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Canadian Forestiij Journal, Januari;, 19LS 



serious prol)lems which have resulted 

 from this great shortage in the pro- 

 duction of coal. The demands for 

 coal for industrial purposes directly 

 due to the war are very heavy, and 

 may be expected to increase greatly. 

 Demands for export are also heavy, as 

 well as the demands for local domestic 

 use. Very good authorities consider 

 that the coal shortage will continue 

 throughout the duration of the war, 

 and that this situation will continue 

 to alTect Canada as seriously in the 

 future as it has in the past, if not 

 rnore so. The amount of coal which 

 will be allowed to be furnished to 

 specific localities or specific industries 

 will presumably be limited, through 

 the various fuel controllers in both 

 the United States and Canada. As a 

 matter of fact, the fuel problem is 

 world-wide today. In England, 



France and Italy, the coal shortage 

 is so great that the rationing system 

 has had to be adopted. It is report- 

 ed that in the latter country the coal 

 supply has been so short that during 

 last summer more than 1,000 square 

 miles of forests were cut down for use 

 as fuel and for making charcoal. In 

 Sweden also the coat shortage has 

 become so serious that the Govern- 

 ment forestry organization has been 

 compelled to cut great quantities of 

 timber for use as fuel. 



Using Our Forest Materials 



In view of the extreme seriousness 

 of the coal shortage in most of the 

 countries of the world, and of the 

 opinion of those who ought to know, 

 that the condition will remain more 

 or less critical throughout the war 

 the obvious thing for Canada to do is 

 to consider how far her great forest 

 resources may be utilized to meet the 

 conditions which may possibly face at 

 least the eastern portion of the 

 country during next winter. 



Canada may well take a lesson from 

 the situation in the New England 

 States. The Federal Fuel Adminis- 

 trator for New England, Mr. J. J. 

 Storrow in a call for a conference on 

 the subject, said: 



"A serious shortage of coal 

 threatens New England this winter. 



The situation does not warrant neg- 

 lecting any possible measure of pre- 

 paredness. For this reason it seems 

 advisable to make a New England 

 campaign for the production of wood 

 on a large scale. Good hardwood 

 properly prepared and dried can be 

 used extensively for domestic pur- 

 poses as an emergency measure. 

 Wood cut in November can be burned 

 the latter part of the winter, when the 

 coal situation may be most acute. 

 The campaign should also look ahead 

 toward a large supply of wood for 

 next winter when the coal situation 

 may be more serious than this year.'' 



A Practical Programme 



The full attendance at the confer- 

 ence bespoke the interest of everyone 

 in the solution of the fuel problem and 

 conclusions reached were summarized 

 as follows: 



1. People throughout New Eng- 

 land should be urged to use wood 

 wherever they can do so in order to 

 save coal. 



2. It is earnestly recommended that 

 the fuel administrators and the agri- 

 cultural and other officers throughout 

 the New England states shall urge 

 upon all woodland owners to cut cord- 

 wood promptly and extensively. 



3. As far as possible portable saw- 

 ing machinery should be used in order 

 to save the expense of additional 

 handling. In some instances the 

 wood can probably be cut into one 

 foot lengths advantageously. The 

 machinery uses a different class of 

 laborers, reducing the number of 

 skilled laborers required. 



4. In order to secure the best re- 

 sults, local organization is necessary. 

 Leadership and sometimes capital 

 are required, which we believe should 

 come from the local banks and 

 business men. 



5. It is recommended that the fuel 

 administrator in each state shall ap- 

 point a representative committee from 

 the several counties and wood-using 

 industries, including the State Fores- 

 ter in each state, these committees 

 to take charge of the wood situation 

 under the fuel administrator. Inso- 

 far as their judgment approves, local 



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