REVIEW OF LUMBER INDUSTRY AFFAIRS 247 



mulated nothing definite in the way of a pohcy, in spite of the fact that 

 lumbermen were well represented. 



In this connection it is interesting to note that the War Trade Board, 

 in April, addressing southern hardwood interests, is quoted as saying: 



"We wish to advise that no white-oak railroad ties or white-oak ship timber 

 will be permitted export from this country except where they are needed for 

 war purposes. 



"We are determined to preserve our white oak for furniture manufacture, agri- 

 cultural implements manufacture, and numerous other industries in this country 

 and Canada ... as all other hardwoods are disappearing, and oak, especially 

 white oak, is to be the mainstay of the above industries for the future" {Hard- 

 wood Record, May lo, 1918). 



Information is not available to indicate the basis for the War Trade 

 Board decision or why other species of timber sho'uld not have received 

 similar treatment, as, for instance, hickory and ash. The situation 

 offers interesting possibilities. There may be methods of "conserva- 

 tion" not yet proposed and more practicable than some of those pre- 

 viously attempted. 



In addressing the National Wholesale Lumber Distributors, at Chi- 

 cago. Prof. R. C. Bryant, who was in charge of the Forest Service 

 study of the lumber industry during the war, is quoted as saying: 



"Indications point to a much reduced lumber cut during the coming year. Tak- 

 ing the country over, the decrease from normal will amount to several billion 

 feet, and production will hardly recover the normal basis for a year or two." 



He indicated that about five billion feet would be the maximum foot- 

 age allowable for export, the balance being required at home {Amer- 

 ican LiDnbcrman, November 23, 1918). 



SOUTHERN PINE PASSED ITS PEAK 



While the statistics of lumber production have for several years read 

 rather plainly, and while those in touch with the situation could not 

 doubt but that the South was rapidly duplicating the procedure of the 

 Lake States, definite and official confirmation of the current situation 

 has been lacking. 



In July, before a meeting of West Coast lumbermen, President J. H. 

 Kirby, of the National Lumber Manufacturers' Association, made state- 

 ments which may be startling even to those who have been watching 

 the course of events and which are worthy of consideration from yet 

 other angles. If President Kirby's figures are correct, the situation is 

 even more acute than the most rabid "Pinchoist" might have thought. 



