Free Use of Timber. 241 



this would be true. In actual practice, however, there are very- 

 few localities in which a permittee cannot work at some other busi- 

 ness more profitably than at doing his own logging. Even most 

 mill operators would rather hire men who are unable to buy lum- 

 ber and take their pay for lumber in exchange for labor, rather 

 than be bothered with custom mill work. In this District, over 

 eighty per cent, of the mill operators approached on the subject 

 were decidedly in favor of eliminating free use custom work. 

 This is especially interesting in view of the excessive rates they 

 receive for custom work. It goes to show, however, that these 

 rates are not considered commensurate with the annoyance, extra 

 costs and disorganization to which operators are put. This latter 

 factor is perhaps the greatest inconvenience to mill operators, 

 since it leaves them a very uncertain market for the timber they 

 have purchased and is very discouraging to business-like logging 

 and marketing. 



It has sometimes been suggested that if free use of saw material 

 is discontinued it will give mill operators a chance to charge ex- 

 orbitant rates. Perhaps this will be done in a few cases until com- 

 petition adjusts it. The operators now have the same opportunity 

 to charge exorbitant rates on custom "free use" work, and the op- 

 portunity is even better, for the possibility of an advance on 

 stumpage rates by the Forest Service at each increase in lumber 

 rates would easily convince operators that high priced lumber 

 would add nothing to their profits. On the other hand, high 

 priced lumber at the local mills would in many cases interfere 

 greatly with sales by bringing it, along railroad points, into closer 

 competition with the general market, and also by encouraging the 

 people to use "house" logs and other building material which is 

 granted under free use. 



The final result of discontinuing the free use of green saw ma- 

 terial to individual permittees would be to consolidate timber oper- 

 ations and have lumber supplied to communities through regular 

 mill operators and timber purchasers. This would enable the ad- 

 ministrative force of each Forest to have close supervision over 

 the work which is the essential item to proper forest management ; 

 and lastly, in most cases lumber supplied by regular timber pur- 

 chasers would be an economy to the permittees as well as a source 

 of revenue to the Government. In District 4 over $25,000.00 

 worth of saw material is given away each year. 



