Cunadimi fonslrij Journal, July, 1-*17 



1217 



THE CASE FOR THE LUMBER 

 EXPORTER 



In the last issue of the Journal 

 appeared an article entitled, "Can 

 Canada sell John Bull his wood sup- 

 ply?" written by Captain Douglas 

 Weir, officer in charge, Canadian 

 Forestry Corps, and read at a meet- 

 ing of the Imperial Institute in Lon- 

 don, England, by Col. Gerald White, 

 a well-known lumberman of Pem- 

 broke, Ont. 



Two or three specific criticisms 

 were made of the Canadian lumber 

 exporter: 



"The question of finance also enters 

 into the discussion. The Baltic ex- 

 porters have worked harmoniously 

 with British merchants in shipping 

 timber on six months' notes, etc., 

 whereas Canadian timber men have 

 insisted on their timber being paid 

 for before it left Canadian ports." 



The justness of this criticism would 

 probably be greater were it not ap- 

 plied to the exporting industry as 

 a whole. The largest Canadian tim- 

 ber exporters, particularly in Eastern 

 Canada, have carried on their busi- 

 ness with British purchasers for many 

 years to the greatest mutual satis- 

 faction. An Ottawa firm, having 

 probably the largest dealings with 

 the United Kingdom of any Can- 

 adian concern, has had an arrange- 

 ment with two British firms dating 

 back more than a quarter of a century 

 whereby the latter make cash ad- 

 vances on the season's requirements, 

 an adjustment taking place once a 

 year, and this plan has caused no 

 complaints on either side. What 



Dry Matches 



After all day in a 

 boat. rainstorm 

 or wet snow. Ask 

 your dealer for 



If he can't supply you, we will send prepaid 



for his name and 50 cents. Dry matches 



may save your life. 



MARBLE ARMS MFG. Co. 



Dept. 5160 Gladstone, Mich., U.S.A. 



*— — 



arrangement some sm.allcr firms may 

 have and whether they insist on pay- 

 ment before the cargo leaves Can- 

 adian ports is a matter in which the 

 larger lumber exporters have no in- 

 terest. The latter have their perm- 

 anent selling agents in England and 

 seldom have occasion to look for 

 purchasers or even to discuss ques- 

 tions of credit with transient cus- 

 tomers. 



The article in question also stated 

 that "timber from Canada did not 

 arrive here in as good condition (as 

 Baltic timbers) — even recently tim- 

 ber received here does not conform to 

 the specifications it is shipped under. 

 This is, of course, due to shrinkage, 

 and dealers in this country consider 

 that the timber was not seasoiied be- 

 fore shipment as well as Baltic tim- 

 ber. The British Columbia timbers 

 showed this defect to a much greater 

 extent than Eastern timbers." 



Again the authors of the article 

 would appear. to have aimed their 

 shaft at individual mills, or possibly 

 mills in a certain section, and cannot 

 justify the charge against the long- 

 established heavy exporters of Can- 

 adian timber. One of the great ex- 

 porting firms in this country, to which 

 the Forestry Journal submitted the 

 question, declared that not a stick 

 entered a cargo that did not have a 

 winter's seasoning to its credit. This 

 is certainly the "method of the big 

 and successful Eastern mills. On the 

 other hand there undoubtedly are 

 mills not hesitating to load directly 

 from the saw, without any seasoning 

 preliminaries, and this sort of thing 

 has no doubt accounted for an ad- 

 verse impression of some English 

 wood users. 



Commenting on the criticisms of 

 the Canadian lumber exporter, Mr. 

 Frank Hawkins, Secretary of the 

 Canadian Lumbermen's Association, 

 said, "If any branch of Canadian 



{Continued on page 1226.) 



