November 25. 1!*21 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



17 



Cost of Southern Hardwood Lumber 



Average Expense of $27.97 Is Incurred in Manufacturing and Selling a Thousand 



Feet of This Product, Says Report 



It costs today an average of $27.97 to manufacture and sell a Insurance 53 



thousand feet of hardwood lumber in the South, according to a Taxes 25 



report submitted by a special cost committee at a meeting of the 



Southwestern Hardwood Manufacturers' Club in New Orleans on 



November 10. This committee based its findings on the operation .$27.9T 



of a single band mill, sawing approximately 30,000 feet of logs ,. .,, i », ^ i, ■ , i. i. , j, *.t. n- in i. -^ -, 



^ I c Ff J ) "^ lou will note that this makes a total of .$27.9/, and that it does 



per day on the Scribner-Doj-lo rule scale. The committee was • i i • * i. u i i i ui. ^i. ■\ i. « ^ ^ i. 



' -^ •' ^ not include interest on bonded debt or other interests. At first 



headed by C. H. Sherrill of the Sherrill Hardwood Lumber Company ., , , i , j. i, • i ^^ ^.t ^ ^ ji l 



■' T thought you mav rebel at the idea ot these figures for manufacture 



of New Orleans and included in its membership W. B. Morgan, John , -,. -t- ' j; , , i , i j -n j i ,. 



^ o ' QUfl disposition 01 hardwood lumber, and will no doubt require 



Deblieux, Frank Gadd, J. M. Thompson and Percy Bass. • ,, , , -, -i 4. -^ -i r ■ ^ i * • i- -i 1 



' ' ^ • serious thought and detailed figuring to apply to your individual 



The committee was appointed last Julv 14, but has been delaved 



ir . ) . case. 



in making its report in order that it might satisfy itself that the ^^.^ ^^^^ ^..^^ ^^^^^^ according to all conditions that affect costs, 



report would not be in violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Law. ^^^ ^.^,^ particular reference to the scale of wages employed, and 



The investigations that finally convinced the committee that it was ,. j? ii • « i- li 1. v -ii, 1 ^ 



* •' for your further information we attach herewith a scale of wages 



safe to go ahead naturally took some time. But further than this ,., , t,-i -^iit.^ ji, 



^ ■' which was used as a basis to arrive at the figures named above. 



the statistical work that it was necessary for the committee to do ^j^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^, ^^ ^^^ j^^. .^ ^^^^ instances and may be too 



was considerable and occupied a great deal of time. ^j^,^ .^^ ^^^^^. i^.j^^,^,, rch^y, likewise, may app.lv today and 



The report, in all its essential parts, follows: .^ .^ g^ ^^. g^ ^.^ ^^^^,^^ ^^ ^^^.^^^ ^^^ ^■^•^. ^^^ ^^.^ 



.Vverage cost j i 



T . „ PP,. jj fgpf report we hope will help to set up some idea of what the cost should 



Cuttine timber $ SO ^^ ^°^ ^^^ average operation in the manufacturing of hardwood 



Skidding to track 1.75 lumber on a log scale basis of approximately 30,000 feet per day. 



Teaming from turn around to half mile $2.44 -^^ j^^^^.g ^^^.g^ ^hat the Southern Pine Association cost state- 

 Teaming from turn around to mile 3.25 2.84 x j, i j. a- on -n _; ^ *oi r- 



-. ,. .„ ments for August, reporting on 89 mills, gives an average of $21.6o 



Loading on cars 46 = ' J^ " ' " " 



Logging spurs per mile over average ground for two miles 80 for the month named. 



Transportation to mill, average five miles 1.75 Wage Statement 



Otber logging expenses .*....■.... 1.00 



Foreman, $8; sawyer, $7.50; filer, $8; edger, $3.50; trimmer, $3.o0; 



Total cost delivering logs to mill $9.40 $9.40 block setter, $3.50; doggers, $2.50; oiler, $2.50; fireman, $3; watch- 

 Manufacturing, Yarding and Loading. ' man, $2.50; millwright, $5; derrick man, $3; tong hooker, $2; 

 Sawmill , $3.25 slasher sawman, $2; butting sawman, $2; dock men, $1.75; chain 



StTc^kir-*™"" "'" '" ''"'"■" ' 50 "''^°' *1-''^! ^"™'''''' stackers, $2.50; yard labor, $1.75; yard super- 



ya^rdiV ('foundation! 'tramways,' cleanup) .' .' .' .' .' .' .' .' .' .' '. '. .' .' .' '. '. .' ^35 intendent, $6; lumber inspector, $6; woods superintendent, $6; log 



Shipping (including inspection) •. . . 1.51 team drivers, $3; engineer (locomotive), $5; brakeman and track 



Other expenses S5 men, $1.75; common labor, $1.50; loader man, $5; track foreman, $4. 



, ,. -. -, „ ., The tone of the meeting was optimistic and it was brief and 



Total manufacturing and loading $6.91 0.9] ., „ , . ^i, , i 1, • ^ ^ 11 



Stumpage 5-00 5.00 almost devoid of speeches. Among those who made brief talks 



were W. B. Morgan of the S. T. Alcus Company, New Orleans, Mr. 



$21.31 Sherrill, C. J. Coppock, president; Tudor B. Carre, Phil Lanier and 



Office, wages and expenses $ -71 J. E. Ehodes, secretary-manager of the Southern Pine .\ssociation, 



Selling expenses 1-25 ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^y^^ ^^^^ ^^^ upward trend of the lumber market is a 



Administrative and general expenses 1.90 



Depreciation 2.00 permanent movement. 



Reforestation Impractical in Delta 



To the hardwood industry tho most interesting phase of the 

 hearing held by the National Forestry Policy Committee of the 

 Chamber of Commerce of the United States in New Orleans on 

 November 14 and 15, for the southern territory, was the state- 

 ment made by J. M. Pritchard, secretary-manager of the American 

 Hardwood Manufacturers' Association, Memphis, which may be 

 taken to give the viewpoint of the southern branch of the hard- 

 wood industry. 



The meeting was presided over by David L. Goodwillie of Chi- 

 cago, chairman of the committee, who engaged in a lively tilt 

 with Mr. Pritchard because of a misunderstanding, which at the 

 beginning of Mr. Pritchard 's statement placed him in the light of 

 being hostile to reforestation work. This, however, was cleared 

 away when the witness made it plain that the hardwood industry 

 represented in the South is not opposed to the principle of re- 

 forestation, but instead approves of it, insisting, however, that 



it must be handled in a sane, practicable manner and with due re- 

 gard for the rights and privileges of private owners of timber. 



Mr. Pritchard prefaced his remarks with the explanation that 

 he was expressing his individual views on the subject and that his 

 organization had not as yet formulated any views as a body. In. 

 part, he said: 



As a lumberman, I feel that the country as a whole owes the Chamber 

 ot Commerce of the United States the deepest gratitude tor undertaking 

 the important work of trying to formulate a national forestry policy and 

 we should feel particularly grateful to this committee and to its chair- 

 man for the energy and vigor they are displaying in the task which has 

 been assigned them. 



The question of reforestation, as I sec it, depends first of all upon the 

 tax problem. Any scheme of reforestation, to be worth while, must pay. 

 That is, as a bare business proposition, it must command itself to the 

 lumbermen. I deplore the unfair publicity we have been sul>jeeted to in 

 recent times for the part we are playing in cutting the country's forest 

 resources. Much of this has the effect of placing us in a decidedly bad 



