THE USE OF WOOD FOR FUEL. 35 
PROMOTING USE OF WOOD FOR FUEL. 
PUBLICITY. 
Where wood fuel has been little used or its use has been discon- 
tinued for a long time, a great deal can be done toward developing 
a demand for it by means of newspapers, motion pictures, illus- 
trated talks, “cut-a-cord” clubs, “cutting bees,” and posters. News- 
papers are usually most active in advertising the work when fuel 
conditions are acute. In the depth of winter when a shortage 
is severe it is a matter of news and is “played up” a great. deal, but 
at other times it is difficult to use this medium of publicity. Motion 
pictures may be used, with short, pithy sentences embodying facts 
about wood fuel. Lantern slides are being used to illustrate talks 
on wood fuel given before clubs and various local organizations in- 
terested in the subject. Posters carrying catchy slogans and con- 
densed information have been devised in several States and have been 
very effective. 
“Cutting bees,” so called, are organized efforts at getting out wood 
by a crowd and are in the nature of a picnic. They are carried on 
with great enthusiasm and rivalry, and well serve the purpose of 
advertising the need of wood fuel and the means of getting it. 
Other forms of organization can be used which suit the particular 
locality and the spirit of the people, or existing organizations can 
be turned in this direction. 
“Cut-a-cord” club, as organized in New England and some other 
sections during the winter of 1917-18, carry the “cutting bee” idea 
still farther. Each member agrees to cut a definite amount of wood, 
either one cord or several. Organization is made semipermanent, 
so that the work is carried on more systematically than in the more 
or less spontaneous “bees.” 
Many other ways can, of course, be devised to suit local conditions 
and to arouse interest and action. The essential point is to arouse 
the public from its inertia. 
When the public realizes the necessity of returning to wood fuel 
the advertising campaign is mainly finished. It should be succeeded 
by a campaign of instruction in methods of producing wood fuel 
and in organization for its production and distribution. With the 
population concentrated at a distance from its fuel supply, as a 
large part of it is to-day, and not accustomed to providing fuel in ad- 
vance of need, individuals are not able to cope with an emergency 
brought on by war, prolonged congestion of transportation, or inter- 
ference with coal production. 
A number of different organizations have been developed to meet 
this situation, such as wood fuel committees, war fuel companies, 
municipal wood yards, and “cut-a-cord” clubs. 
