28 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



gettiug liis stacks of greeu lumber piled right. When the two classes 

 of work are entirely separated, and one crew is doing one kind of 

 handling and the other another kind, the opportunity to develop 

 speed and accuracy in each direction is greatly increased. The differ- 

 ence in the time and labor required in handling green lumber as 

 compared to dry is taken into account in figuring the price which 

 should be paid for the service. 



Speaking of labor expense suggests the advisability of as careful 

 an analysis of the labor cost of each operation as possible, not only 

 in the rehandling yard but in the sawmill. "When the day wage 

 system is used, the books do not show the cost of performing any 

 particular operation, but simply group the entire expense of handling 

 lumber together. In case the cost rises, it is next to impossible to 



determine where the fault lies, witlioiit changing the system used iu 

 tabulating labor costs. • 



Mills which want to keep exact track of their expenses, and don 't 

 care to take chances in this respect, separate the labor cost into 

 various items. A typical statement exhibited by a lumberman who 

 has one of the largest hardwood mills in the South showed the cost 

 of labor for the following operations: Unloading logs and delivering 

 to mill; sawing, trucking to the yard from the mill slip; stacking; 

 inspecting; taking down and trucking to cars. 



If the expense of putting lumber through this plant jumps up a 

 few notches, the head of the mill can find out, without much difficulty, 

 what caused it, and just where the increase is. It is a little more 

 work to separate the labor costs in this way, but it is worth while. 



,^C'g^!Kc;^4:;c\:/J^i;lc>.xao^TOTO;x'^i;^^:«dt^ 



Hardwood Yard Machinery -55" 



r 



Are tilt h;irdwood yards o\erlooking some opportunities in con- 

 nection with the use of portable machinery for ripping and cross- 

 cutting at the yards, or to what extent do the average hardwood 

 wholesale yards use such machinery advantageously? 



This question was brought •forcibly to the writer's mind recently 

 by the sight of men using buck saws in a hardwood yard to trim 

 off boards to improve the grade. It was quite a lively assembling 

 yard of a well-to-do, progressive hardwood concern, the yard presented 

 a busy ajipearance. A number of ears were being unloaded, and on 

 the loading dock was a buck saw and a low trestle or two. From time 

 to time the inspector receiving the lumber would mark a board to 

 be cut. Sometimes it was only a foot off; other times two feet, three 

 feet, or four feet, but perhaps the average would be two feet. No 

 tally was kept to see just how many boards were cut with the buck 

 saw iu the course of a day, but it was noticed that it was called 

 into use quite frequently at the receiving end. Meantime the ship- 

 ping end perhaps called for both cross-cutting and rip-sawing or at 

 least cross-cutting, while rip^sawing would have helped out a great 

 deal. 



The purpose here is not to criticise the uuinagenieut of this yard 

 for using the buck saw, but to raise the question of the possibilities 

 of portable power driven saws for yard use. Evidently the buck 

 saws were worth while or they would not have been used. It im- 

 proved the grade of the lumber and made it worth more, but the 

 question is would it not have been practical to get more and better 

 service by the use of some portable power driven saw rig? 



There is a multitude of offerings in the way of portable sawing 

 and woodworking machines both for yard and shop use. Many of 

 the retail lumber yards have long been using them to advantage in 

 their business. By means of these power-driven machines they are 

 able not only to cross-cut lumber to length, but also, and what is of 

 more importance, they have been able to rip stock and reduce it to 

 dimensions so that they can give more satisfactory service with even 

 a smaller assortment of lumber. Moreover, the economics of the 

 saw rig are such as to make it desirable for that purpose alone. In 

 addition to retail yard men, building contractors are using many of 

 these machines and getting results from them. 



In the hardwood yards conditions are ditfereut, of course, from 

 those in the retail yard, but just the same there may be fully as much 

 need for portable machines. They would not only make easier trim- 

 ming of lumber to shorter length to improve the grade, but it would 

 be njuch easier to reduce lumber to specific dimensions and to edge 

 off some boards, to rip some and to |iur up shipments exactly as 

 wanted in a more satisfactory manner than by sorting through a lot 

 of piles to get just what is wanted. It should be possible also to 

 improve the grade here aud there by ripping as well as cross-cutting 

 and to generally reduce stock to just the dimension wanted. Then 

 the rippings, cross-cuttings and culls might be worked up on the 

 same machine into salable dimension stock and enough realized 

 from this alone to pay the original cost and expense of operating 

 the machine. 



Portable machines are to be had in many sizes, shapes aud com- 

 binations and at various prices ranging from about $50 up to nearly 

 $.500. There are plain table saws, there are table saws with a 

 gasoline engine mounted underneath to furnish power, and there are 

 table saws with electric motor drives mounted in the frames; and 

 then there are various other combinations including top smoother 

 planing machines andsfiecial appliances for woodworking. Out of 

 the entire lot of offerings any man should be able t6 get anything 

 he thinks he may need in the way of portable power machinery to be 

 driven by electricity or with a light gasoline engine. 



Refund Freight Cases in Arkansas 



Two railroads in Arkansas have bpi<n ordered by the Supremc 

 Court of the L'nited States to refund a certain part of freight 

 charges collected between Sept. 3, 1908, and July 19, 1913. The 

 roads are the Iron Mountain and the Cotton Belt. The matter 

 has been in court a long time, and the court's ruling has finally 

 settled it as far as the railroads are concerned. 



Nearly six years ago the Arkansas Kailroad Commission ordered 

 the railroads of the state to put into effect a tarifi' schedule that 

 reduced the rates then in force in the state, but not outside of it. 

 The Cotton Belt and the Iron Mountain roads appealed, and while 

 the appeal was pending, they continued to charge the old rate. 

 but it was with the proviso that they would refund the difference 

 between the old rate and the new, if the case finally went against 

 them. 



The case was a long time in getting thrmigli the ciiurt of last 

 lesort, but when the decision was finally hanrled down, it upheld 

 the rate as fixed by the Arkansas Kailroad Commission, and the 

 railroads must refund large sums collected from shippers of freight. 



.ludge .]. (;. Wallace has been appointed as special master. All 

 claims must be filed with him at his office in T>ittle Rock before 

 the first day of November, 1913. 



The total sum to be refunded is large and the claimants are 

 inaay. Lumbermen are among the largest claim holders. Disputes 

 have already taken i)lace as to who should receive the refund. 

 These disputes are between the shippers and the buyers of lum- 

 ber. The former hold the original freight bills in most instances: 

 but Ihr. buyers insist that they actually (laid the freight, since it 

 was included in the price of the lumber they bought. No deci- 

 sion or ruling has yet been made in the matter, but the special 

 master :s getting all claims in shape to present for payment. 



The other railroads doing business in Arkansas are not included 

 in the present proceedings, but their case will be attended to later. 



Swarms of claims agents have appeared in .\rkansas and are 

 importuning all persons having claims. They want to act as 

 aj'.ents in collecting the claims. Sonu- of the traile associations 

 have advised their members to' have no dealings with the agents, 

 and the railroads have announced that they will transact no 

 iiusinoss with them, but prefer to deal direct with the claimants 

 themseh.s m with the association (.(licers. 



