12 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



May 10, 1917 



The grave of Barbara Fritchie, made famous by Whittier's well- 

 known poem, is in the same cemetery, as is that of Admiral Schley, the 

 hero of the battle of Santiago. These graves of famous people are sur- 

 rounded by the humbler tombstones of thousands of the town's people 

 who have died within the past century and a half: 

 Each in his narrow cell forever laid, 

 The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep. 



One whole section of the cemetery is filled wdtli the graves of un- 

 known dead; Confederate soldiers who fell in battle within sight of 

 the cemetery during General Lee's first invasion of Maryland that 

 ended in the battle of Antietam, which battle was not far from Fi-ed- 

 eriek, westward beyond the next range of hills. 



The historical surroundings constitute an appropriate setting for 

 the grave of Francis Scott Key, the author of our most thrilling 

 battle hymn. 



This Plan Has a Broad Possibility 



IT WAS ANNOUNCED a short time ago that furniture interests 

 were combining to make possible a campaign to educate the home 

 builder and owner to the meaning and the possibilities of harmoni- 

 ous interiors. The tendency of the American household for years 

 has not been along lines that would produce results complimentary 

 to our artistic sense. On the other hand, the last two or three years 

 have seen tremendous and vital changes in the popular conception of 

 the home, and no small measure of this has taken effect in the direc- 

 tion of harmonizing furniture with woodwork and woodwork with fur- 

 niture as to designs, finishes and general character. 



Under normal conditions the movement referred to would liave im- 

 mense significance and would be worthy of the most complete and per- 

 sistent support by every merehandizeJ' of furniture. Coming now, 

 though, it has a double importance. "> 



It is inevitable that there be some slackening in the purchase of new 

 furniture by the man of small salary, which class in the aggregate ac- 

 counts for the consumption of a very large percentage of the coun- 

 try's production. On the other hand, the wealth of the country as a 

 whole is increasing constantly and the continuance of economic sound- 

 ness depends on keeping this wealth moving as much as possible. There 

 is a very large class which will spend because it is not compelled to 

 make any particular safeguards against the future. That elates also 

 would ordinarily be appealed to more by the propagandist work of the 

 furniture people and so the campaign would not only have the natural 

 tendency of helping an already lieolthy situation, but if it serves its 

 purpose properly it will in addition help to maintain a soundly eco- 

 nomic condition within the country in the face of veritable unheavals 

 in our national life. 



Knocking the Wooden Ship 



THE PLAN TO BUILD A THOUSAND WOODEN SHIPS to meet 

 the urgent need for more tonnage has scarcely begun to take shape 

 before objections are heard, and the plan is declared to be impractical. 

 Somebody quotes engineers as authority for the statement that wooden 

 vessels are not strong enough to stand the strain and that the timbers 

 will be broken and the joints loosened by rough usage. In the next 

 sentence the suggestion is put forward that the vessels be of iron. 



Possibly the objection is well founded, but it is doubtful. Is the 

 sea any rougher or wood any weaker than in the past when wooden 

 ships sailed ever.y sea, and wooden fleets fought the great naval battles 

 of history? Those ships stood the strain. Wooden men-of-war were 

 strong enough to fire broadsides from forty big guns at once, and to 

 continue firing as long as an enemy ship remained as a target. In those 

 days, all ships were of wood, and they never failed to give good ac- 

 counts of themselves, whether standing up in battle or sailing on long 

 voyages over distant seas. 



When a ship is wanted that can ram its way through the ice packs 

 of the Arctic region, a wooden vessel is chosen. If wood were liable 

 to fail under strains and break under jolts, vessels of wood would 

 hardly be chosen by Arctic explorers. 



Critics express a fear that wooden ships will not last long enough to 

 make them worth while. Such a fear is groundless. So far as is known, 

 a wooden ship will last as long as one of iron, and many a wooden ves- 

 sel has served well during a long jjeriod. Some built on the Pacific 

 coast are sound after forty years of ocean travel. Wooden ships built 



before the war of 1812 were as sound as a dollar at the time of the 

 Civil War, and stood up in hard battles after 1860. Instances of 

 wooden ships that have endured for a hundred years could be cited. 



At this time, when a common purpose to assist the country should 

 animate everybody, it is hoped that no unnecessary knocking will occur. 

 If it is demonstrated that wooden ships ought not be built, then we 

 should build some other kind ; but it looks suspicious that in one breath 

 the critics object to wooden vessels and in the next recommend iron. 



Where the Money Will Go 



IT IS AN OLD AND ACCEPTED SAYING that ' ' you cannot eat 

 your cake and have it. ' ' That adage may not be so true as appears 

 at first sight. Take for instance the enormous war fund that the 

 United States is raising. About five billion dollars of it is to be loaned 

 to the Allies. That is fifty dollars for every man, woman, and child in 

 the country, and it is a lot of money. If it were being taken out of 

 this country and to be sent to distant lands, it would be a very serious 

 matter. It would drain our treasuries to the bottom. 



That, however, is not to be the case. Very little of the money will 

 leave this country. It wiU be spent here in the purchase of food, 

 machinery, ammunition, arms, clothing, medicine, lumber, coal, iron, 

 and thousands of other commodities which we can sell. The money will 

 stav here. It will go into quick circulation. Every channel of trade 

 will get a large share. Wages will be good, prices will be good, busi- 

 ness will be good. We are furnishing the money to our Allies, but 

 they will spend it in this country. It is a perfect illustration of the 

 fact that one may spend his money and still have it. 



It woukl take a longer look ahead than most of us are capable of to 

 teU what will happen when the war is all over and the time for final 

 settlement arrives. There will probably be some pinching then; but 

 America should not feel much pinch. The business men of this coun- 

 try ought to be out of debt by that time, by using wisely the vast war 

 fund that will have passed through their hands. Fortunes will be made, 

 and they will probably be fairly well distributed among all classes. 

 The country ought to be able to stand a spell of slack b\isinefs after 

 the war. But it is by no means certain that slack business will come, 

 even after the war. Great lessons of economy, saving, and thrift are 

 being learned everywhere. It is a severe school and its le.-'sons are 

 being thoroughly drilled in. 



The lumber b\isiness is one that apparently will be improved by the 

 war. There will be home need for lumber and the people will have 

 plenty of money to buy it. A building boom ought to take place. A 

 lot of the five billion dollars ought to find it« way into houses, fences, 

 furniture, and business blocks. Excessive profits are not expected, but 

 reasonable profits and excellent business appear certain. These ought 

 to flow from the increased volume of trade that is bn\ind to come. 



Recent Lumber Statistics 



GOVERNMENT STATISTICS OF LUMBER PRODUCTION for 

 1914 and 191.5 have been published, and the report contains no 

 surprises, no cause for alarm and no reason for elation. The lumber 

 output is neither increasing nor decreasing at a rate to call for special 

 comment. In fact, if the figures show anything remarkable, it is that 

 the cut is holding so nearly to the level of recent years. The average 

 production of lundier for the sixteen years ending with and including 

 1915, was approximately 37,800,000,000 feet a year. The cut during 

 1915 was 37,011,656,000 feet, which falls very close to tlie yearly aver- 

 age. That figures out about 370 feet per capita of population. 



No very important changes are i-hown if the species are considered 

 separately. The supposition in some quarters that the cut of oak is 

 declining is not borne out by the figures. The average output of oak 

 yearly during the sixteen-year period was about 3,300,000,000 feet. In 

 1915 it totaled 2,970,000,000 feet. That is a little under the average, 

 but no more than may be accounted for by yearly fluctuations. 



Yellow poplar keeps up a slow decline, as the record of the past 

 sixteen years shows. The yearly average was about 719,000,000 feet, 

 but the cut in 1916 was only 464,000,000. The cut of yellow poplar 

 was more than twice as much in 1899 as in 1915. 



Black walnut has shown a large increase, compared with the average 

 cut for the seven years ending with 1915. The annual average was 

 34,500,000 feet, and the output in 1915 was 90,000,000. The demand 

 for gunstocks accounts for the increase. 



