20 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



November 25, 1918 



excessive rates, he said, reparation was expected. His warning was: lord. The autumn was favorable for fire protection and losses were 



"Look to your log rates." small. From June till the middle of October only a little more than 



Michigan forests have fared unusually well this year with fires, 1000 acres of forest land was burned over. That is a very small 



according to a report made by Fire Warden J. L. Morford of Gay- loss compared with some years, or with Minnesota this year. 



7 ^j y<s3lMCT.«.\3.T!M)«;jtm:>:iii;s^iami«^^ 



Southern Loggers Meet 



The eighth annual meeting of the Southern Logging Association 

 convened in New Orleans, November 12, for a session of three days, 

 with President V. C. Langley in the chair. A program had been 

 provided for the occasion, furnishing something fresh and appro- 

 priate for each day. 



The address by the president outlined the work before the asso- 

 ciation and reviewed what had already been accomplished, and in 

 that connection war work occupied a prominent place, especially 

 that part of war work concerned with shipbuilding. The demand of 

 the wooden ship upon the lumber industry was recognized. 



The report of the secretary-treasurer, James Boyd, dealt prin- 

 cipally with money and wire rope. The latter was greatly needed 

 by lumbermen in moving their logs, and the report indicated that 

 adequate supplies might soon be looked for. 



An itemized account of receipts and expenditures gave a balance 

 of $96.42 in the treasury. The total receipts had been $944.63. 



On the afternoon of the first day the association listened to an 

 address on labor for logging camps by Cliff Williams, representing 

 the United States Department of Labor. 



W. H. Lee, logging superintendent of the Union Sawmill Com- 

 pany, Huttig, Ark., spoke on the topic of labor maintenance in the 

 logging industry. He pointed out that conditions were worse in 

 1918 than in the year before, although plenty of laborers seemed 

 to be seen, particularly traveling on trains and standing about rail- 

 road platforms. Good living conditions for men in logging camps 

 was advocated as the surest means of securing and holding a good 

 class of laborers. Of course, the food is of even greater importance 

 than the shelter and sleeping quarters. The frequent or constant 

 presence of the company's doctor at the camp should be an influence 

 for good, and it should be the doctor's duty to see that sanitary con- 

 ditions are looked after promptly. The speaker expressed the 

 opinion that attractive camp surroundings had as much to do as 

 high wages in keeping a contented and efficient labor supply. 



B. G. Pasco of the A. J. Neimeyer Lumber Company, Little Kock, 

 Ark., occupied a place on the program to discuss the location of 

 spurs on logging railroads. He drew a distinction at the start 

 between the problem of putting in a permanent road or spur, and 

 in putting in one intended to be temporary. The engineer who 

 is familiar with most of the matters involved in building a per- 

 manent railroad, may be at a loss if called upon to construct a tem- 

 porary spur. Much must be learned by experience in that as in 

 many other things. A wideawake logger may possess excellent 

 judgment concerning the location which will best serve the par- 

 ticular tract of timber to be cut; but the lumberman may have 

 difficulty in fitting the road to the ground; because he has not 

 learned in school or by experience the geometrical problems involved. 



Any competent civil engineer's road would probably be a good 

 railroad, as such; good alignment, light curves, and with as easy 

 grades as consistent with the conditions, all of which are very 

 important points without sacrificing other more important things. 



Bight there is where the difference between standard practice 

 and log-spur work begins. 



The log spur has just two conditions to satisfy: it must enable 

 enough logs to be gotten out with the available equipment to log 

 the mill, and be so placed and built that the total cost of building the 

 spur, maintaining it, operating over it, and getting the logs to it, will 

 be less than that of any other possible combination. 



It is absolutely necessary to have the road good enough to allow 

 the engines available to pull enough loads over it in the course of 



a day to a little more than run the mill. If to save money or time 

 the grades are left so steep that the motive power is unable to make 

 the required tonnage in the course of the day, a very bad condition 

 results, and the longer the spur and the more timber there is to come 

 out over it, the worse off everyone connected with the job is. 



This one fact brings into prominent notice a point of the first 

 importance to successful and economical logging, and one which 

 is very seldom given proper consideration. It is necessary, to get 

 the best results, that the management should know before any rail- 

 road is built, just where every main spur will go, and just what 

 timber will come out over it. 



This calls for considerable initial expense in making the necessary 

 surveys, and most companies pay no attention to it, being gener- 

 ally in too big a hurry to begin operating, even if they would not 

 object to making the investment. It is certain, however, that no 

 companies, with the possible exception of those operating in the 

 very flattest and easiest country, ever evade paying for the neces- 

 sary surveys, whether they get them or not. Those who have them 

 made at the right time get the benefit of them, and reap their 

 reward by making no costly mistakes. They have their eyes open, 

 and know what to expect, and therefore save unnecessary construc- 

 tion costs, needlessly high operating expenses, and oftentimes 

 ruinous delays. 



The practice of cutting down trees and bucking them into logs 

 was the topic assigned for discussion to H. S. Snyder of the New 

 Deemer Manufacturing Company, Deemer, Miss. He was not pres- 

 ent but sent in a paper on the subject, in which the following 

 suggestion occurred: 



The first thing I would advocate is to get an honest man. an experienced 

 log cutter, commonly called a flat head, who can file a cross-cut-saw, and 

 use him as foreman. First of all, test him as to his honesty, which Is a 

 very important factor for a man being used as foreman, more especially 

 in this capacity, as it is his duty to checli after the scaler, and if the 

 job Is not large enough to use one or more scalers, he can do or help do 

 the scaling, and should something happen that his filer would not be out, 

 he can take his place, and he would also be qualified to know whether bis 

 filer is giving satisfaction or not, as flat heads are bad to complain about 

 the flier. 



The United States was represented by Austin Cary, who spoke 

 to the meeting on a number of logging and forestry problems. 



Safety appliance and careful attention in relation to accident 

 prevention was the subject of a talk by R. L. Weathersby of the 

 Kirby Lumber Company. 



A Get-Together Meeting 



The American Hardwood Manufacturers' Association has sent out 

 notices of a meeting to be held at Louisville, Ky., December 17 

 and 18. The meeting will take place in the Seelbaeh hotel. 



This is called a special meeting to comply with all of the pro- 

 visions of the agreement made between the executive committees 

 of the Hardwood Manufacturers' Association of the United States 

 and the American Hardwood Manufacturers' Association at a meet- 

 ing held at Louisville, October 19, 1918. 



An election of oflScers for the American Hardwood Association 

 wUl also be held, tliis being its annual meeting. 



The important business to be transacted at the joint meeting 

 will doubtless call together a large attendance of hardwood men; 

 for they realize that benefits will accrue to the industry by having 

 one strong, large organization, and that it is important to have 

 the best men present and take part in forming the organization. 



