FIFTH NATIONAL CONSERVATION CONGRESS 807 



It has not been possible to inquire into many of the present schemes for more 

 effective management in force among lumbermen. The investigation, however, 

 as far as conducted, has shown that there are many excellent ideas in use, about 

 which the industry in general should be informed It is hoped that in the near 

 future some organization may undertake the work of compiling such data and 

 formulating general principles for the benefit of the industry at large. 



Since operators are engrossed in their own business cares and seldom find 

 the opportunity and inclination to write at length concerning their methods, the 

 investigation of the subject of efficiency can not be carried on by correspondence. 

 Further, some are indifferent to a discussion of successful schemes devised by 

 them and the dissemination of their schemes among the trade at large, since they 

 feel that to a certain extent, at least, these are trade secrets, which they do not care 

 to disclose to their competitors. On the other hand, a personal interview with 

 operators would often lead to the development of a broader interest in the work 

 and the proffer of valuable information which otherwise would not be disclosed. 



The Sub-committee on Lumbering has been handicapped by the necessity of 

 carrying on its investigation through correspondence, and the results secured 

 have fully sustained the early conviction of the futility of such work. 



In order to provide, a foundation on which to prepare a report and also to 

 secure uniformity in the subjects on which an attempt was being made to collect 

 data, questions were prepared and sent to a selected list of operators. The in- 

 quiry covered a broad field, but it was not expected that any one operator would 

 answer all of the inquiries. It was thought that each would select those subjects 

 in which he was most interested and reply to them. The lists sent out differed 

 somewhat in order to more nearly conform to the conditions in the different re- 

 gions. 



In the following brief report on methods used in the lumber industry the 

 field open for investigation has scarcely been touched, and such meagre data as is 

 here presented represents only facts furnished by a very limited number of opera- 

 tors and by certain members of the committee. The possibilities of acquiring a 

 mass of very valuable data are great, provided time and money are available for 

 the investigation and provided the cooperation of lumbermen can be secured. 



There are now two agencies in this country which are doing much to bring 

 about greater efficiency in lumber operations, namely, the Pacific Coast Logging 

 Congress and the Southern Logging Association. The former organization dur- 

 ing the four or more years of its existence has made great strides in improving 

 the methods used in the Northwest and in educating loggers to a higher standard 

 of work. A brier resume of the conditions in the Northwest prepared by C. S. 

 Martin, a member of this Committee, is appended to this report. 



METHODS OF OPERATION 



Planning the Operation. — One of the w.^ak points in many lumber operations 

 is the lack of proper data regarding the "logging chance," previous to the actual 

 logging and manufacturing work, especially the former. 



All operations of large size have been cruised in some manner previous to 



