16 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



nsking tiMin doctrinal quMtiona hard enough to have ttumpo)! tlio 

 Ai>o!itl« Paul. When the guildocs children of tho wildcmoaa ropliod 

 that they niu>t two thini;it boforo Uicy could uudcriitand, thoy wero 

 looked upon by Iho miMioimry lui woefully linking iji fiiitli, which 

 ho said is "tho evidenro of thingM not fiofn. " The Indinnii xliouk 

 their heads, snyini; they hiid to fit;ht »o iimny rasenlly wliito men 

 tliat they had no time to linten to |>reuclierh. 



John Wesley had trouble with his own people in Geor(;in. He wont 

 about "with n chip on his shoulder," looking for a light. Tho 

 G«orginns gave him an much n.s ho wunteil. lie was indicted eight 

 timcK. His friends advised him in leave the country, and lie was 

 not hard to pursuadc that Kngliind needed him. Ho departed in the 

 same frame of miml as Tinion, who "loft Athens, cursing as he 

 went." Wesley diil not grow profane, but he declared that he was 

 "shaking the dust from his feet," and that ho had not heard of a 

 single Indian on the continent of America that wanted to bo 

 preache<l to. 



The oak is ns vigorous now as when it sheltered the missionary a 

 few minutes after he sot foot in America. The live oak is of slow 

 rrrowtli and it lives to old age, but the oldest specimens arc usually 

 victim.s of decay which often docs not appear externally, though 

 the trunk is badly pitted beneath the bark. In the days of wooden 

 ships, when the cutting of live oak for knees was a great industry, 

 there were men who spc<'ializcd in detecting decay in live oak timber. 

 In .John James Audubon's travels in Florida three-quarters of a cen- 

 tury ago, he gave an interesting account of how this was done. Tho 

 men were called "live oakers." 



The long strands of Spanish moss hanging from the branches of 

 Wesley's oak are typical of the whole Gulf region and tho South 

 Atlantic coast. Though commonly called moss, it is not even in tho 

 moss family, but is a pineapple (Dcndropogon usenoides) with leaves, 

 tlowers and fruit. The leaves are sometimes one hundred times as 

 long as broad, and look like slender blades of grass. It is an air 

 plant, or at least obtains very little nourishment from the branch on 

 which it hangs. The black ' ' horsehair ' ' mattresses in many upholstery 

 shops are nearly all made of the black fiber of this moss after the 

 ^■■'•rk :i!i*! Iphvpo h:ivo boon romnve'i. 



The Industrial Commission 



AiiOllV OF MEN met in Chicago, July 21, lor a scvenil .I.hvs' 

 session to investigate problems somewhat out of tlie ordinary. 

 The investigators constitute the United States commission whii'h is 

 making a study of the relation of labor and industry. The subject 

 is much wider than mere wages, or hours, or housing conditions, or 

 prices. It combines these, but not in a statistical way. Its purpose 

 is to reach the fundamental causes of present industrial unrest and 

 hesitation, and to discover remedies, if possible, for real evils, and 

 to dissipate such as may be found imaginary. 



Abstract dogmas and theories will not have much weight in the in- 

 quiry. Live topics, like conciliation and arbitration, old age pen- 

 sions, insurance, housing, wages and cost of living, receive most 

 attention; but numerous other subjects, more or less intimately asso- 

 ciated with present day industrial conditions, are under investigation. 

 Labor unions, open shops, cost of material, boycotts, combinations, 

 and whatever helps or hurts industry, is considered a legitimate sub- 

 ject for inquiry. 



The field is wide. If its boundaries are somewhat vague and its 

 extent not clearly defined, even these facts may be tunied to advan 

 tage, because the scope of the work will not be cramped. Information 

 has been sought from witnesses in various walks of life; merchants, 

 manufacturers, social settlement workers, bankers, labor leaders, 

 miners, sailors, Jiospital superintendents, and others who have first 

 hand knowledge of present day conditions. 



Those in charge of the investigation are men of wide business ex- 

 perience and technical training. They have planned their work along 

 basic lines and on fundamental principles, extending from public 

 agencies, state and national, which undertake to regulate business, 

 down to the smallest group of laborers, united for purposes of better- 

 ing their condition. 



Some Forest Problems 



AWUUK OF VEKV UKSPKCTAHI.K ^V/.V. llll^ I..-, ii un.i.rtaken 

 jointly by tho Department of Agriculturi' mid the l)e)iartnirnt 

 of (\>mineri-e, according to announcement from Wanhington. An in 

 vustigation is to Ik) made for tlio purpnw of deviKing meann, if pOH- 

 sible, of using tho forest rexourcoa of tliiH country with leim wunto 

 than heretofore. Tho stAtcment of pur|>uH4' ih ennily made; but let 

 no one suppose that tho exiviition of such a purpose will be enhy. 



Those who undertake to work it out will have one important factor 

 in their favor, namely, they will have tho good will ot lumber manu- 

 facturers from tho start. Tho lumbermen and users of wood have 

 been hammering at tluit proposition for years. They have accom 

 plishcd much, but the gooil sought is yet a long way off, and the 

 road by which it may bo reached is not very plain. It is on encour- 

 aging feature of the situation that two strong departments of the 

 government are about to unite their forces to Inke u]i Uie work in 

 earnest. 



Lumbermen who have been blazing trails in the direction of greater 

 economy and efficiency in forest use ami protection, have frequently 

 pointed out some of the steps which they lielieve must be successfully 

 taken before tho desired results can be reiiclieil. 



There must be wiser systems of fore.'.t taxation than some now in 

 existence. Sonio kind of arrangement must be provided whereby the 

 owner of young timber, like the owner of young corn, can make more 

 money by protecting and keeping his crop until marketable than In 

 abandoning it. 



More efficient fire protection must be had. Smoke and charcoal pay 

 no returns to the owner of land. Timber cannot be used after it is 

 burned up. 



Nature must bo assisted in providing second growth of the right 

 kind, after the first has been cut or burned. Blackberry briers, bird 

 cherry, huckleberry bushes, and bracken fern are poor forest re 

 sources, yet they occupy land where trees might be growing. 



More use must be found for low-grade lumber. There lies the chief 

 waste. Abstract preaching is not going to induce anybody to buy 

 that class of material. There must be a profit in it, or no sane man 

 will touch it. 



Sermons on the sin of waste will not diminish waste one cubic inch; 

 but advice as to ways of making money out waste will be eagerly 

 listened to by all dealers in forest products. 



Home markets for lumber must be improved and increased. Good 

 demand is the most powerful promoter of saving. Tho manufacturer 

 will save every scrap that anybody will buy. 



The foreign market should be extended. It will take fighting to 

 do it, but it is worth the fight. If American lumber were pushed in 

 foreign lands with the same spirit that is shown by the Japanese in 

 pushing their oak, the over-sea market could be easily doubled. 



The foregoing are some of tho problems to which the two depart- 

 ments of the government will doubtless give attention ; but they are 

 by no means all the problems which must be worked out before 

 American forests and tho wooil-usint' industries are placed where 

 they belong'. 



A Debatable Question 



VILLAGE AND COUNTRY DEBATING .SOCIETIES have always 

 found a suitable subject for discussion in the question: "Which 

 is the greater incentive to action, expectation of reward or fear of 

 punishment"? Budding oratory has many times bloomed, and has 

 sometimes gone to seed, advocating one side or the other of that 

 proposition ; yet, to this day, the correct answer has not been found, 

 and the debate goes on. 



The business interests of the country are now debating that propo- 

 sition in all seriousness. The question has been slightly remodeled, 

 however, to read, "Which is stronger, hope or fearf" Business 

 is hesitating. It is uncertain whether to push ahead in quest of 

 gain or to hold back through fear of what may happen. There is 

 no question that every business man wants to go ahead; but "fear 

 of punishment" is stronger than "expectation of reward." That 

 is why business is dull. 



