HAKUWOOU KKCOKU 



Biderable purcbuitint; of W|ui|iim-iit but will in the iit-xt fpw monthx 

 begin tho erection of iniprovrnientu nnd now itnirtiinw. 



The relative iKMitioii of iliiferent )i|H.<cieti of hnrilwuoilii reniaiiit 

 about tlii> •inine with low i;mili*M tCtt'K '"'" ''''^ roiihtnirtioti the 

 !itroni;t>^t item. Onk still maiiitiiins » fairlr healthy (-oiiilitiun, while 

 northern womU, maple and birch, aro in a fairly Mitiitfnrtory Hhape. It 

 is ro|iorto<l that a little stimulus has lMH>n felt in the demnml for red 

 gum, whirh. of rourse, is Kf'^'Oi'iK- 



Reviewing; the whole situntiou as a unit, conditions inilicate the 

 desirability of conservative efforts duriu); tlic next three or four 

 months nith the entire likelihood of there beini; a nutii'eiible spurt in 

 demand in nil kimls of eoinuiodilies by t'lill. 



The Car Outlook 



SIMULTANKOl'SI.Y WITH TlIK RKPOKT of tremendous crops 

 which are to be harvested within the next few weeks eomcs a re- 

 port of a couilitiou of freight cars which iudicatcs that contrary to 

 the usual custom the general shipping business will not be so soriously 

 affivtod tliis year as might lie expceteil. Of course, such tremendous 

 crops as will be moved within the next couple of months are bound to 

 have an effect but the exceedingly large surplus of cars and insig- 

 nificant shortage at this. time would indicate that the very condition 

 of onlinary shipments will act favorably on shipments of grain. 



Specifically the report of the American Railway Association, dated 

 .lune 8, shows the total surplus of cars on June 1 amounting to 242,- 

 572 cars as compared with 239,406 cars on May 15. On May 15, 191:!, 

 the surplus was 60,291 cars and at the same periods in respectively 

 preceding years was 89,208 cars, 169,006 cars and 129,508 cars. The 

 total shortage was practically insignificant, there being on June 1 but 

 770 cars. On May 15 the shortage was 764 cars. On May .'U a year 

 ago the shortage was 9,383 cars. Thus the indications are that this 

 grain situation will be expeditiously handled and that no great effect 

 can l)e felt by other shippers on account of this vast harvest. 



The Cover Picture 



THE COVER PICTURK which illustrates this number of H.vudwood 

 Record represents a scene among the mountains of Graham 

 county, North Carolina. It is on Bryson Branch, near Nantahala, 

 in the extreme western part of the state. A mountaineer 's clearing 

 appears in the foreground, and its lack of fences and general appear- 

 ance of abandonment show th.it the man who made the clearing has 

 departed and left the land tenantless. That happens often among 

 the mountains of that region. A few acres are clea.-ed by some 

 wanderer who imagines that it is a good place to anchor. He docs so, 

 but two or three crops on the few acres which he clears satisfies him 

 and he moves on with his family to some other site that strikes his 

 fancy and he repeats the operation there. The fences on the aban- 

 doned land soon disappear and the place attracts a few stray cattle 

 on account of the grass, until the surrounding forests finally close 

 in upon the open space, and the land relapses into woods. 



That is the short and uneventful historj- of hundreds of such 

 clearings among the southern mountains. Each is small, but in the 

 aggregate they cover a rather large area. All clearings are not aban- 

 doned. Xow and then a settler sticks to his little fields and makes 

 a iiemianent home for himself and family. Such men are an asset 

 of value to the region; but the drifting class is not. Those who are 

 always on the go cannot add much wealth to the country. 



The land shown in the picture lies in a district which has been 

 purchased by the government to be placed under management as a 

 national forest. It is a mountainous region, and though much of the 

 land is fertile, it is too steep for successful agriculture. If cleared 

 and plowed, the soil will wash away. For that reason, it is for the 

 country's best interest that the tree growth be maintained. The lanil 

 produces high-class timber, and is worth more for that than for 

 farming. Its forest cover likewise affords protection against floods. 

 The sources of many streams rise among those mountains, and an 

 even flow of water is assured. Springs will not run dry in periods 

 of drought, nor will sudden torrents rush down barren slopes to over- 

 flow the banks of rivers in the lower country. 



It is a hardwood region, bearing maple, chestnut, ash, yellow poplar. 



onk, bitch, Ixtvli, and niany more. The nhundnnt ritinfall nod the 

 long groninit oeaiionH u>sure rapid increaw? in Bine of the timbar and 

 gunranteo adequate and sustained returns for the hind owners. 



The sh<Hl in one corner of the picture is neither artistic nor antique; 

 yet it has certain |>oint8 of interest. It is of a type which in 

 becoming uncommon. The material of which it is built was worked 

 out by hanil. The logs of the walls were cut near at hand and were 

 put iu place with only the shaping given by the frontiersman's axe. 

 The roof is of split clapboards, probably of onk, though they may be 

 of chestnut. Poubtless the man who split them watched the "signs 

 of the moon" nnd made the boards when the "sign" was right. 

 They show little warping, and many a mountaineer will point I.. 

 them as irrefutable proof that the moon exercises an influence ovit 

 split clapboards. The mountains are full of such superstitions. 



Buildings of that kind arc out of style now, yet they were the 

 prevailing type in the time of the first settlers. They serve as mile 

 posts to tell how f:ir «c have cuinc ?<iMi-c "tlie good nld ilays'' iif 

 our grandfathers. 



Tlie Tapline Decision 



THE SrPRKMK C()1;RT of the United States lia^ at last reached 

 the tapline case and has handed down a decision which setth-s 

 some of the disputed points and seems to clear the situation. Tin- 

 taplines are declared to be common carriers, and as such aro entitlcil 

 to share rates with trunk lines which they feed. The former ruling bv 

 the Interstate Commerce Commission was in effect reversed, though 

 the court holds that the commission has full power to prevent prefer- 

 ences and discriminations in the fixing of allowances and the divisiun 

 of rates. 



This ruling gives the commission authority — or rather leaves with 

 it the authority which it was already exercising — to fix allowances 

 based upon the character of the service rendered. The commission 

 has a right to prevent the milling-in-transit privilege, and may require 

 a charge by a tapline for hauling logs from the forest to the mill 

 in addition to the full lumber rate from mill to market. 



The court ruled that Congress has not made it illegal for roads 

 owned by persons or companies that likewise own the mills and the 

 timber which are principally served by the roads, to operate in inter- 

 state commerce. It was pointed out in this connection that even the 

 commodities clause, under which an unsuccessful attempt was made 

 several years ago to divorce the eastern railroads and the coal business, 

 expressly exempted from its operation the lumber industry. 



As is well known, most of the tapline or feeder roads which have 

 figured in the controversy are located in the lower Mississippi valley. 



Decision Important for Commerce Cjommission 



THE .Sl'I'UEME COURT of the United States, on June -S, lianded 

 down, among other decisions, a decision giving the Interstate Com- 

 merce Commission supreme authority to strike down the intrastate 

 rates set by state railway commissions unduly discriminating against 

 interstate commerce. Specifically the decision was based on the 

 Shreveport rate case in upholding the power of the Interstate Com- 

 merce Commission to strike down state rates that discriminate, as 

 mentioned above. In substance the decision was that the Minnesota 

 and other notable state rate cases, which were lost by the railroads, 

 might have been decided otherwise had the roads taken their cases to 

 the Interstate Commerce Commission instead of state courts. 



Specifically the Shreveport rate ca.sc had to do with complaints 

 of merchants of Shreveport, La., that the Railway Commission of 

 Texas had practically closed to them the Texas markets by com- 

 pelling railroads operating within the state of Texas to reduce intra- 

 state rates to points below what the Interstate Commerce Com- 

 mission had specified the railroads running from Shreveport to Texas 

 cities. The court first decided that Congress had power to control 

 interstate rates over an interstate carrier and followed this up with 

 the opinion that Congress had conferred this power upon the Inter- 

 state Commerce Commission as its agent. This opinion further stated 

 that in placing intrastate and interstate rates on an equitable footing 

 the commerce commission was not bound to reduce the interstate rates 

 below what would be considered by the commission as a proper stand- 

 ard for the carrier and public. 



