24 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



April 10, 1918 



stand in the way. Special trains of lumber for tlie government 

 have been suggested, but at last reports no conclusions had been 

 reached. The director of inland transportation of the War De- 

 partment heads the conferences. 



Tentative bids have been asked and received on thousands of 

 railroad cars of different types and materials, box and gondolas, 

 wood, steel and composite. The specifications cannot be obtained 

 except by car builders. The number of ears to be built is not 

 officially decided, but is expected to be about 100,000. 



The Southern Pine Emergency Bureau has recently received gov- 

 ernment orders for 28,000,000 feet in the last week of March and 

 85,000,000 feet in the whole month; the Georgia-Florida Emergency 

 Bureau received orders for 16,000,000 feet last week, and the Ala- 

 bama-Mississippi Bureau is reported to have received orders for 

 10,000,000 feet during the week. 



Many new government building projects are under way, includ- 

 ing a big artillery camp at Lee Hall, Va. ; ordnance depot at 

 Woodbury, N. J.; chemical plant at Saltville, Va.; tuberculosis 

 hospital at Azalea, N. C, etc. 



On the other hand, private building operations are to be re- 

 stricted. Conferences have been held recently between representa- 

 tives of the fuel administration and representatives of building 

 trade interests with a view to limiting the fuel used in those in- 

 dustries to the actual requirements for war and other necessary 

 purposes. 



The Council of National Defense recently adopted the following 

 resolution bearing upon this subject: 



Whereas it has come to tbe notice of this board that new industrial 

 corporations are being organized in different sections of the United States, 

 lor the erection of industrial plants which cannot be utilized in the prose- 

 cution of the war ; and 



Whereas plans are being considered by certain states, counties, cities 

 and towns for the construction of public buildings and other improve- 

 ments which will not contribute toward winning the war ; and 



Whereas the carrying forward of these activities will involve the utiliza- 

 tion of labor, materials and capital urgently required for war purposes ; 



Resolved by the War Industries Board that in the public interest, all 

 new undertakings not essential to and not contributing either directly or 

 indirectly toward winning the war, which involve the utilization of labor, 

 material and capital required in the production, supply or distribution of 

 direct or indirect war needs, will be discouraged, notwithstanding they 

 may be of local importance and of a character which should in normal 

 times meet with every encouragement. In fairness to those interested 

 therein, notice is hereby given that this board will withhold from such 

 projects priority assistance, without which new construction of the char- 

 acter mentioned will frequently be found impracticable, and that this 

 notice shall be given wide publicity, that all parties interested in such 

 undertakings may be fully apprised of the difficulties and delays to which 

 they will be subjected and embark upon them at their peril. 



The house has passed a general bill giving the department of 

 labor authority to carry on housing operations for employees of 

 munitions factories and other establishments engaged in war work, 

 by purchasing, constructing, leasing, renting, condemning, com- 

 mandeering housing, land, etc. The bill authorizes the expenditure 

 of $.50,000,000 for these purposes and $10,000,000 for housing gov- 

 ernment employees in Washington. It is expected to pass the 

 senate. There is now a law authorizing $50,000,000 for housing by 

 the shipping board for shipyard employees. W. E. Shannon of this 

 city has been put in charge of the real estate department of the 

 housing branch of the labor administration. 



The Chamberlain bill to commandeer timber and lumber for the 

 war needs of the army, navy and shipping board has passed the 

 senate. It was amended first along lines recommended by lumber- 

 men so that it is claimed that it does not authorize the president 

 or his agent to actually direct the conduct of logging and milling 

 operations, although it does permit them to prescribe the length of 

 logs and the dimensions of lumber to be cut for war purposes. 



There was a long debate over the bill in the senate, which re- 

 sulted in further amendment of it on the floor of the senate so that 

 logging and lumbering under the commandeering orders of the 

 president shall be carried on in accordance with the principles of 

 forestry as prescribed by the forest service; so that timber may be 

 taken from forest reservations as well as public and private lands 



and military and Indian reservations, and so that no mill be re- 

 quired to cut what it is not equipped to cut. 



Hearings have been had on the Kelly bill for government develop- 

 ment of natural resources, under which the government could take 

 over all timberlands as well as other natural resources and work 

 them for necessary war products and sell any surplus at cost, thus 

 saving $800,000,000 a year to the people. 



The shipping and airplane programs have been discussed in the 

 senate at some length. Eegarding the latter. Senator Poindexter 

 of Washington said that he had told the aviation authorities that 

 they could get from Washington State lumbermen all the spruce 

 necessary at reasonable prices. However, he said, the offer was 

 not accepted, and many times since the department officials have 

 been saying that they could not get spruce and that accounts for the 

 delay in airplane construction. 



The shipping board announces that the first ship of the govern- 

 ment wooden fleet to be launched on the Gulf coast took the water 

 at the plant of the Universal Ship Building Company of Houston, 1 

 Tex., on April 7. It is of the Ferris type, 3,500 tons, and officially 

 numbered 157. 



The board states that seventeen wooden ships have been launched, 

 four of them last week. 



The board has indicated its disappointment at the shipbuilding 

 record of March. Apparently the trouble was with steel ships, of 

 which the deliveries did not come up to the estimates made at the 

 beginning of the month. Eleven wooden ships were launched dur- 

 ing the month, of 40,000 tons. Chairman Hurley of the shipping 

 board and Manager Piez of the fleet corporation have served notice 

 on all shipyards that they must do better this month. 



It is announced that fourteen wooden tugs have been contracted 

 for by the shipping board. 



The board has authorized the Atlantic & Pacific Steamship Com- 

 pany to contract with west coast yards for the construction of 150 

 wooden ships of 3,000 tons each having sails and Diesel gas engines. 

 These ships will require smaller timbers than the government 

 wooden ships. Chairman Hurley announces that his policy is to 

 encourage private shipowners to undertake new construction. 



In order to obtain the ship's knees, a bill has been introduced and J 

 reported to the senate to authorize the removal of stumps from ^ 

 lands formerly in the old Oregon & California Bailroad land grant, 

 that has been forfeited to the government. 



George M. Cornwall, editor Of The Timierman of Portland, Ore- 

 gon, has been appointed member of a group of experts in various 

 lines of industry and of economists and accountants to review re- 

 turns received at the treasury, department under the excess profit 

 tax law. Legal questions coming to them will be referred to the 

 solicitor and special attorneys of the internal revenue bureau. The 

 Commissioner of Internal Revenue says that the work of the re- 

 viewers will insure co-operation between the government and the 

 taxpayers. 



No Appeal from Government Prices 



Besides the question of hardwood vehicle stock prices that has 

 been up for consideration here recently, government officials and 

 lumbermen have spent a good deal of time over the prices of pine 

 and fir for government purposes. 



Following conferences between groups of lumbermen represent- 

 ing the southern pine lumber industry and the Douglas fir indus- 

 try, it was decided by the new price fixing committee of the War 

 , Industries Board, with the director of lumber and the Federal Trade 

 Commission concurring, that there should be few changes in the 

 prices. 



There are some, price changes on fir and yellow pine. It is also 

 provided that the government prices should apply not only on 

 lumber and barge and box material. The barge material prices are 

 the same as the timber prices. Keplaeement orders for retail yards 

 will be filled at the government bureau prices. 



The box material prices will be made effective in some instances 

 where lumber is supplied for boxes to hold ammunition, etc., for the 



