Ffliru«ry l'.">, I'.H^ 



The campaign is on now in this country to conserve the iron and 

 steel supply for war purposes, by substituting wood for metal wher- 

 ever it can lie done. Fortunately, it is .possible to do it along many 

 lines without lessening the value of the service which the people 

 have been accustomed to receive. A search for places where wood 

 can take the place of iron and steel shows surprising results. The 

 field is wide and the opportunities are many. Some of the leadiug 

 linos along which such substitutes can be made are the following: 



In numerous instances the wooden shingle can take the place of 

 sheet metal for roofing. The shingle is excluded from many towns 

 because of municipal fire laws; but enormous quantities of metal 

 roofing have been used outside of such limits, and it is possible, 

 as an emergency measure, to repeal, or suspend, temporarily at least, 

 the fire laws in many towns, where patriotism rises superior to 

 prejudice. 



The same observation holds with regard to siding. Wood can take 

 the place of metal, and in most cases will prove at least as satisfactory. 



The substitutes of wooden beams for steel in buildings of moder- 

 ate size opens a wide field for conserving metal. The style of build- 

 ing known as "mill construction" has proved the efficiency of wood 

 for beams and framework in buildings both small and large. It 

 would be hard to figure out just how much steel could be released 

 for other purposes by using wooden timbers in place of steel beams. 



The manufacture of fixtures for offices, stores, hotels, halls, and 

 banks, such as filing cabinets, counters, stationary desks and tables, 

 partitions, cabinets, shelving, and many more, now calls for both 

 metal and wood in large amounts. The whole demand might be met 

 by wood, and the steel could be diverted to other channels. 



Furniture is closely related to fixtures, and by substituting wood 

 for metal, much steel could be conserved for other purposes. Exact 

 statistics of metal furniture are not available, but the total is large. 



Relatively few boxes are of metal, but these might be of wood. 

 The principal metal boxes or trays are used for carrying bottled 

 goods. 



The metal barrel is much more common and is in wider use than 

 the box. It ranges from the slack barrel of thin sheets to the heavy 

 barrel or drum for carrying oils and other valuable commodities. The 

 substitution of wooden barrels would bring no hardship to the user. 

 Wooden barrels are in some ways superior to those of metal, and 

 there is no question but that plenty of suitable wood can be had 

 to meet any increase in demand. 



Great saving of steel is possible in the manufacture of railroad 

 cars by substituting wood for metal in such parts only in which wood 

 is satisfactory. A billion and a quarter feet a year of wood are now 

 consumed by car builders. A considerable increase over this amount 

 might be made, with a corresponding decrease in steel. 



Manufacturers of vehicles might dispense with much metal and let 

 wood take its place. This could be done in wheels and also in panels 

 for the bodies of light vehicles. Saving could be made also by con- 

 structing many kinds of vehicle frames partly or wholly of wood. 



Agricultural implements afford another opportunity to substitute 

 wood for metal without lowering the standards of eflSciency. The 

 same thing is possible in the manufacture of numerous kinds of 

 machinery where frames and panels are used. 



Metal caskets for the burial of the dead might give way to caskets 

 of wood. More than 1.50,000,000 feet of lumber are now used annually 

 hy manufacturers of caskets, and this quantity would show substan- 

 tial increase if metal caskets were no longer made. 

 The Call for Conservation 



This nation-wide call for the conservation of iron and steel by 

 introducing substitutes, does not come from lumber manufacturers and 

 dealers, but from government authorities who see the need of the 

 measure. Steel producers are not voicing objections. They recog- 

 nize the crisis and they know that they cannot produce enough steel 

 to meet the needs of the government and of private business, too, 

 and it will relieve the strain upon them if some of the burden can 

 be borne by lumbermen. It is fortunate that the lumber industry is 

 able, in this emergency, tu carry the increased load. 



KIGHTEENTH ANNUAL BANQUET OF NATIONAL LUMBER EXPORTERS' .\SSOCIATION, HOTEL MARTINIQUE, NEW 



YORK. JANUARY 23-24, 1918 



-37— 



