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HARDWOOD RECORD 



October 10, 1917 



seeking to hare an inspector for the fleet corporatiou examine tbe 

 product of the Washington mill before it is shipped to the wooden 

 shipbuilding yards. 



The following official statement concerning the progress being made 

 in building up the American merchant marine tells an interesting tale : 



The United States has toilay 458 ships of over 1,500 deadweight tons, 

 with an aggregate tonnage of 2.871,.339, either engaged in or capable of 

 participating in foreign trade. There are also 117 ships of a tonnage of 

 700,285 of German and Austrian origin. The United States Shipping 

 Board Emergency Fleet Corporation has commandeered nearly 400 steel 

 ships of more than 2,500.000 tons which are being completed or are under 

 contract for construction in American yards. The board's fleet corpo- 

 ration has also contracted for Oofi ships with a tonnage of .S. 124. 700. 



Totaled, these figures show that the United States will have near the end 

 of 1918 a merchant fleet of more than 1,600 ships aggregating 9,200,000 

 tons to carry its foreign commerce, as compared with an overseas marine 

 of 1,614,222 tons on June 30, 1914', scarcely a month before the European 

 war began. 



The tonnage referred to is exclusive of that engaged on inland waters, 

 unsuitable coastwise ships and small craft operating along the coast and 

 in bays and harbors, and does not, of course, include the prospective 

 additional program of the Emergency Fleet Corporation. 



The fleet in prospect is already becoming a reality. Several of the 

 commandeered ships are already taking cargo ; others will leave the ways 

 in increasing numbers with each succeeding month. The shii>s for which 

 the sltipping board has contracted are under construction and the first 

 launching is expected within sixty to ninety days. 



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Developing Hardwood Resources 



That the hardwoods of Wisconsin and Michigan have one of 

 the brightest prospects for the immediate future is the belief 

 expressed by O. T. Swan, seeretar}' of the Northern Hemlock and 

 Hardwood Manufacturers' Association upon his return to Oshkosh, 

 Wis., last week from Washington, where he, with John Geiger, a 

 box expert of the Paine Lumber Company, and Charles Bigelow, 

 representing the emergency bureau of the Michigan lumbermen, 

 had consulted with the lumber advisory committee of the Council 

 of National Defense on the subject. It was found that new uses 

 for spruce, birch, walnut, white ash and white elm are developing 

 rapidly which promise to tax the supply and stimulate produc- 

 tion within the next several months. The principal uses of the 

 woods will be for containers for army equipment, war supplies, 

 provisions and ammunition and scores of other articles now being 

 shipped by the government, as well as for construction of aero- 

 plane parts and army transport wagons and other similar vehicles. 

 Other uses were mentioned by Mr. Swan even to that of tent poles 

 and stakes and saddle trees whereby what is commonly regarded 

 as waste can be economically utilized. 



Mr. Swan is quite enthusiastic over the prospects for hardwoods 

 presented him on his Washington sojourn. He states that the gov- 

 ernment authorities are promoting plans for the systematic dis- 

 tribution of orders for container construction so that all hard- 

 wood mills in the various territories can benefit and that the fifty 

 or more styles and sizes of containers are to be reduced to a 

 minimum of a dozen and new grading rules established. This 

 co-ordination of effort will result in mutual price advantages to 

 both the government and manufacturers and eliminate several 

 extra profits which are being made on orders for hardwoods in 

 the present indirect way through the army authorities. Two mem- 

 bers of the federal Forest Products Laboratory, at Madison, Wis., 

 Messrs. Knowlton and Wilson, are reported by Mr. Swan to have 

 been assigned to the office of Major Maish for the purpose of 

 working out these new problems in simplifying hardwoods utiliza- 

 tion. 



Mr. Swan said that experiments and tests soon to be made will 

 open a wide field for hardwoods in aeroplane construction. At 

 present he explained that spruce having been originally used for 

 that purpose has led the field and that aeroplane manufacturers 

 have been content to rely upon it since the aeroplane has been 

 regarded as too hazardous a machine to experiment with. But 

 wood experts, he asserted, are to be put to work on practical 

 scientific tests which may prove that other hardwoods are equally 

 as suitable as spruce in various parts of the aeroplane. For in- 

 stance, it is planned, said Mr. Swan, to construct a machine by 

 which pieces of wood can be whirled even to utter destruction, 

 thus determining their strength for propeller purposes and guar 

 antee their absolute safely. Other tests will be that of gluing 

 pieces of wood in various ways and also numerous joining processes 

 as for instance dovetailing wood lengthwise. In this way the 

 supply of hardwoods can be greatly increased and furnished at 

 one-third of the present cost of large clear pieces. 



Estimated Lumber Cut for 1917 



B. S. Kellogg, secretary of the National Lumber Manufacturers' 

 Association, estimates the total lumber production this year for 

 the whole United States at between 38,000,000,000 and 40,000,000,- 

 000 feet. This estimate is based on partial returns from manu- 

 facturers which show the tendency of operations and indicate the 

 probable total output. During August 701 sawmills cut 1,385,- 

 900,000 feet and shipped 1,575,800,000 feet, which was 13.7 per 

 cent more than production. The cut of softwoods amounted to 

 1,291,000,000 feet, and the shipments of softwoods totaled 1,455,- 

 000,000 feet, or 12.7 more than was cut. Due to strikes and other 

 unsettled conditions, lumber production for August, 1917, was 

 18.5 below that for the corresponding month in 1916. Shipments 

 this year for August were 6.6 per cent greater than for August 

 last year. This is accounted for by the heavy orders from the 

 government and from builders of factories. During the eight 

 months ending August 31, 1917, the mills reporting to the National 

 association cut 2.7 per cent less lumber than during the correspond- 

 ing eight months of 1916; but they shipped 7.5 per cent more than 

 in the same period last year. 



Logging Active Around Memphis 



J. H. Townshcnd, secretary-manager of the Southern Hardwood 

 Traffic Association, Memphis, is authority for the statement that the 

 supply of cars is not so satisfactory now as it was a short time ago. 

 Complaints began to come in early this week from manufacturers of 

 lumber, not only regarding fewer ears for handling logs to their mills, 

 but also regarding a decreased amount of equipment for shipping 

 lumber out. Mr, Townshend believes that the situation is likely to 

 become more acute as the movement of the cotton crop expands. In 

 fact he has exjiressed the view recently that the unusual supply of 

 both flat and box cars available for lumbernu'n was due in considerable 

 measure to the backwardness of the movement of the cotton croj), 

 resulting from the lateness of the latter. Cotton is coming in now 

 much more freely and there is certain to be a decided increase in 

 receipts here as well as in the amount of cotton offered the carriers. 

 The maximum will not be reached perhaps until the latter part of 

 November, and this means that an increasing amount of cars will 

 be needed until that time. 



Officials of the association have believed for some time that there 

 would be a recurrence of car shortage when the crop movement began 

 in earnest and they are therefore not surprised at the appearance of 

 complaints regarding rather less satisfactory transportation service. 



Meantime, logging operations are proceeding at a most satisfactory 

 rate and large quantities of logs are being prepared for shipment 

 to the mills. The amount of timber cut has been unusually large this 

 summer and fall and more recently extraordinary efforts have been 

 made on the part of both the carriers and the lumbermen to get logs 

 delivered. As a result local mills and the majority of those in the 

 Memphis territory are exceedingly well supplied with logs at the 

 moment. 



