30 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



are giving place to tbe permanent resident and owner of improved rancli 

 property. Tbe latter is always given preference in the use of national . 

 forest range. 



Some $400,000 was spent by the Forest Service during the year for 

 permanent improvements on the national forests to make them accessible 

 and to insure their protection from Are. These improvements include 

 270 miles of new road 2,153 miles of trail, 3,063 miles of telephone line, 

 775 miles of fire line, and 106 lookout structures, besides bridges, cor- 

 rals, fences, and cabins. In addition, 642 miles of road were built for 

 the public by the use of 10 per cent of the national forest receipts, as 

 authorized by Congress. 



Under another law, 25 per cent of the national forest receipts for 

 the year, amounting to ?5S6,593.39, were paid over to the various states 

 in which the forests lie for the benefit of county schools and roads. 



Since 1909, when systematic classification of national forest lands was 

 begun more than 10,000,000 acres have been eliminated. Scattered in- 

 terior tracts which it is not practical to eliminate are opened to settle- 

 ment through listing, which allows them to be taken up under the forest 

 homestead law. Anyone may apply to have land within a forest exam- 

 ined to determine whether it is best suited for agriculture, and if found 

 so it is opened to settlement under this law. During the year 2,690 tracts, 

 totaling 282,483 acres, applied for by individuals were opened for entry. 

 By elimination and listing the percentage of unpatented agricultural 

 land within the national forests, never large, has been reduced to a very 

 small amount. 



American Woods in London Market 

 In reviewing the timber situation in London for the year 1915 the 

 Times of January 22, 1915, gave the following summary : 



Pencil cedar. — Only 152 logs were imported, while 1,609 logs went Into 

 consumption. Business in slats for pencil makers has been steady at satis- 

 factory prices. 



American black walnut. — Imports amounted to 565 logs and 406 logs 

 have been delivered. The tone of the market has been consistently dis- 

 couraging throughout the year. 



American oak. — Quartered: But little business has been possible, and 

 the cutting off of supplies from European countries, brought about by the 

 war, has so far had no favorable influence upon the American product. 

 Plain : The serious labor disturbances in the building trade interfered 

 with the consumption of planks, and supplies were frequently in excess 

 of the demand ; during the last few months some improvement has oc- 

 curred, largely owing to war requirements. Until the outbreak of hostili- 

 ties, business in graded lumber was fairly steady, but sales have been 

 diflBcult to effect d/uring the last five months. Logs : There Is practically 

 no Inquiry. 



Yellow poplar. — Lumber: The year's trading must be written down as 

 disappointing. Logs ; There has been very little demand. 



Red gum. — Lumber : The market never thoroughly recovered from the 

 severe slump which was reported at the end of last year. 



American ash. — Logs: Fair inquiry for new season's timber, but the 

 high freight rates prevailing make business difficult. Lumber : A good 

 steady trade throughout the year in prime tough planks, and government 

 requirements during the last four months have given a fresh impetus to 

 sales. Prospects are encouraging. 



Hlckory.^ — Logs ; There has been but little Inquiry. 

 American tupelo. — Consumption has been quite moderate. 



Backsets for Forestry 



Bills have been intrixluctxl in the Indiana legislature to abolish the 

 state board of forestrj- and the position of state forester. One bill just 

 introf^uced wwuld place this work in the hands of Purdue University, a 

 state Institution. Another bill would consolidate the forestry board, 

 state geologist, state statistician, state entomologist, oil and gas inspectors 

 and state veterinarian under one commission. At present the Indiana 

 Hardwood Lumbermen's Association and the Retail Lumbermen's Asso- 

 ciation of Indiana name one member each of the forestry board and they 

 are opposed to abolishing the board. 



The legislature of West Virginia has failed to pass the forestry bill that 

 was before it. It is said the bill was opposed because too narrow. It 

 would have made the forestry measure an adjunct to tbe office of the 

 game warden, thus "putting the cart before the horse." Forests are not 

 maintained for the sake of game. 



More Money Wanted for Reserves 



Senator Gallinser of New Hampshire, a moraljcr of the National Forest 

 Reservation Commission, it is understood, will introduce an amendment to 

 the agricultural appropriation bill to provide that .$3,000,000, not hereto- 

 fore used under the Weeks' forestry law, shall be made available for the 

 purchase of land in the Southern Appalachians and White Mountains. 



January Building Permits 

 A mitigation of the unfavorable building statement for January may 

 properly be made. For two reasons the present actual building conditions 

 are less unsatisfactory than the statistics would indicate. In the first 

 place many architects are engaged on plans for spring work, permits lor 

 which have not yet been sought. Office work is therefore more active 

 than that of the permits issued. In the second place current construction 

 Includes much work, the permits for which were secured several months 

 ago, the actual work at that time having been deterred on account of an 

 unfavorable money market. 



Official reports of the building permits issued during the month of 



January in 75 cities, received by the .\merican Contractor, Chicago, show 

 a total of $34,712,718, compared with .'§46.447,497 for January, 1914, a 



decrease of 25 per cent. Of the cities 20 show gains and 55 losses. New 



York City makes the splendid gain of 35 per cent, only two of its five 



boroughs showing losses. At Chicago the comparative loss is only 9 per 



cent, .\mong the winners in the comparison, together with percentages 

 of gains, are the following : Albany, 128 : Montciair, 312 ; Paterson, 147 : 

 Schenectady, 2,192 ; Spokane, 171 ; Springfield, 111., 136 ; Syracuse, 105 ; 

 Toledo, 129 ; Troy, 416 ; Utica, 152. Details are as follows : 



January, January, Per Cent 



City ini.">. 1914. Gain Loss 



Akron $ 52.r.35 $ ISS.l.iO .. 62 



Albany 340.2'JO 14!i.oc,.t 12S 



Atlanta 273,790 322.96.i ... U 



Baltimore 480,095 1.7S)I!.3.t1 ... 73 



Birmingham 72,178 2.i".23(l ... 71 



Bridgeport 98.110 127.295 ... 23 



Buttalo ■ 381,000 536,000 ... 29 



Cedar Rapids 168,000 384.650 ... 56 



Chattanooga 29,142 55,170 ... 47 



Chicago 4.327,900 4.784,300 ... 9 



Cincinnati 451,3.50 580.910 ... 22 



Cleveland 1,116.080 1,298.020 ... 14 



Columbus 85.100 178.740 ... 52 



Dallas 140.005 727,635 ... 81 



Dayton 30,000 84.785 ... 65 



Denver 177,635 229.320 ... 22 



Detroit 1,217,290 2,629.260 ... 54 



Duluth 90,155 237.010 ... 62 



East Orange 87,121 84.358 3 



EvansviUe 69.050 70,236 ... 2 



Ft Wayne 35,100 35,350 



Grand Rapids 80,072 341,240 ... 76 



Harrisburg 7.575 28.750 ... 74 



-Hartford 139.265 191,750 ... 27 



Indianapolis 266.907 481.850 ... 45 



Kansas City 387.880 884,265 ... 56 



Lincoln 70,135 76,150 ... 8 



Los Angeles 800.360 1,182.240 ... 27 



Louisville 277,420 217,250 28 



Manchester 18,317 78.445 ... 77 



Memphis 101.953 361,390 ... 72 



Milwaukee 203.040 471,858 ... 57 



Minneapolis 485.100 504,.505 ... 4 



Montciair 80.861 19.612 312 



Nashville 56,037 102.269 ... 45 



Newark 339.803 350.806 ... 3 



New Haven 132,155 264,320 ... .50 



New Orleans 146.909 204,051 ... 28 



N. Y. City- 

 Manhattan 8.164.716 4.419,142 85 



Bronx 2,108,608 1,410,252 49 



Brooklyn 1,373.095 2.265.125 ... 39 



Queens 7.S0.321 1.151.709 ... 36 



Richmond 149,356 80.514 85 



Total $12,532.1.50 $9,326,742 35 



Oakland $ 291.859 $ 257.786 13 



Oklahoma 16.553 10.555 57 



Omaha 165,075 180.440 ... 8 



Paterson 73,895 29,941 147 



Peoria ■. .. 17.600 1S2.200 ... 90 



Philadelphia 910,805 1.247.985 ... 27 



Pittsburgh 465.461 1.171,037 ... 52 



Portland 372,690 444.675 ... 16 



Richmond 150,840 233,534 ... 31 



Rochester 240.717 354,320 ... 30 



Salt Lake City 85.6.50 121,850 ... 30 



San Antonio 91.330 317.863 ... 71 



San Francisco 1,006.043 7,349,810 ... 86 



St. Joseph 12.380 48,500 ... 74 



St. Louis 1,094.073 854,122 28 



St. Paul 699,2,58 514.312 36 



Schenectady 827.650 36,105 2192 



Scranton 38.170 101,925 ... 62 



Seattle 408.585 1,206.580 ... 66 



Shreveport 46.326 184,500 ... 21 



Sioux City 24.9.50 75,125 ... 67 



Spokane 92,185 34,045 171 



Springfield, 111 69.400 29,410 136 



Syracu.se 219,715 107,365 105 



Tacoma 50,598 109,103 ... 45 



Toledo 537,297 284,894 129 



Topeka 18,270 63,010 ... 71 



Troy 100.014 19.345 416 



L'tlca. N. T 109.905 43.000 152 



Washington 470.328 461.760 2 



Wilkes-Barre 34.634 103.109 ... 66 



Worcester 77,276 530,184 ... 85 



Total $34,712,718 .«46,447,407 ... 25 



Land Tax Bill in Arkansas 

 The Arkansas legislature passed the resolution introduced by Represen- 

 tative Carruth of Bradley county to submit to the people at the general 

 election in September, 1910, a proposed amendment to the constitution 

 providing for a graduated land and income tax. It provides for a gradu- 

 ated tax on .111 unimproved lands held by any person, firm or corporation 

 in excess of 320 acres. The amendment is aimed at large corporations 

 holding lands which, according to Mr. Carruth, will not sell the lands at 

 reasonable prices. The principle of the amendment, relating to the levying 

 of a state Income tax, is identical with that of the federal income tax 

 law. The burden, Mr. Carnith explained, would fall on the persons who 

 are most able to pay the tax. 



The Lumber Industry in Montana 

 Outside of smelting, the sawmill and logging industry is first in 

 importance of the manufacturing industries of Montana, according to 

 the report recently made by the commissioner of labor and industries 

 of that state to the governor, covering the years 19131914. In 1909, 

 according to the thirteenth census, it gave employment to an average 

 of 3,106 wage earners, and Its products amounted to $6,334,000. In 

 November, 1909, the month of greatest activity, 3.773 wage earners were 

 employed. It will be seen from the table given In this report, compiled 



