Septpnibcr 25, 1917 



mmm 



/ iplj Demand for Wood Just Beginning | 



The government's hardwood needs are receiving more attention 

 . than was the case during the early stages of the war. With at 

 least three hardwood emergency bureaus organized and the possi- 

 bility of a fourth to represent the hardwood industry in dealing 

 with the government, it is predicted that the business which hard- 

 wood men will do with the government will expand materially. 



The latest hardwood man to come to Washington to see about 

 government business is Otis T. Swan, secretary of the Northern 

 Hemlock and Hardwood Manufacturers' Association located in Wis- 

 consin, also manager of the Hemlock and Hardwood Manufacturers ' 

 Emergency Bureau. He came' here to spend a week or more inquiring 

 into the hardwood needs of tlie government. 



One of the first things he learned was that the government is 

 to spend $20,000,000 for boxes. Mr. Swan believes that herein are 

 opportunities for the hardwood lumberman, especially in view of the 

 progress being made by Lieut. H. M. Knowlton and experts of the 

 Forest Service and the Forest Products Laboratory at Madison, 

 Wis., in the matter of standardizing wooden boxes for the war 

 department. 



Heretofore the department has specified forty-seven different 

 wooden boxes, it is said, but only three kinds of wood for the boxes, 

 and all the woods softwoods. Mr. Swan says he hopes that these 

 figures will be reversed and he understands that there is a prospect 

 that the kind of boxes specified may be reduced to 6 or 7, while 

 the number of woods specified, ho is convinced, should be at least 

 47, if not "57 varieties." 



The idea along which the government experts are reported to be 

 working seems to be the division of box wood into two or more 

 groups. One suggestion is that packing boxes for the army might 

 be permitted to be made out of any soft wood, while hardwoods 

 would be approved as material for ammunition boxes and other con- 

 tainers for heavy stuff. Woods of the same physical qualities 

 would be specified for a certain pui'pose and government contractors 

 jiermitted to get the boxes for the goods they are furnishing made 

 of neighborhood woods if possible, the choice being limited to suit- 

 able woods. 



Mr. Swan says he believes there is a big future for the hardwood 

 emergency bureaus if the government should adopt a system of 

 obtaining hardwood materials for the things it needs, instead of 

 letting contractors obtain the material. With contractors doing 

 this buying, it is said, there would not be so much for the emer- 

 gency bureaus to do. Members of the Hemlock and Hardwood 

 Emergency Bureau, Mr. Swan says, can furnish large quantities of 

 hardwoods for many government war needs, including the manu- 

 facture of airplanes, saddletrees, ten pegs, poles and many other 

 articles, especially where birch, beech, maple, ash, elm and bass- 

 wood are needed; also some oak. 



He says that the bureau has placed its facilities at the disposal of 

 the government and has received inquiries from the governhient 

 as to wliat stocks are available, and how and where certain mate- 

 rials can be obtained quickly, but that the bureau has received 

 notice of no definite requirements of the government. 



Mr. Swan claims that his emergency bureau has delivered 1500 

 cars of lumber at Eockford, HI., for the army cantonment there; 

 that its deliveries daily have exceeded those at any other canton- 

 ment, and that the bureau is well up with its orders for canton- 

 ment material. It also furnished some material for the Battle 

 Creek, Mich., cantonment. 



Because the war department was unable to obtain recently 

 through the committee on lumber. Council of National Defense, 

 2,000,000 feet of basswood lumber of 2%-inch dimension for the 

 manufacture of saddletrees for the cavalry and artillery and offi- 

 cers' mounts, the Forest Products Laboratory at Madison, Wis., 

 tested a large number of hardwoods with a view to determining 

 their suitability for saddletree manufacture. The laboratory has 

 reported that yellow pojilar, elm, ash, cottonwood, soft maple, 

 sycamore, cucumber, aspen will be satisfactory for this purpose and 



that beecli, birch, and hard maple would serve the same purpose. 

 Black walnut, sugar maple, red gum aiid white oak were tested with 

 a view to utilizing them for saddletree stock. The tests covered a 

 number of technical points about the qualities of the various woods. 

 The war department has always used basswood for saddletrees and 

 that material is admittedly desirable by reason of its lightness, light 

 color, toughness, stability and other good qualities, but when it 

 sprang a sudden request for 2,000,000 feet of 2%-ineh stock, the 

 department learned that basswood was not cut in that size and 

 that it is cut only in the winter. 



There has been much negotiation on recently between the ship- 

 ping board and^ lumbermen with a view to changing the prices of 

 lumber for wooden ships. The shipping board people, it is under- 

 stood, want the hardwood people to reduce their prices on oak 

 stock for ship timbers, while, on the other hand, the board is dis- 

 cussing the question of possibly raising prices on pine timbers. 

 There are also rumors that the government may commandeer abso- 

 lutely all large timbers for ship construction. 



It is stated on authority that the proposition of some lumbermen 

 to substitute big oak timbers for yellow pine timbers in ships 

 built in the South and East is not practicable. Why is not ex- 

 plained. 



Rumors continue plentiful about the government 's policy regard- 

 ing wooden ship construction. The best information seems to be 

 that the shipping board will carry out the wooden ship contracts 

 negotiated for by Gen. Goethals, but will not for the present nego- 

 tiate new contracts. However, many lumbermen are convinced that 

 the wooden ship business has only just begun. They predict that 

 before the winter is over the lumbermen will be asked to furnish 

 materials for hundreds of more ships and that they will be glad 

 to do it because of the stoppage of construction of buildings, bridges, 

 etc., generally throughout the country, owing to war conditions. It 

 is declared that the wooden ship business will soon be recognized 

 as the backbone of the lumber industry and that the country's 

 resources of ship material are practically inexhaustible. Years of 

 profit for the wooden shipbuilding industry and for the lumber in- 

 dustry are expected by optimistic lumbermen. 



The demand for oak for ships, however, it is reported here, may 

 serve to create a scarcity of oak for furniture manufacturing and 

 other industries using this hardwood, the jirices of which are going 

 up, according to report. 



Nearly a billion more money for the government 's merchant 

 shipping program is .provided for in the deficiency appropriation 

 bill carrying $7,000,000,000 to run the government until June 30 

 next. Some of this billion, it is said, may go for wooden ships. 

 When the bill passed the house there was some discussion of the 

 wooden ship question and Representative Stafford of Wisconsin 

 declared that the new shipping board had adopted Gen. Goethal's 

 shipping program almost as a whole. 



So strongly does Uncle Sam believe in lumber that the same 

 bill authorizes the construction of a big temporary office building 

 at Washington of the frame type, for the use of the army and navy, 

 which have greatly expanded their offices since the war began. The 

 building will cost $2,000,000 and is to be completed within ninety 

 daj's after the law authorizing it is enacted. Another big wooden 

 building for government purposes is being erected here to accom- 

 modate the Council of National Defense. The committee on lumber 

 of this organization was called upon recently to attend to the 

 furnishing of a quantity of additional lumber for fourteen of the 

 army cantonments. The order was handled at express speed, being 

 wired out the evening it was received, the lumber allotted, and it 

 is now being shipped. From 2,500,000 to 6,000,000 feet more is 

 required for each of the fourteen cantonments. The Michigan 

 Hardwood Manufacturers' Emergency Bureau was allotted about 

 2,500,000 feet for the BMtle Creek cantonment. It has furnished 

 a quantity of maple flooring for that work. 



The prices of cantonment material charged the government have 



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