and in conjunction will be dry kilns occupying space of 70x200 feet. 

 Ruiidings will be of concrete, brick and steel construction throughout. 

 Operations are being rushed with a view of opening the plant by the 

 first of the year. It is expected that lOO men will find employment in 

 the new factory. 



Pertinent Information 



Interstate Commerce Commission Adjourns for Summer 



The Interstate Commerce Commission ;iiljuiirued at the end of July for 

 the remainder of the summer months, and it is expected that there will 

 be no further hearings before October. This adjournment does not neces- 

 sarily mean, however, that the affairs of the Interstate Commerce Com- 

 mission have come to a complete halt for that period for. as is usual. 

 several of the members have hearings scheduled for other points than 

 Washington, some as early as the first of September. 



An investigation of th<' recent bond issu*' of the New York Central lin<'s 

 was one of the last acts ordered by the commission before adjournment- 

 The accountants working under the commission's orders will be busy until 

 the time for the hearing in the future, gathering evidence and information 

 having to do with the case. 



The adjournment affects the lumber trade immediately in that no de 

 cision was handed down regarding the petition of Memphis exporters for 

 annulment of the increase in lumber rates from Memphis to New Orleans 

 from ten to twelve cents. In addition many other complaints are booked 

 for hearing as soon as the commission can got to it, among them being 

 hearings on the yellow pine blanket rate case, protests of southi>rn cypress 

 and hardwood manufacturers, and the protest of the Iowa State Commis- 

 sion against the annually recurring car shortage in that state. 



Chattanooga Lumbermen to Present Local Case 



The Interstate Commerce Commission is scheduled to hear Ihi- so-called 

 A. G. S. rate cas<' in September at Chattanooga, Tenn. The case has to 

 do with the action of the Alabama Great Southern railroad in recently 

 submitting considerably increased tariffs on logs and lumber between way 

 stations and Chattanooga. Through the Chattanooga Manufacturers' As- 

 sociation, the Chattanooga lumber trade entered a protest with the Inter- 

 state Commerce Commission, which granted a suspension. The lumber- 

 men's side of the case will be presented by O. L. Bunn, secretary of the 

 Chattanooga Manufacturers' Association. Mr. Bunn expects that the 

 lumbermen's side will win out. as he has prepared a remarkably strong 

 case. 



Record for National Forest Sale 



For the fiscal year ending .Tune 30 the sale of liml)er and receipts from 

 other sources to the Forest Service in connection with the national forests 

 broke all previous records, approaching $2,500,000. About half of this 

 amount was realized from the sale of timber and in addition $4,000,000 

 has been contracted for, the timber to be cut cither in the immediate future 

 or in the next few years. The states, according to the present laws on 

 this subject, will receive thirty-five per cent of the gross receipts, which 

 will amount to $800,000 or $900,000. 



The sale of government timber is always an uncertain question, being 

 effected largely by the general condition of the country's business. Thu.'i 

 the record established during the fiscal year just ending would indicate 

 that generally speaking business conditions were good during that period. 

 For the fiscal year ending June 30, 190G, which was the first year after 

 Ihe Forest Service was put in charge of the National Forest, the total 

 receipts were lint $2.VJ.0O0. For the next year. $700,000 was received, and 



in 190S. $850,000. There was a decrease of $100,000 the next year, which 

 was made up. however, in 1911, when the total receipts were over $1.- 

 000,000. The sales of government timber in 1912 aggregated $1,100,000 as 

 compared to $1,250,000 from the same source during the fiscal year just 

 closed. 



Faults of the Fiber Box 



An abstract of the evidence recently introduced by the lumber and 

 wooden box interests at Los Angeles and Chicago in what is known as 

 the Pridham case, has been published in a volume of several hundred pages, 

 known as Interstate Commerce Commission Docket. No. 5273. The import- 

 ance of this investigation is now recognized all over the country. It 

 began in an action brought in California l>efore the Interstate Commerce 

 Commission to compel the railroads to carry merchandise in fiber boxes 

 east from the Pacific coast at the same rate at which wooden boxes and 

 their contents are carried. The bringing of the case before the commis- 

 sion afforded the wooden l>ox people and the lumber interests generall y, an 

 opportunity to present evidence to show that the fiber box should not 

 have as low a rate as wood, for various reasons which are given fully in 

 the testimony. The case, therefore, became a contest between the wooden 

 and the fiber box, as to which is best as a container for merchandise in 

 transportation. 



Little was said to the disparagement of the wooden box. It was taken 

 for granted and was admitted that it is satisfactory when well made: but 

 the point which the lumber interests' insisted upon was that the fiber box 

 is inferior, and is generally unsatisfactory as a shipping container. Evi- 

 dence, consisting of photographs and verbal testimony, was introduced to 

 prove that the fiber box is weak and does not protect the contained mer- 

 chandise: it crushes under ordinary shipping conditions: is easily torn 

 by contact with the usual commodities found in miscellaneous freight ship- 

 ments : offers little protection against the pilferer, who can open the 

 ordinary package with a knife, or his foot, or his fist: and in case of 

 dampness from leaky cars or other causes, the fiber box collapses. It was 

 shown that claims against transportati(m companies on account of loss 

 and damage of merchandise in transit have greatly increased since the fiber 

 box came into extensive use. The weak containers are more expensive to 

 handle than wooden boxes, because extra care must be given them. The 

 conclusion is sviggested that public carriers are justified in charging more 

 for transporting fiber boxes than is charged for Wiiini, and thai all roads 

 ought to* charge more. 



'Jhe testimony of many witni-sses indicated that about one-fourth of the 

 boxes used in transporting nu'rcbandlse are fiber. This does not include 

 barrels, bab'S. and crates. The material of which fiber boxes are made 

 consists of paper, straw, jute, and hemp, pulped and pressed into sheets 

 of pa-'iteboard before being manufactured into boxes. 



The Interstate Commerce Commission has not yet announced its decision 

 in the matter. The fiber board interests have put up a stiff fight to keep 

 the ground they now hold. The lumbermen are interested because wooden 

 box makers are large buyers of luml>er. The yearly purchases for that 

 purpose are probably four or live l>tlliun feet. 



Clyde's Special Messenger 

 » The above is the titb' of a publication just begun by the Clyde Iron 

 Works of Duluth. The first issue describes and illustrates the new 

 Clyde overhead cableway skidder. Tlie publication is attractive in its 

 character ant) the nature of the reading matter it contains is in con- 

 formity with the live policy of the Clyde Iron Works. 



The advantages claimed for the new cableway skidder described include 

 the fact that its first cost is only Ibn-e-fourths as much as that of Its 

 nearest rival. In addition the construction is metal throughoiU. The 

 crew required for successful operation is only six men — ^balf the usual 

 number. Furthermore, only one main cable is required, which is self- 

 contained on a steam-driven driim. The new machine is entirely self- 

 contained and self-propelling, having a power sutficient to propel twice 

 its own weight up a ten per cent grade. 



Difficulty in Financing Chestnut Blight Investigation 



The appropriiiiiiin of $275. min iiiadi' in 1011 wlnn a eoniuiission was 

 created and 200 men were engaged for inspection of the chestnut tree 

 blight, the study of the disease and the methods of treatment, liaving been 

 pared down to $100,000. Governor Tener of Pennsylvania vetoed it on 

 the ground that $100,000 was not adetjuate for the amount of work re- 

 quired. It is su2;gested by the created commission composed of Winthrop 

 Sargent. Ilaverford, chairman ; Harold Pierce. Ilaverford. secretary ; Theo- 

 dore N. Ely. I5ryn Mawr : George F. Craig. Rosemont, and Samuel T. 

 Bodine, Villanova. that if the appropriation under the law could be trans- 

 ferred to the State Forestry Depni-tment, this department might carry on 

 the fight under the reduced figures with profit, as the State Forestry De- 

 partment would not be at the expense of supporting a separate organiza- 

 tion. iVIark A. Carleton. Philadelphia, was general manager, and Samuel 

 B. Detwiler of Bala, superintendent of the commission. 



Canada's Pnlpwood Production 



The Departmeut of the Int-riur of Cau.ula has published a bulletin 

 showing the production of pnlpwood in 1912. The statistics were com- 

 piled by R. C. Lewis and W. O. H. Boyce. There were S6G.042 cords re- 

 ported for home consumption, at an average cost of $G.02 per cord. Of this 

 amount Quebec is cr.'dited with 578.855 cords. Ontario 173.00;i. New Bruns- 

 wick 52.041. British Columbia 35,007, and Nova Scotia 2G,17G. The num- 

 ber of cords of different woods follows : Spruce 677.747, balsam fir 164»- 



