16 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



December 10, 191S 



takers, and wliy cauuot some similar method be used for timber? 



The large timber holders ncarl.y all have made cruises of their 

 holdings. They know what their stumpage is. It will not be quite 

 so easy with small holders and woodlot owners, for many of them 

 have no idea of the amount of their timber. They are not in the 

 business and do not know whether an ordinary tree contains a 

 hundred feet or a thousand. But most of these men know how 

 many acres of woods they own. The assessor's books show that. 

 The rule of averages for different types of forests and woodlands 

 will supply the feet when the acres are known. Such a census 

 would be as accurate as is the census of most industries which 

 are not covered by actual schedules and bookkeeping. 



If the Bureau of the Census, assisted by the National Lumber 

 Manufacturers' Association, and aided by the sympathy and good 

 will of timber owners, undertakes this work, satisfactory results 

 may be anticipated. 



Largely a Matter of Faith 



IT HAS NOT TAKEN MANY DAYS to turn the nation 's thoughts 

 from w-ar to business; to get back into the old channels and 

 look ahead in a general survey of the situation. Success will depend 

 largely upon the state of mind of the people. If they think that 

 good times lie ahead, the good times will soon put in an appear- 

 ance. It is mainly a matter of faith. When people believe that 

 a thing should happen, they take steps to make it happen. That 

 is what is meant by ' ' faith and works. ' ' 



The close of the war finds Americans in a state of mind to put 

 faith and works to the test. There were never fewer pessimists 

 or more optimists in this country than at present. The people 

 believe that we are at the beginning of a splendid business period. 

 Everybody wants to turn prophet and foretell great revivals and 

 development; and that is precisely the mental state that will make 

 the prophecies come true. 



Why should they not come true? The war, after we entered it, 

 lasted just long enough to put us on our mettle, but not long 

 enough to exhaust us. American business instinct was keyed to the 

 highest point. Resources, both material and of a spiritual kind, 

 were organized more thoroughly than ever in our history before. 

 . We feel that we made a success of the business of war, and now we 

 feel strong to make a success of business in peace. 



No apparent reason exists why this cannot be done. Eesources 

 await development and use. Men are anxious to undertake great 

 things. The country's finances are sound. What the people have 

 loaned to the government to carry on the war has not gone out- 

 side our own borders. It has been spent at home, and the money 

 is in circulation among us and is ready to put life into business here. 



Plenty of places are open to this money. Industries which have 

 for some time been in a sort of state of suspended animation, are 

 waiting for the stimulus which will quicken them into active life. 

 The government is showing a disposition to revoke and remove war 

 restrictions from civil business as quickly as possible, and that is all 

 that is needed to produce an excellent situation. When competition 

 again assumes its proper place, and trade, markets, and prices come 

 once more under the law of supply and demand, the wheels of 

 American industry ought to begin to turn as they never turned 

 before. 



Some of the organizations formed to push the war will remain 

 to push business; and other war organizations, which are not 

 strictly constructive, ought to be, and doubtless will be, dispensed 

 with as speedily as circumstances will allow, leaving an open field 

 for industry. The opportunity is here for splendid cooperation 

 between faith and works for the development of business. 



Developing Water Power 



THE GENERAL ATTITUDE OF THE PEOPLE of the United 

 States toward the development of water power has been 

 peculiar. A vaguely defined fear that if the development) material- 

 izes, somebody will make money out of it, has been sufficient to 

 prevent development, and the unharnessed rivers flow idly to the 

 sea as they were flowing at the dawn of creation's morning. 



Many of the rivers suitable for power plants flow across govern- 

 ment lands, and the tape that must be untied to secure charters 

 there is in itself a serious difficulty, but the difficulty is increased 

 by the opposition of politicians who act as self-appointed guardians 

 of public property. They habitually obstruct plans looking to the 

 installation of power plants, and they pose as protectors of public 

 interests. Such has been the history of too many movements to 

 develop power on government land. It is the smallest kind of 

 politics, but it has proved large enough to head off development. 



Something similar often happens when attempts are made to 

 develop power on streams flowing across privately-owned lands. 

 Somebody nearly always appears on the scene ready to oppose 

 under one pretext or another. 



The result is, this country is backward in the construction of 

 hydroelectric plants. There is room for many more, and capital 

 could be found to build them, if it were not for the opposition to be 

 expected. 



Now, at the close of the war, men of foresight are looking about 

 for opportunities to open up new resources, and water powers 

 cannot fail to attract attention. People in numerous localities are 

 ready to use more electricity for light, heat, and work, and the 

 power is ready to be connected up. Italy, with far less potential 

 water power than we have, and with poorer opportunities and 

 smaller resources, is preparing to erect plants on its mountain 

 streams, and thus provide power that will make up for that coun- 

 try's shortage of coal, and will bring an area of manufacturing 

 such as the country never knew before. 



Greater opportunities in electrical development are open to the 

 people of the United States, but few results will follow unless the 

 dog-in-the-manger policy that has prevailed in the past is replaced 

 by one of broad-mindedness. The time is now opportune for cut- 

 ting loose from the narrow views held in the past, and take hold of 

 the water power question in a new way, build the necessary plants 

 and add enormously to the country's wealth. 



The Cummins Bill Indorsed 



The traffic department committee of the National Lumber 

 Manufacturers' Association has written a formal indorsement 

 of the Cummins bill, known as Senate bill 5020, and has taken 

 steps to assist in securing the passage of the measure, which estab- 

 lishes beyond question the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce 

 Commission, as existing prior to the passing of the Federal control 

 act, over rates, rules and practices established by the railroad 

 administration. The committee requests the support of the entire 

 lumber industry to insure its passage. 



The leaves of all species of cherry, both wild and tame, are re- 

 puted to possess poison sufficient to kill domestic animals that eat 

 the leaves freely. But the saving grace of the situation lies in 

 the fact that the green leaves and the wholly dry leaves are not 

 poisonous, but only those that are dried to about half their green 

 weight. It appears that the process of wilting develops the poison 

 and makes it harmful, but as the drying process proceeds, the 

 poison disappears. West of the Rocky Mountains range stock are 

 sometimes killed by feeding on the withered leaves of wild cherry 

 during periods of prolonged drought when the foliage is vrilted. 



The leading wood in the manufacture of artificial limbs is white 

 or English willow. It is not native in this country but has been 

 planted in many regions, chiefly as shade trees in cities. The 

 artificial limb is hollowed to a thin shell, and after the springs and 

 other attachments are in place, the whole is covered with rawhide, 

 similar to that of which drum heads are made. The weight of 

 artificial wooden limbs varies from less than two pounds to about 

 seven pounds. They are very light and strong. 



The California blue oak has that name because of the color ofJ 

 the bark, but the heartwood, after it has been exposed a while tol 

 the weather, is nearly as black as walnut, but it has little value ' 

 for anything except fuel. 



