VANSANT, ASHLAND. KY., 

 KXLCITIVE KOAUD 



MEMBER K. M. VESTAL, KMiXVIU.E. TEN.\.. MEM 

 mat EXECUTIVE BOARD 



GADI). CHICAGO. ILL.. 

 EXECUTIVE BOARD 



It cost him only fifty cents a car. He built a trestle, insisted in gcttins 

 coal in hopper cars and dumped the coal. 



Incidents of savins; are many. There is on file in the secretary's office it 

 letter from a lumber company acknowledging a saving of $0,000 because 

 It sent its superintendent to one of the meetings. He had a problem as to 

 how to get to certain timber and to get it out. He outlined his plan. 

 It was discussed, new views were proposed, and an agreement resulted in 

 a plan that effected the saving. 



The program at our annual meeting in September included addresses on 

 possibilities of a second cut of Southern pine ; close utilization of timber ; 

 organizing new logging camps ; camp boarding houses, or how to feed men ; 

 detailed accounting ; bonus system or task work ; log cutting : feed ; civil 

 engineering problems ; fuel and care of engines and welfare work in logging : 

 camps. All of these addresses were discussed. In addition there were 

 discussions of problems in logging hardwoods, cypress and yellow pine : 

 problems of skiddcrs and loaders ; care of blocks and wire cable ; laying 

 track. 



Most of these subjects have a direct bearing on hardwood logging. An- 

 other subject of greatest importance to hardwood lumbermen is the dis- 

 covery of some cheap method of keeping bugs out of logs at certain Rea- 

 sons of the year. 



Economy in jour logging operations will result if you will join the South- 

 ern Logging Association. We will hold meetings especially for hardwood 

 Interests at convenient places when nothing but subjects pertaining to hard- 

 woods will be taken up and discussed. The need for such meetings will 

 be apparent when I tell you that I sent out letters to five mills each in 

 Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky and West 

 Virginia asking for information regarding costs, so that I could submit 

 it to you, hut it has not come in such shape as to be available for com- 

 parison. 



One concern writes : 



We regret that we haven't our records in such shape that we can give 

 you the Information requested. 



Another writes : 



Our cost runs around So to $5.50 per M log scale. We log oak, ash, 

 gum, elm and a small amount of cypress. Logs average fourteen feet 

 long, two logs to the tree. L'se skldder and teams. Lands, bottom lands 

 Arkansas. 



Another writes : 



Our logging Is done with teams and a steam loader, the average cost 

 being cutting $1. hauling $3. tram road construction $1. tram road 

 operation fifty cents ; total average, J.'j.uO. Handled, 1913, 4.000,000 

 " ■ r. Louisiana. 



Another writes : 



I inr logging to mills costs us from $3 to $5 per M log measure. Our 

 iiered lands are all located in middle Tennessee, oak. poplar and 



• >tnui. 



Another writes : 



We pay from S-J to ?."i for most of the logging that we havi' done. Wo 

 operate in several localities, Virginia. Tennessee and North Carolina. 

 Most of our logging is of a very rough character, being well up in the 

 mountains. It is all done In the old fashioned way, with cattle, horses, 

 mules and men. 



Another letter reads: 



I'he wav in which our stumpage Is used makes It a little difficult to 

 ■ ijinly with your request for logging statistics, but I will give you all 

 of the ini'ormati^'n that seems pertinent. 



You understand, of course, that we are using our large timber through 

 the mills .Tnd the cut-over lands are then being worked for the tie timber 

 left on Ihem. In addition to this we supply the timber for an ash handle 

 factor.v. a hickory and oak spoke factory and a heading mill, so you can 

 see that our entire timber operations contemplate the practical removal 

 of all th" stumpage from our lands. The sawmill logs worked up last 

 year averaged JSH feet, part of them having come down the river and 

 the balance having been brought In by our logging train. 



The cost of delivering the logs to the mill was S7.07 as compared with 

 .?7.51 a year ago. The total amount manufactured into lumber was 28,- 

 :;42..')42 feet. We use some home-made log loaders, built on the style 

 of the old Decker-Spud-geared loaders that were in vog;:f some time 

 ago. These we find very satisfactory for our type of logging. We work 

 cattle and mules. 



This section ot the country is made up largely of what is known as 

 riilses and swamps The ridges are simply little elevations which stay 

 dry while the swamps are wet. We try to do our logging during the 

 niimtlis of October. November and Dec'mber. so as not to be compelled 

 to v.'ork in the water during the winter or wet season. Of course, there 

 ,ire some special log bills to come out all of the time, anc we maintain 

 an organization for that purpose. \\ hen it is too wet to work the low 

 places we tr.v to work the ridges, and so far have succeeded in doing 

 this very nicely, so as to keep the mills supplied with plenty of timber 

 riglit along. 



.\s soon as our logs are cut (no matter whether it be in summer or in 

 winter) we creosote the ends with a weak solution of a home-made mix- 

 lure that resembles lorac, but that is considerably cheaper and serves the 

 purpose just as well. 



Our logging operations are located about thirt.v miles south of the 

 mil! and we maintain two engines to handle the loading. These are 

 small saddle-tank engines, and the road work Is done by a standard 

 locomotive of the mogul type. This road locomotive makes two trips 

 each day and brings the trains into the plant, where they are taken in 

 charge by another standard locomotive and the logs are unloaded into 

 the fiver. The floaters are sent down stream to our No. 1 mill and the 

 sinkers are picked up by an overhead trolley and taken to the No. 2 mill. 



.Vnother operator, who is getting out mostly cottonwood and gum with 

 about fifteen per cent ot oak and ■miscellaneous hardwoods, reports : 



we logg 

 cents : logging 



to track. $2.17; loading cars with loader. 31 cents: railroading to mill, 

 SO cents ; total, S3.94. Tracks are usually laid halt a mile apart, so 

 that hauling is from a pickup to half a mile. The cost of railroading 

 is based on tariff rate ot our incorporated road. Logs average three to 

 tree, and about four to the thousand feet. Arkansas bottom lands; skid 

 with teams. 



You have just listened to reports from six logging operations. There is 

 not much basis for comparison, but some deductions can be draw*n from 

 the data before you. The lowest cost is in Tennessee, where one concern 

 reports cost of from S3 to $5 a thousand and another $4. Neither company 

 gives the amount of logs put in by it. It is too bad that the details were 

 not furnished to us, for then we could make a close analysis, determine 

 which was getting its logs in the cheaper and show where the other con- 

 cern could save money. That is what the Southern Logging Association 

 does for those who attend its meetings. 



Two reports come from Arkansas. One gives costs at $3.94, the other $5 

 to sn.SO a thousand. The latter does not give details. A Louisiana operator 

 reports $5.50, giving details. These three operations are under similar 

 conditions as to country. If the Arkansas $5.50 concern had given us 

 details of its operations, we would have a basis for a profitable discussion. 

 .\s it Is, we can compare the .\rkansas $3.94 proposition with the Louisiana 

 $5.50 proposition. In Louisiana cutting was $1 a thousand, in Arkansas 

 57 cents a thousand, a difference of 43 cents in favor of Arkansas. We 

 do not know why there should be this difference, but there is an oppor- 

 tunity for the Louisiana man to scale down his cutting cost. lie put in 

 4,000,000 feet last year. If he can save 43 cents a thousand, he would 

 save $1,720. This possibility would have appealed to him when the sub- 

 ject of log cutting was brought up at a meeting of the Southern Logging 

 Association, causing hi'm to find out there and then why the other man was 

 able to save so much. 



The Louisiana concern reports cost of hauling logs to track $3 a thou- 

 sand. The same Arkansas concern reports $2.17. Both use teams. This 

 is a difference of 83 cents a thousand in favor of Arkansas on hauling, or 

 a possible saving of $3,320 on the annual output ot the Louisiana concern. 



The Louisiana concern reports no cost of loading on cars while the 

 .Arkansas concvrn reports 31 cents. If the cost of loading is Included In 



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