<m^^^ 



^ World Markets for American Lumber J^ 



THIRD ABTICLE 

 Editor's Not« 



11' >"iitli Anu'rUn Ih om- of tin- HiIiIh Id wlilcli IiiiiiIht cxporloni In the I"iiIIimI SlntM on- 



slvlDB lit; !■ ImliiUia live .ininlrl. ». I'c.lumhln. lUtindor. I'pru. Hollvlu. nml flille. with nil imcn- 



Katr iirtM < >!i.i( of tlio riilliHl titiiiiK, liiii wlili iIi'vvIuiiiik ill viTV bnrkwiird In nioNt u( tli>' r>'Kl<>n, 



and n |).i|"; . ii to tlinl of rouniiylruuln iinil Nrw York. TIiIk nrtlcio doiiU witii tin- oiiiiortiiiiltloii nnd 



dniwbiick.t nlij.li vUll 1. mrt by cxporliTK of IuuiIkt mid woorl ■■niiimodlllcH to thoBe coiiutrlcn, and lucludcH Htii 



tutl™ whl'!!i luny uld tin- proiipectlvo i-xporter In ptaniilni; Ills builncn* cnuipiilisn. 



South Amkuica's West Coast railroads have boon built, but many more ore nooiled. TliiH is imr 



llic long, narrow strip of country on tlio I'lieific const of South ticularly true in tlio countries north of Chile. Thoy lie partly cast 



iMcricn is not nt this time of groflt importance in the foreign lumber and partly west of the mountains, while Chile lies wholly west. They 



iJe of the I'nitod States, yet it buys considerable quantities of cer- are trying to connect their dry coast districts with the rainy and 



I in kinds of forest products. It is one of the fields whose pos- fertile provinces which lie cast of the ranges. There can lie no groat 



- I'llities are nttractive, nnd there is promise of development. Its development until that is accomplished. 



. -uliar physical features nnd its geographical situation place it in a This is the general situation which the exporter of lumber must 



.■■s by itself, and call for special consideration. " consider when he enters th.it market. Some of the conditions arc 



lyumber shipped to the west const of South America from the United unfavorable and discouraging; but others are full of promise, and 



.-^•.;ite8 will follow two general routes, depending upon the region from on the whole it is a market well worth striving for. There is demand 



which it is shipped. Supplies originating in California, Oregon and for forest products now, nnd the pofsibilitios for the future are great. 



Washington will go south on the Pacific ocean from the point of This can be brought out in detail by a separate inquiry into the prcg- 



origin to destination. The problem of transportation is as simple ent and prospective demand in each of the five west coast countries, 



as it could be, and, considering the distance which the cargoes must Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile. One of these, Bolivia, 



go, the freight rates are very low. Moat of the lumber which that has no coast line. 



part of South America now receives from the United States is from COLOMBIA 



the P.ncific coa.st. The kinds and quantities will be shown in another The most northly of the west coast states of South America is 



part of this article. The cargoes are carried distances ranging from Colombia. It has a coast on the Caribbean Sea, as well as on the 



I-OO to 9000 miles. There is no occasion to reship cargoes at any Pacific, and imports from the eastern portion of the United States 



uo between the point of origin on the northern coast to destination can enter the country without passing through the Panama Canal. 



. the southern. ^1,^ country's area is 438.43C square miles, or nearly ten times 



The timber which goes to South America from the Pacific coast that of Pennsylvania, nnd its population 5,031,8.'50, which is con- 



of the United States is softwood. Little hardwood or none will ever siderably less than Pennsylvania's. Necessarily, there is much unoc- 



go from the region. Our Pacific coast is an importer and not an cupied land in the country and ample room for development. The 



exporter of hardwoods. But the west coast of the continent south ports are numerous on both coasts, but railroads are few for a coun- 



of us needs, and will continue to need, hardwoods which the United try so large; and heavy freight, like lumber, is moved to the interior 



States is in a position to furnish, either as logs or lumber, or in the with diflSculty. There are cable stations and wireless stations by which 



manufactured form, as furniture, finish, vehicles, and agricultural business may be tran.sacted with foreign countries, but the rates are 



implements. The hardwoods will originate in the eastern half of the high. Maifis frequent between the seaports and the United States. 



United States, and most of the shipments to the west coast of South Commercial travelers going to Colombia on business are taxed ten 



America will pass through the Panama Canal. The dist.-ince will be a doUars a month, but permanent agencies p.-jy only half that rate, 



little shorter than for shipments from the states of Oregon and Wash- Domestic telegraph rates are high. 



ington, but the difference in time wUI be offset by the tolls through The annual imports into Colombia from the United States amounted 



the canal, and also by the rail shipments required to place the hard- to .$5,560,68.5 in 1913, and exports $1,728,540. The country buys more 



woods at the Gulf shipping ports. Cargoes of hardwoods for southern than it sells, in its trade with the United States. More than 2,000,- 



Chile might P.-ISS through the Straits of Magellan, though it is not 000 feet annually of lumber arc now sold to Colombia by firms in the 



probable that many will take that route. United States, the items being as follows: 



The West Coast Yellow pine 1.814.000 foot 



The lumberman who is about to investigate tlie South American HouBl"-' "f 132,000 feet 



west coast as a field for exports should not fail to acquaint himself ^.p",',, T'\\'//^'/^]'.y/^y//^'///////^'///.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. niooo ImI 



with the peculiar character of the countries and its probable effect on Oak 4.ono feet 



demand. The region is a narrow ribbon 50OO miles long, and from a Sitka spruce 2,000 feet 



few miles to 400 or 500 in width. It lies between the Andes Moun- ^^" """^ """'"" ^O'""" ''«•» 



tains and the sea; but in several places commerce is beginning to cross ^J■^^^^ '>00''000 feet 



the ranges to the country eastward on the headwaters of rivers which n^, ■ . , ., „ . ^ \ ^ ■, x. ^ -^ I' ,'.\ 



flow to the Atlantic Oc7an. J''' ;"«'" "^ ''" f";"" /'"" " "°^ '\^'"^' ^"' "* ^"^^'^''^ ""« 



<3 f 41 t 1 . . . , . shipped chiefly from the Gulf ports. Douglas fir and Sitka spruce arc 



borne of that long, narrow region is rainless and is absolutely a , r» j i.- ■ ■ -^ n-i ■ u. ■ i .„..■, v 



,„ „ . - ., ^ \, . , „ , ,„„ . , ■ from Oregon and Washington. The prices obtained for this lumber 



desert; in other parts the rainfaU exceeds 100 nches rear V. In parts , ,. , . ., • . i, j . .• . • tt j 



„* „ n. r^u-i •,. • •:> .,_ o-.,^ , , " deUvered at the point of destination are not given. Hardwoods make 



of southern Chile it is said there are 360 cloudy days a year; in . • \. i. • i. . ^ , . • , 



„„ . • , T, iu 1 11 -1 , „„- " ^ " !* poor showing, the reason being that Colombia does not use much, 



portions of Peru the cloudless days number 365. On the southern wu ■ i • . . « • . 



, f .. 4 .. 1- . ... ., . , and the home supply is at present sufficient. 



part of the coast the climate is one of the worst in the world, the t j.-^- x Vu /■ ■ i i xu , • x /• ., tt ■. ^ 



„..o,„„ . » 1 ■ i-xx. ,_ X. ■ , , ") "c In addition to the foregoing lumber, the shipments from the United 



average temperature being little above freezing and the ar exces- o. . ■. r^ , v • , j !l .^ ,. • 



„ ,.„!.. j„ TT . XI. X X. . X , , States into Colombia include the following: 



sively damp. Under the equator the heat and drraess are supreme. i-ound logs feet n Oft.-. 



The mountains, which run parallel with the coast, are among the sawcd lonsleaf plnV. 'te<^.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. .'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. .'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. no^ooo 



highest in the world, and many of the summits are crowned with R.illway lies 24,780 



perpetual snow. No rivers of large size empty into the Pacific Ocean shlnglus 02,000 



from South America, because the distance from the summit of the Barrcf'shooks KC 



mountains to the sea is too short for large rivers to form. Many Empty harrois ........... ....V. '. ................ '. ....... ....f 210 



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