ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF THE WOOD-FUEL CAMPAIGN 



By a. F. Hawes 

 U. S. Fuel Administration 



The campaign to produce wood as an emergency fuel to relieve the 

 coal situation during the war was, on the whole, a success. Like many- 

 other activities connected with the war, its benefits would have been 

 more apparent had the war lasted longer. It is safe to say that the 

 greatest advantage derived has been the awakening of the general public 

 to the importance of wood as a fuel and the vast resources of the 

 country in this form of fuel. Communities long unaccustomed to burn 

 wood have learned to use it, and many householders have found it an 

 economy to heat their houses with temporary wood fires during mild 

 weather, even at the prevailing high prices for wood, rather than use 

 coal. Many people have formed a habit of providing themselves with 

 a reserve of wood fuel which should be of lasting benefit. 



It is extremely difficult to form any estimate of the increased amount 

 of wood used as a result of the campaign, because it has varied so 

 much in different sections. The question also arises as to whether the 

 result should be compared with the amount burned in a normal peace 

 year or with the amounts which would have been burned under war 

 conditions had no campaign been instituted. As compared with normal 

 consumption, it is doubtful whether northern New England, for ex- 

 ample, increased its consumption of wood, since the scarcity of labor 

 tended to offset the eft'orts of the Administration. In Massachusetts 

 and Rhode Island, on the other hand, the consumption of wood was 

 probably increased lOO per cent, while in York County, Pennsylvania, 

 the fuel administrator estimates that it was increased 500 per cent. The 

 total amount of firewood consumed in the country in a normal year is 

 about 100,000,000 cords, or about one cord per capita. Allowing i^ 

 cords as the equivalent of one ton of coal, either bituminous or anthra- 

 cite, this means the replacement of 66,666,000 tons of coal. As com- 

 pared to an annual total consumption of 500,000,000 tons of coal, this 

 is not a large figure. But as most of the wood is used for domestic 

 purposes, it is in competition only with the 110,000.000 tons of coal 

 used domestically. On the whole, it seems conservative to estimate that 

 the consumption of wood was increased at least 10 per cent, which 

 would amount to 10.000.000 cords, and would represent a saving of 



16.3 



