THE LUMBER INDUSTRY. 



Hv lb:Mn 



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Tin' liunU-r industry .f the I'liltcd >tate. includes 

 thiv. i -tin. t operation-, which are in -ome cases ear- 

 . mi liy the same organization, in others -cjiarately. 

 The-,- are: 



(li Th' logging industry, including tin- felling of 

 tiiiil>cr. cutting it into length-, and trans|M>rting it l>y 

 rail or river to the mill. Thi- imliiitry i- carried on in 

 part by intlividimLx who own or operate sawmills. The 

 raw material of tlii- indu-tr\ consist- of standing tim 

 U-r. the finished product consists of logs delivered at 

 tin' mill. 



Hi>- -.luinill in. lu-tr\. in which the raw material 

 consists of MW logs, the product <>f tin- lumber camp; 

 and the product consists of rough lumber, including 



i-t-. scantling, boards, shingles, laths, etc. 

 The planing-mill industry, in which tin- raw mate- 

 rial consist- of rough lumber and the finished product 

 of planed lumber, with such minor manufactures at* are 

 carried on in connection with these mills. Some of the 

 planing mills are operated in connection with sawmill- 

 as 11 |rt of their operations, while other* are under 

 separate ownership and management. 



It is proposed in this report, tto-idex presenting the 

 general -tati-tics of the entire lumber industry and 

 coinjKiring them with similar figures from earlier 'n 

 siue<*. to separate these three branches, so far as that i* 

 I* ilil.-. and present independently the data relating to 

 each. 



In the following matter, therefore, comprising pages 

 5 to '.'7. the statistic* and discussions relate to all lum- 

 U>r and timber manufacture, including ind-|>cndent 

 timber camps, and sawmills with or without timber 

 campx. and the planing mills attached thereto, unless 

 otln'rwis4- |M'citiiKl. It is necessary to prei-nt them in 

 thi> heterogeneous form in order to make comparison 

 with the figures of earlier censuses. 



-I MMARY. 



The lumber industry of the United States, taken as 

 a whole, was in 1900 the fourth among the great manu- 



facturing industries of the country, being exceeded in 

 value of pnxluct.s only by the iron und -ti-.-|. tin- t<-\ 

 tile, and the slaughtering und meat (nicking industries. 

 There wer.. :;:;.o:i5 establishments, with a t..tul capital 

 of $M l.f.i i.;,-.'4. They employed L':'..jiM i wage-arii' 



of the administrative and clerical force, an 

 s.ii employees per establishment, and paid in 

 wages $li'4,i''J">..V.u. The averngi> wages JHT wage- 

 earner was $!i7ii. and JHT esUibli.shment. ^'..171. 'fhe 

 cost of materials used was $.'tl7,U > _ > 3.. r >4*. and the value 

 of products was fc'Mi.v'.i.'.'.'M. The product INT estab- 

 lishment was $17.177 and per employee f2,U08. The 

 amount of lumber produced by the mills was 85,OH4,lrt6 

 M feet, H. M. The average product per mill was 

 slightly in excess of a million feet. 



Table 1 gives a comparative summary of the leading 

 statistics concerning the entire lumber industryin 1850, 

 184)0, 1870, 1880, 1890, and 1!M). In comparing the 

 figures with one another certain qualifications must be 

 kept 111 mind. The money values given for ls7n are 

 expressed in depreciated currency, and ate therefore 

 not (mnillel to those given by later I-.-D-MSX-S. They 

 may be reduced approximately to a gold l>ais by being 

 diminished one-fifth. The value of hired property is 

 not included in the capital reported in island 1900, 

 because it was not included in the i-.-p.irt- ..)' previous 

 misuses. The number of wage-earners and amount of 

 wages in 1890 and I'.MMI include only the number of 

 those employed and paid at the mills and in independent 

 timber camps; that is. they do not include the number 

 of employees and the wages paid at lumber camps which 

 are connected with mills. Furthermore, the numbemf 

 employees in 1890 is not comparable with that reported 

 at other censuses, owing to differences in the methods 

 used in determining the 'average number of cmp 

 ees. n It is probable that the number was greatly 

 stated for 1890. The cost of material in 1890 and 

 include* the value of the stumpage, wages paid to 

 employees, and all other items of logging expense at lum- 

 ber camps which were dependent upon mill-. 



(6) 



