HARDWOOD RECORD 



35 



giant of cori'uption, the "lumber trust," an 

 industry which includes over 33,000 saw mills, 

 47,000 "tirms or companies, 23,000 wood-working 

 establishments and 23,000 retail dealers. What 

 a pipe dream they must have had to think that 

 a trust in restraint of trade could be created 

 out o£ such a vast ownership. Nothing can he 

 done in our generation to cheapen lumber but 

 confiscatory legislation to an extent that par- 

 tially destroys or paralyzes the industry. On 

 the contrary, high grade lumber must inevitably 

 advance. 



Savixq by Utilizing Waste 



In connection with this question of waste, 

 I wish to call your attention to the saving that 

 should be made by utilizing the waste material 

 that now is being left in the woods and con- 

 sumed by the burner at the mill. Fully 23 per 

 cent of the tree is destroyed by methods in 

 use at the present time that niight be con- 

 verted into ethyl alcohol, at a low cost, and in 

 this item alone there would be a saving of 

 over 40,000,000 bushels of corn that are now 

 being consumed in the making of alcohol. Witti 

 the prevailing prices for corn and pork. I know 

 that this saving would be appreciated by the 

 mass of the people. In the same manner we 

 are annually wasting more than enough wood 

 pulp to supply the country with all the paper 

 required and more turpentine, tar and rosin 

 from the pine of the South and the flr in the 

 West than is needed to supply the country with 

 those commodities. This question of waste soon 

 will have to be considered, for Canada already 

 is realizing that the extensive cutting of pulp- 

 wood is destroying her forests by removing the 

 small growth of timber used for pulpwood, and 

 depriving her of her method of cropping the 

 land over twenty-five or thirty years for sawlog 

 timber, as she has been doing, "and thereby de- 

 riving a revenue from the sale of stumpage. 

 Canada, therefore, probabl.v will prohibit the ex- 

 porting of pulpwood to the United States, and 

 we must either destroy the young growth of our 

 own forests or change our methods of doing 

 business and combine the working up and utiliza- 

 tion of byproducts from the tremendous waste 

 uow going on. 



Lumbermen bave been slow to change their 

 methods from simply sawing wood to the larger 

 plan of combining byproduct plants with that of 

 the sawmill operation. It was but a few years 

 ago that butchers became packers, and packers 

 became manufacturers and utilized all the ma- 

 terial formerly wasted. We can also remember 

 when kerosene oil was the chief product of 

 petroleum, while today it is only one of the 

 many products from the crude material. South- 

 ern lumbermen will have to look back but a few 

 years to remember when cotton seed was a 

 waste product and not even considered a good 

 fertilizer. Today it is one of the valuable 

 food products for man and beast. This combina- 

 tion of sawmill and byproduct plants is as 

 essential today in the South and West as was 

 the salt block in connection with the saw mill 

 in Jlichigan, and it can be made much more 

 profitable if given a part of the thought and 

 attention we now devote to lumber alone, and 

 it will proportionately add to our stumpage 

 and lumber values by converting into a valuable 

 product the portion of the tree that is wasted 

 ill the woods and destroyed at expense in the 

 saw mill. 



This thoughtless waste of 25 per cent or more 

 of the tree has existed in the past because 

 there was plenty of low priced timber to draw 

 from in the ne^v sections of the country ; but 

 we have made the circle from Xew England to 

 New York state, then to Michigan, Wisconsin 

 and Minnesota, the southern states and then 

 over the mountains to the I'acific slope, where 

 our timber domain ends. In order to get the 

 full value from what is left, we must study 

 the most practical methods of utilization and 

 apply them to the purpose while the opportunity 

 exists to add a profit to our remaining forest 

 resources equal to. if not greater, than that ob- 

 tained in the past from lumber itself. 



Beaisixg op Taxation- ox the Question 



Taxation as now practiced has a pertinent 

 hearing on the future stumpage values. As 

 taxes are now assessed against timber lands they 

 become a part of the stumpage cost and are so 

 treated by the owner and charged with com- 

 pound, interest annually added. Therefore, if 

 f-ce holds a tract of timber twenty years, he 

 adds twenty years' taxes and nineteen years' 

 compound interest to the stumpage cost, which 

 the consumer must pay when he buys the lum- 

 ber : for the consumer eventually pays the bill, 

 whether it is a free trade product or a high 

 tariff importation. On the other hand, if the 

 taxes now assessed on the timber bind are trans- 

 fcri-ed to the manufactured proiluct and col- 

 lected .innually from the lumber sawed and 

 shipped, it would also be absorbed by the con- 

 sumer, but. as a rule, lumber is converted into 

 buildings or other permanent improvements that 

 produce an income, and create an interest bear- 

 ing investment which would take care of the 

 interest, instead of compounding the taxes and 

 Interest as now practiced, and compelling the 



purchaser to pay the additional cost of stump- 

 age that follows. The question becomes more 

 serious when we consider that during the last 

 five years taxation on timber lands in the south- 

 ern and western states has been increased from 

 100 to 300 per cent. 



Destruction by Fire 



One of the most vital questions relating to 

 the future value and conservation of timber is 

 how to overcome the present reckless destruc- 

 tion of timber and other combustible property 

 by fire that now prevails throughout the coun- 

 try. Insurance statistics show that during the 

 last live years $1,250,000,000 worth of property 

 was lost by Ure, independent of losses sustained 

 through the burning of timber. The loss to 

 timber lands can not be estimated, but if exact 

 Ilgures could be shown they would l)e startling. 

 Not that the loss of the oldgrowth timber is so 

 great, but the destruction of the small trees left, 

 and the burning of the new growth makes refor- 

 estatlou impossible, for it destroys what it takes 

 years, and in many cases centuries, to reproduce. 

 The annual burning of the woods in the South 

 before cutting operations began simply destroyed 

 all tlie down trees, and burned out' the i)rush 

 and pine straw, leaving the woods clear to grow 

 grass for stock raising, but now that daylight 

 has been let into the southern forests by the 

 woodman's ax, the hazard is increased and for- 

 est fires are becoming more and more destruc- 

 tive to standing timber, particularly on the 

 partially cutover lands, where the tops, limbs 

 and brush remain on the ground. The most 

 rigid laws, hon-ever. will not deter the fire setter 

 in his thoughtless work. The people first must 

 be educated to know that for every dollar's 

 worth of timber burned the community has to 

 stand a loss of 80 percent in labor and supplies 

 when the timber is finally manufactured into 

 lumber. 



One of the most profilic causes of fire on the 

 Pacific slope has been the homesteader on gov- 

 ernment lands, where the law compels him to 

 clear and burn over a certain portion to prove 

 up his claim to settlement and cultivation. The 

 homestead law as applied to timber lands la a 

 pernicious law. and it should have been repealed 

 long ago. .\ false sentiment, however, still al- 

 low-s it to remain on the statute books. 



With all the restrictive legislation that has 

 been promised by the States, practically but 

 little has been done by state governments to pro- 

 tect forests from fire. As a notable example, 

 the state of Washington with a forest area con- 

 taining 400.000,000,000 feet of standing timber, 

 Irom which is being produced from 3.000.000,000 

 to 4,000,000,000 feet of lumber annually and 

 after receiving nearly 50 percent of its total 

 revenue by taxation from this industry, appro- 

 priates the munificent sum of $25,000 a year to- 

 ward protecting this great heritage from de- 

 struction by fire. 



Accurate Predictions Impossible 



In considering the future of stumpage and 

 lumber values there are too many "ifs" sur- 

 rounding the subject to make a guess valuable 

 for future reference. If we continue to increase 

 production as we have in the last few years 

 it will be some time before the demand will 

 catch up with the supply and advance lumber 

 to a normal price. On the other hand, if we 

 regulate the supply in keeping with the demand 

 we shall soon obtain prices that should prevail, 

 and make this great industry profitable. So 

 long, however, as the mill runs while the builder 

 sleeps, we can look for present conditions, 



1 am not an alarmist over the stumpage situa- 

 tion, for nature and man's genius always h.-ive 

 supplied a substitute for an.v commodity that 

 became too scarce to utilize and they probably 

 always will. Besides, the present supply will 

 take care of us for the next few hundred years 

 at least, and in the meantime tree planting will 

 have, been practiced to a sulBcient extent to 

 supply the need of the world for lumber, in 

 connection with other substitutes that shall have 

 come into use. 



It is evident to all of you that iron, steel and 

 concrete construction are rapidly taking the 

 place of lumber for many purposes, and properly, 

 so. but this docs not mean cheaper lumber 

 if the supply is regulated to the demand. Be- 

 sides, the cost of iron and steel will increase 

 instead of decrease as time goes on. Available 

 iron ore does not exist in unlimited quantities. 

 From a reliable source it is stated that there 

 are more thousands of feet of stumpage in sight 

 than there are tons of high grade ore. so the 

 rocks and clays seem to be the only unlimited 

 supply of building material from which we have 

 to draw. 



European Stujipage Values 



In Germany, where fireproof construction Is 

 o'llisatory for all kiaijs of building, and where 

 reforestation is practiced to a greater extent 

 than in any other section, they have a price 

 for stumpage in the woods that would make 

 our timber owners happy. For instance, a 

 recent quotation from a friend in Germ.any 

 shows the average cost of stumpage In the woods 

 as follows ; 



Wood — Per M. 



Short leaf pine $23 



Spruce 25 



Beech 24 



Oak 80 



To this must be added the cost of logging, 

 manufacturing and transportation, showing that 

 substitution of fireproof material for wood In 

 permanent building does not destroy the many 

 other uses for lumber, or cheapen the price of 

 reforested stumpage. I think, gentlemen, that 

 an international forestry congress could be ef- 

 fective in working out some practical plan of 

 meeting the world's demand for forest products 

 with the least possible waste of supply. In the 

 matter of transportation alone, large sums could 

 be saved' by cotiperation in the distribution of 

 lumber from the nearest producing centers to 

 the consumer. Tlie stumpage proposition is not 

 a local one. for the remaining forests of the 

 world are almost a known quantity. Interest, 

 therefore, in the disposition of the product to 

 the best advantage should be international. If 

 production and distribution were regulated, lum- 

 ber coulel he delivered at the lowest transporta- 

 tion cost and manufactured from the high 

 priced stumpage sections first, where the high 

 carr.ving charges require that it be manufac- 

 tured, and the land replanted in trees or other 

 crops, as soil and other conditions may indicate. 



The vast forests of Russia and Siberia are as 

 vet practically untouched. From a recent 

 English consular report I note the following 

 figures on surveyed forest areas : 



European Russia 228,000,000 



Caucasus 8,000,000 



Asiatic Russia 194,000,000 



Four hundred and thirty million acres, with 

 463,000,000 acres unsurveyed forest lands, which 

 belong exclusively to the state. Other forests 

 in European Russia are owned as follows : Im- 

 perial appanages, private land owners, peasants. 

 Joint stock companies, factories, churches, etc., 

 amounting to 201.410,000 acres, with a given 

 percent of forest; 55 percent. The large timber 

 areas of Mexico, Central and South America are 

 as vet in a virgin state, owing to lack of trans- 

 portation, but as our own stumpage diminishes 

 and higher prices prevail these countries will be 

 developeel and we undoubtedly shall be able to 

 draw from them for the additional quantity of 

 stumpage we may require, should such a need 

 arise before our reforested areas reach a com- 

 mercial stage of growth. 



In conclusion, 1 would say that no one can 

 forecast the definite value of stumpage, but 

 it is reasonable to assume that, in the long 

 run, no elemental substance will be sold for 

 less than the cost of reproduction. I thank you 

 for your attention. 



EVILS OF THE COAST'WISE TRADE 

 AND THEIR CURE 



.\DDRESS BY W. B. STILLWCLL OF SaVAN.NAH, Ga. 



A million dollars a minute, for the eight min- 

 utes allotted to this subject, would be but moder- 

 ate compensation for the man who in that brief 

 space of time could be so epigrammatic and 

 convincing as to portray the situation in lan- 

 guage which would lead to the removal of the 

 existing evils and obstacles to future business 

 being conducted along ethical and regular, even 

 if only moderately remunerative, lines. 



Few people realize the magnitude of the coast- 

 wise lumber trade. Antedating all other branches 

 of the trade, it has with constantly increasing 

 volume kept pace with the development and 

 building up of the country. 



From "Maine to Florida on the Atlantic slope, 

 and on throush the (iulf of Mexico to Texas, 

 and from Washington to California on the 

 Pacific slope, the United States has a coast line 

 unparalleled in the world for its extent, its lum- 

 ber supply and its trade activity. . , , 



For an average distance of 200 miles inland 

 the unsurpassed'current of its traUic has sought, 

 by stream and rail, its outlet at the ports and 

 thence by steam and sail has found its way into 

 every neighboring port, not infrequently irom 

 the ports of one ocean to those of the other, 

 and from the Gulf ports to the ports of both 

 the eastern and western coasts. 



The volume of this magnificent interstate com- 

 merce now runs each year into billions of feet 

 and its value into hundreds of millions of dol- 

 lars — a mighty, pulsating tide of traffic, balanc- 

 ing with its ebb and flow the occasional dullness 

 or demoralization of our interior or foreign 

 trade. 



But this vast business has been neither satis- 

 factory nor continuously remunerative. ihe 

 causes" of this condition of alTairs do not lie 

 in those diiriculties inherent in all business : 

 neither are thev so numerous or beyond the 

 control of those "directly engaged in the business 

 as to be without an adequate remedy. 



On the contrary, the causes are few, remedies 

 exist, and the whole matter is absolutely within 

 the control of the men directly engaged in the 



No legislative action need be invoked and the 

 loss of profit can be avoided without allecting 

 the consumer. 



