HARDWOOD RECORD 



33 



12 ceuts, making a straight reduction of 6 cents to Louisville and 6 

 cents to Cincinnati, or $2.70 per thousand feet of oak lumber, as 

 against prevailing rail rates. With proportionate cuts in charges to 

 other points South and West, the vast importance of this under- 

 taking can readily be appreciated. The same rates apply on other 

 articles taking the same classifications, such as dressed lumber, 

 ceiling, flooring, base bokrds, moulding, wainscoting, and casing, the 

 rates being based on minimum barge-loads of 200,000 feet. 



The taritr itself is known as I. C. C. No. 1, issued April 7, 19U, 

 effective May 14, 1914, from Cincinnati to Louisville, Ky., to points 

 on the Tennessee river, and on lumber from Decatur, Ala., to Cin- 

 cinnati, O., and Louisville, Ky. The tariff is governed except as 

 otherwise stated in the tariff itself. No. 40 I. C. C. No. 19, issued 

 March 7, 1914, effective April 20, 1914, by W. R. Powe, agent, su])- 

 plements thereto and re-issues thereof. 



W. P. Tingley, traffic manager of the Decatur Navigation Com- 

 pany is responsible for the promulgation of these tariffs. The other 

 officers of the company are H. H. Hitt, president, and William R. 

 Burch, vice-president. 



As stated, the chief difficulty in developing this plan has been 

 the attitude on the part of those railroads in a position to furnish 

 freight for water shipments via the Tennessee river. The ohl barge 

 line has enjoyed a practical monopoly because of its connecting 

 tariffs accepted by the railroads, and as a result of this monopoly 

 its service has been poor and its schedule is not designed to meet the 

 best interests of the shippers at the various river points. As a con- 

 sequence there has been a very material public demand for the 

 organization of the Decatur Navigation Company on a comprehensive 

 plan, and this company is already assured of enough freight to take 

 care of any empty barges returning from receiving points to which 



lumber cargoes have been shipped. It has heretofore been taking 

 freights in a local way, and as a matter of fact, the company has 

 even under present unfavorable conditions been a paying proposition. 



There is every reason to believe that if the Interstate Commerce 

 Commission grants the company's petition for joint rates with the 

 railroads, it will be enabled to take over a considerable portion of the 

 business now enjoyed under monopoly by the competing company. 

 This will unquestionably result in much better service and the ulti- 

 mate establishment of sufficient wharves along the river to make pos- 

 sible a strict adherence to comprehensive schedule embracing various 

 river points. This ultimate arrangement of through tariffs will event- 

 ually effect a saving to receivers of freight in Decatur and other 

 Tennessee river points from points on the Ohio river, of from 25 to 40 

 per cent. Hence, it is entirely reasonable to suppose that full sup- 

 I)ort will be given the new line. The competing company it is under- 

 stood does not operate on a comprohensive schedule e.\cept upon purely 

 local shipments. 



The towns which will be affected by the rearrangement of river 

 shipments will be as follows: 



Altona, Ky., GllbertsvlIIe, Ky., Birmingham, Ky., Fenton, Ky., Redden, 

 Ky.. Blood. Ky., Hamlin, Ky., Knight, Ky., Hymon, Ky., JohnsonvUlc, 

 Ti'un., Brecheen, Tenn., Brevard, Tenn., Parker, Tcnn., Brodles, Tenu., 

 Pi'rryvllle, Tenn., Sandy, Tenn., Warfleld, Tenn., Yarbors, Tenn., Glen- 

 klrk, Tcnn., Ft. Pleasant, Tcnn., Gravers, Tcnn., CoCfee Landing, Tenn., 

 Crump, Tenn., Hamburg, Tenn., Pickwick, Tenn., lUverton, .\la.. I'lorence, 

 .\la., Decatur, .\la., Guntersvillc. .Via., Wllkesburg, Tenn., Port Honry, 

 Tenn., Moltke, Tcnn., Baync, Tenn., Mobley, Tenn., Danville. Tenn., 

 Phlfcr, Tenn., Claud, Tenn,, Clydeton, Tenn., Dixie, Tenn., Cuba Landing, 

 Tenn., Daniels Landing, Tenn., Densons Landing, Tenn., Mousetail. Tcnn., 

 Webb. Tcnn., Cedar Creek Landing, Tenn., Peters Landing, Tenn.. Clifton, 

 Tenn., Swallow, Tenn., Saltlllo, Tenn., Cerrogordo, Tenn., Savannah, 

 Tenn.. Pittsburg Landing, Tenn., Pyburns, Tenn., Walnut Grove, Tenn., 

 Smlthonla, Ala., Lambs Ferry, Ala., Hobbs Island, Ala., Bridgeport, Ala. 



TO^^JMiWiC maiMaMMTOiaitMiWi^^ 





The Largest Timber Seller 



^ 



A new agent in the timber business has appeared in recent years. 

 It is the United States Government. It is the largest owner of 

 standing timber, and from appearances it will soon become the 

 largest seller. This does not mean that the government owns more 

 timber than all other parties combined, or that it will ever sell 

 more than the combined sales of others; but no private person or 

 corporation owns more, and before many years none will sell more. 



The government is a believer in ailvertisiug. It proceeds on the 

 theory that if a thing is for sale, the fact ought to be made 

 known to prospective buyers. Timber in the national forests is 

 not to be locked up and kept like a miser's hoard, but is to be 

 marketed whenever it can be done to advantage. The method 

 under which this is done is calculated to disturb as little as pos- 

 sible the timber market. Uncle Sam is not giving his trees away. 

 He acts just as a business man would, and secures as good a price 

 as possible. When a sale is to be made, the lowest price that will 

 be considered is advertised. This is to save prospective purchasers 

 the trouble of filing bids so low that there is no chance of their 

 acceptance. Above that minimum price, competitors are free to 

 bid as high as they please. 



The Forest Service has mailed to practically all the sawmill 

 owners in the United States a brief statement of the terms of 

 sale, and the advantages in buying timber from the government. 

 The statement is well worth studying, and is given below: 



•■The national forests contain nearly 590 billion feet of merchantable 

 stumpage. The mature timber, which constitutes a large part of the 

 total stand, is for sale. The more accessible bodies may be purchased 

 in blocks of practicjilly any desired size up to 3 00 million feet. Less 

 accessible stumpage which requires a large investment for the construction 

 of transportation facilities may be purchased in larger quantities of 

 sufflcient size to justify the investment In improvements. Applications up 

 to one billion feet will he approved it the investment required necessitates 

 the purchase of a body of that size under one contract. 



"The procedure for purchasing national forest timber is extremely 



simple, .\pplicatlons specifying the amount, species, and general location 

 desired may be sent to the offices of the Forest Service at Washington, 

 1). C. ; Chicago, HI.; Missoula, Mont.; Denver, Colo.; .\lbuquerQuc, N. 

 .Mex. ; Ogden, Utah ; San Francisco, Cal., and Portland, Ore. .\dvertlsc- 

 ment at a fixed minimum price is required by law for at least thirty 

 days. The timber is then awarded to the highest bidder and the sale 

 completed by execution of the contract stating the amount and location 

 of the stumpage, the stumpage rates, and the conditions under which the 

 timber shall be removed. 



"The contract requirements have been prepared by practical lumber- 

 men and perfected by the experience gained in the administration of sev- 

 eral thousand sales. They are adapted to the local conditions as to 

 topography, size of the timber, and logging methods. That they are 

 eminently practical is demonstrated by the fact that some 375 million 

 feet are cut each year under these requirements by lumbermen all over 

 the West. 



"Sufflcient time is permitted for the removal of the amount purchased 

 under local conditions of logging and manufacture. The time is gauged, 

 however, to require continuous operation at a reasonable rate and does 

 not permit the holding of stumpage for speculative increases in value. 

 The timber to be cut is designated by the forest officers. Either clean 

 cutting, or partial cutting, taking from 70 to 80 per cent of the stump- 

 age, is employed, depending upon the character of the timber and the 

 best methods of securing new forest growth. Simple precautions are 

 required to protect the uncut timber and young growth, and the disposal 

 of slash by burning, either with or without piling, is necessary. 



"These requirements may increase the cost of logging from 50 to 75 

 cents a thousand feet over the usual cost on private holdings. The dif- 

 ference Is always considered in appraising the value of the stumpage. 

 Furthermore, an operator who buys National Forest timber has to make 

 practically no investment at the outset for his stumpage, has no carry- 

 ing charges for interest or taxes, and incurs practically no fire risk. He 

 is required simply to pay tor the timber as it is removed in advance 

 deposits, which represent usually but the value of a month and a half's 

 cut. 



"These are obvious advantages, particularly when extended over an 

 operation of ten or fifteen years. As private stumpage is cut out in 

 many of the old lumbering centers, operators will find, in the timber on 

 the national forests, new opportunities for manufacture under advantage- 

 ous conditions." 



