TIMBER SUPPLY GREELEY 



543 



timber, is not adequate to meet the requirements of modern civiliza- 

 tion. The cost of transporting Asiatic or South American lumber 

 to the United States, added to prices at the source fixed by keen 

 international competition, would be well-nigh prohibitive for ordi- 

 nary construction or industrial purposes. 



Nevertheless, we must get all the foreign v.ood that we can to 

 tide over the lean years, and we must go after it intelligently and 

 systematically. For one thing, a thorough study should be made 

 of the resources available in the hardwood forests of Central and 

 South America and their utility for the replacement of our rapidly 

 waning supply of native hardwoods. For another thing, it should 

 be our policy in foreign trade and tariff making to encourage im- 

 ports of timber and timber products. The United States can ill 



DOLLARS 



PER 1000 



BD. FT. 



60 

 50 



40 

 30 

 20 



BILLIONS 

 BD. FT. 



45 



30 



15 



OlOOiOOiOOiOOtOOLOOlOOLOOLO 

 s;tM-iOu')tO«Dr^KoOcOCDCnOO — — CU<VI 



cooocoQOcooooooooooococorocno^cncDa) 



afford to place barriers around its depleted forests and hungry 

 lumber markets. 



Undoubtedly we must and will learn to use less wood. The high 

 cost of lumber has already decreased its per capita consumption in 

 the United States about 40 per cent below the peak of 1906. Steel, 

 cement, and clay products ha\e been substituted for much of the 

 construction lumber formerly used; and coal, oil, and electricity 

 have taken the place of much fuel wood. These substitutions are 

 increasing, as wood becomes more dear; and it is well that they 

 should. On the other hand, the use of wood is constantly widening 

 as the chemist and engineer discover new metliods of converting 

 or fashioning it for modern requirements. "Wood is now manufac- 

 tured into grain alcohol and artificial silk, even into baking powder 

 and electrical conduits. The field for wood-fiber products is con- 

 stantly enlarging. Notwithstanding the substitution of other ma- 



