676 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



oak, locust and black walnut do not require chemical 

 treatment so are used in a greater percentage when ob- 

 tainable. The stumpage value of the enormous holdings 

 which Mr. Starr controls is estimated at a minimum of 

 fifteen millions of dollars, all of which will contribute to 

 the winning of the war in speeding up cross-tie produc- 

 tion to facilitate the tremendous movement of freight 

 necessary at this crucial time in the affairs of our nation. 

 The timber resources of the Southern Appalachian 

 range include almost every variety known to commerce, 

 the development of whiUi is absolutely necessary to the 

 carrying out of the stu;-en- 

 dous program planned by 

 the Railroad Administra- 

 tion for the betterment of 

 transportation conditions in 

 the South. With the ship- 

 ment of men to France, we 

 are sending miles of rail- 

 road to move them on the 

 other side. It is the hope 

 of the nation that a United 



States Government and 



Allied Powers controlled 



railroad will be laid direct 



to Berlin. The cross-ties 



for the foreign program 



must come from home and 



are being shipped to France 



in our new ships at this 



time. To move the cuttings 



from the forests of North 



Carolina, new rails will be 



laid to convenient points of 



vantage near the mills, fa- 

 cilitating the conveyance of 



ties to the nearest points of 



consumption. The ties for 



foreign shipment will be 



routed to the nearest ports 



and there passed upon by 



Government inspectors. 



Forty-six miles of rail- 

 road to be used for the ex- 

 clusive use of the Govern- 

 ment for the period of the 



war and as long after as is 



necessary to complete the 



present program, will be 



laid into the heart of Clay 



This will 

 made avl 

 in the South. 



and Graham counties within the next few weeks. Cross- 

 ties will be ready for shipment as soon as the rails are 

 in and the movement of this vital necessity to safe 

 travel will begin. 



North Carolina will try to contribute every ounce of 

 patriotic manhood, every mill, every stick of timber, to 

 assist in the alleviation of this acute shortage of cross-ties 

 for she has within herself the power to reduce the crying 

 need to an immaterial percentage through her bountiful 



five a fair idea of the size and kind of timber which will be 

 able for cross-tie manufacture by the opening of the tracts 



forests in the Appalachian Mountains. It may be neces- 

 sary to ask for labor from other parts of the United 

 States for time is valuable and the need is great. At 

 least three thousand men will be needed to fell the great 

 trees and operate the two hundred mills that will be 

 installed within a short time. It is planned to give the 

 men engaged in the work an opportunity to obtain homes 

 in the region cut so that a great enthusiasm will enter 

 into the real work. Trucks will be utilized as much as 

 possible in the movement of the ties from the mill to 

 the railroad ; a series of portable mills will be operated in 



the least accessible areas 

 and roads opened in new 

 sections for the betterment 

 of the hamlets which will 

 undoubtedly grow rapidly 

 with the advent of this big 

 Government business. 



Much of the mountainous 

 section of North Carolina 

 is in an undeveloped state 

 and presents an interesting 

 solution to a few of the 

 great problems which must 

 be solved with some degree 

 of haste by the Railroad 

 Administration. In addi- 

 tion to the cross-tie famine 

 there is real need of car 

 timbers, switch-ties, bridge- 

 ties, and other forest pro- 

 ducts. Every forested part 

 of the United States has 

 been thoroughly cruised for 

 products required in the 

 various branches of the 

 Government and contracts 

 have been placed with pro- 

 ducers for the particular 

 commodity which they can 

 contribute to the promulga- 

 tion of the war. Some ex- 

 cellent virgin timber has 

 also been obtained by Mr. 

 Starr in Georgia, but the 

 largest acreage that will pro- 

 duce the greatest amount 

 of cross-ties is in the sub- 

 lime and untouched con- 

 fines of North Carolina. 

 In the Sapphire country, Lake Toxaway, fifty thous- 

 and acres have been obtained, an irresistable lure to the 

 operating lumbermen. Giant oaks, lordly poplars, great 

 cherry, walnut, ash and hickory are scattered in pro- 

 fusion in an untouched state with the "Whitewater Falls" 

 as the scenic attraction. This timber is located at the 

 junction of three states, North Carolina, South Carolina 

 and Georgia and contains sticks up to two hundred feet 

 high, from six to nine feet at the stump. The elevation in 



in the woons 



