386 LOGGING 
Runaway logs on the Ohio River have been carried to the Gulf 
of Mexico. On many other streams draining into the Atlantic 
and Pacific Oceans logs have been carried to sea and lost. Tim- 
ber caught on the high seas is the property of the finder. Rafts 
on the Great Lakes were sometimes broken up during storms and 
the logs scattered over the beach for many miles. The collection 
of logs under these conditions was expensive and in some cases the 
cost was prohibitive. 
(4) Stream improvements are of little or no value after the 
abandonment of logging operations. The improvements made 
on streams to render them driveable are often costly and of such 
a nature that they cannot be used for other purposes after logging 
is completed. Exceptions to this may be noted in the case of 
the boom sticks used for storage purposes at large sorting centers, 
which are manufactured into lumber at the conclusion of opera- 
tions; and of dams on large streams which may be retained for 
the control of the water supply. 
(5) The heavy and long time investment required for mill 
stocking. With long drives 'that are now made one or more 
seasons may elapse before the logs reach the mill. On the Ohio 
and Mississippi Rivers it is not uncommon for logs to reach their 
destination the second summer after cutting and in some cases 
delivery has been delayed from three to five years.^ This long 
time investment in stumpage and logging expense is not only 
a serious drain on the finances of a lumber company but the 
value of the logs that have been cut for such long periods is 
greatly depreciated. 
(6) The legal complications with riparian owners. The rights 
of loggers on "floatable" and "navigable" streams are defined 
by State laws which vary in different states. The driver of 
logs is liable for damages to property of riparian owners caused 
by the creation of artificial freshets that overflow the lands, 
without permission. This law was found necessary to stop the practice of 
setting logs adrift from booms at night and then claiming a fee for returning 
ihem. Loggers pay 5 cents per tie and 50 cents per log for all runaways that 
are caught and returned to them. 
1 In 1907 a drive of yellow poplar logs came down the Ohio River from the 
headwaters of one of the tributaries, where it had been held up for five years 
because of an insufficient water supply. The loss in merchantable contents 
of many logs was 75 per cent. ' 
