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Interesting Traffic Developments 



A hard fight is being made to prevent an increase in the hardwood 

 rates between Helena, Ark., and Omaha, Neb. In a brief submitted 

 to the Interstate Commerce Commission last week the complainants 

 state that the respondents have glossed over the proposed action with- 

 out making any point in its justification. The carriers propose an 

 increase of the rate from nineteen to twenty-four cents. It is 

 proposed to take Helena out of the Memphis group, where it has 

 been from the time of the first tariff, and put it in the next higher 

 group. It is stated that this rate will destroy the business now being 

 done between the Helena district and Omaha territory. The trade 

 is principally in cottonwood and gum. The case will be argued 

 .before the commission January 13. 



The Ferd Brenner Lumber Company of Alexandria, La., has sub- 

 mitted a brief in its case against Morgan's Louisiana & Texas Rail- 

 road and Steamship Company. The question involved is that of 

 awarding reparation on transit logs from points on the Alexandria 

 branch of the defendant carrier. The claim of the carrier that an 

 effort is being made to make transit privileges retroactive, is denied. 

 The impracticability of describing the various kinds of hardwood logs 

 from points on the defendant 's line is gone into fully. The carrier 

 claims that the different kinds of logs should have been listed on 

 freight bills. This the lumber company says it cannot do as most 

 of the cars are shipped from stations where no agent is maintained. 

 The provision requiring the specification of the kind of wood is 

 declared to be unfair. All logs handled are oak, ash, hickory or 

 gum. The milling-in-trausit rates are attacked as unreasonable and 

 the tariff provisions for back hauling arc inadequate, it is said. 



Much commendation is heard at the Forest Service of the action 

 of Governor Walsh of Massachusetts in suspending the open hunting 

 season because of the drouth which made the danger of forest fires 

 unusually great. This action is being called to the attention of the 

 governors and conservation commissions throughout the country in 

 the hope that similar action will be taken, if not this year, in tlie 

 future. 



In many states great damage has been caused by allowing hunters 

 to enter the forests when they were like tinder boxes. Fires almost 

 certainlv result and thousands of feet of timber are destroyed. 



Discussion of the adoption of the metric system is again attracting 

 considerable attention in Washington. Representatives and senators 

 from the lumber districts are not in favor of any legislation to this 

 effect. It is certain that there is enough strength in Congress to 

 defeat a bill of this kind if it should come up. It is being argued 

 that now is just the time that a change in the system of weights 

 and measurements could be made with least annoyance. With the 

 volume of European business and home trade at the lowest poiuts in 

 years, sawmill and other machinery could be adjusted to new measure- 

 ments at a rainiDiiim of inconvenience, it is declared. 



Reparation has been granted in the following eases before the 

 Interstate Commerce Commission, which are of direct interest to the 

 hardwood industry: 



American Lumber and Export Company versus Louisville & Nash- 

 ville Railway; Crockett Lumber Company versus Centra] of Georgia: 

 I. Lurya Lumber Company versus Chicago & Eastern Illinois; W. E. 

 Thomas Lumber Company versus the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; 

 Castleman Bros. Timber Company versus Chicago & Alton; Ozark 

 Cooperage and Lumber Company versus Frisco; Clearfield Lumber 

 Company versus Chesapeake & Ohio; Foster Lumber Company versus 

 Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Roddis Lumber and Veneer Company 

 versus Detroit, Grand Haven & Milwaukee Railway Company; Stout 

 Lumber Company versus Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific ; Paine 

 Lumber Company versus Lake Shore & Michigan Southern; Bord 

 Bros, versus Louisville & Nashville; Bristol Door and Lumber Com- 

 pany versus Norfolk & Western; Wm. Foerster & Co. versus Nash- 

 — 24 — 



ville, Chicago & St. Louis; South Texas Lutiibev ('ompuuy versus 

 Missouri, Kansas & Texas; Saginaw Lime ;ind Lumber Company 

 versus Louisville A; Nashville; H. Marks versus IjOuis^Ue & Nash- 

 ville; Bristol Door :ind Lumber Company versus Norfolk & Western; 

 Krauss Bros. Lumber Company Aersus Yazoo & Mississippi Valley; 

 Goshen Veneer Company versus Illinois Central; Butterfield Lumber 

 Company versus Illinois Central; J. W. Darling Lumber Company 

 versus Louisiana Railroad and Navigation Company; American Tie 

 ;ind Timber Company versus Pennsylvania Company; Gulf Refining 

 Company of Louisiana versus Kansas City Southern; Louisiana 

 Red Cypress Company versus Texas &, P:u;ific; John Dulwebor Com- 

 pany versus Yazoo & Mississippi Valley ; Natalbany Lumber Company 

 versus Illinois Central, and Krauss Bros. Lumber Comp.iny versus 

 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railway. 



The case of the Bryant Lumber Company against the Chicago, 

 Rock Island & Pacific has been dismissed by the Interstate Com- 

 merce Commission. The case of the Grand Rapids Lumbermen's 

 Association against the Grand Rapids & Indiana, has also been 

 dismissed. 



In the case of Dierks & Sons Lumber Company versus the Missouri 

 Pacific, the carrier has been ordered to pay reparation on account 

 of a discriminatory switching charge at Kansas City. 



The claim of the Berthold & Jennings Lumber Company of St. 

 Louis against the Alabama, Tennessee & New Orleans railway has 

 been dismissed. I'nreasonable rates on hardwood lumber were 

 claimed. The case of J. G. Kulzer versus the Great Northern Rail- 

 way has been decided in favor of the carrier. It was alleged that 

 charges had been collected on excessive weights. 



A complaint in which reparation is demanded has been submitted 

 by the Vaughn Lumber Company nf San Antonio against the 

 IjOuisi;m:i tV .Arkansas railway. 



Forest Products Federation 



The i:ommittee of five appointed at the preliminary meeting of 

 lumbermen on December 17 to make arrangements for the mass 

 meeting on February 24 and 25, held a conference recently in 

 Chicago. On behalf of the various associations and interests rep- 

 resented, the committee has developed preliminary plans for bring- 

 ing to a head at the coming mass meeting the various subjects and 

 problems connected with the promotion of lumber. The enthusiasm 

 displayed is equally strong among producers and distributors, and 

 there is great i)romise that a definite policy will be developed in 

 promoting wood, both independent of, and in competition with 

 substitutes. 



The general committee at its meeting apiiointed E. A. Sterling, 

 forest and timber engineer of Philadelphia, to act as secretary 

 in arranging the program and publicity for the February meeting. 

 R. S. Kellogg, the new secretary of the National association, will 

 act as treasurer of the federation and take an active part in the 

 arrangements. 



The committee also appointed five standing committees which 

 will report definitely on as many subjects to the mass meeting on 

 February 24 and 25. Announcement will be made of the personnel" 

 of these committees as soon as acceptances are received to the 

 appointments made. The committee of five in itself becomes 

 essentially an executive committee in control of all arrangements. 



Of 2,000,000 sheep annually grazed in the state of Utali, more than 

 1,000,000 are on the national forests, or, including lambs which are 

 fattening for market on the forest ranges, over 1,750,000. 



In addition to his own fire detection system, the supervisor of the Pali- 

 sade national forest, Idaho, was notified of each fire by from five to ten 

 different local settlers, who thus showed their coiijieration in working 

 for fire suppression. 



