THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST 
scale of operations necessary in handling the larger trees 
in this region. Heavy machinery must take the place 
of nian power and horse power in many operations— 
giant cranes, loaders, donkey engines in the logging 
camps, larger saws, carriages, and other equipment in 
the mills. 
Big Business Ahead 
Westward the course of empire, and westward now 
the course of lumbering! Big business is ahead. The 
lumber industry of the Pacific Northwest, already grown 
gigantic, must double and triple its output in the next 
15 years if the nation’s needs are to be supplied. The 
task is stupendous. A production of 10 billion feet- 
nearly one-third the annual cut in the United States— 
must increase to 30 billion. The army of 150,000 work¬ 
ers must be expanded to nearly half a million. Instead 
of $350,000,000 the forests of the Pacific Northwest 
must shortly return $1,000,000,000 a year. 
Already Washington is leading all the states in lumber 
production. Her 300 logging camps and 800 sawmills 
are turning out 5>2 billion board feet of lumber. Giant 
mills there produce two-thirds of all our shingles. With 
Oregon, it makes billion shingles a year. Oregon’s 
lumber production amounts to 31/3 billion feet. With 
Washington it produces 140,000 tons of news-print 
paper. "There is room in the Pacific Northwest for not 
less than sixteen additional pulp and paper mills with 
a combined yearly capacity of 800,000 tons. The United 
States Forest Service believes the Pacific Northwest can 
produce 1,500,000 tons annually on a perpetual basis. 
Idaho is producing 900 million feet of lumber, Montana 
400 million and Wyoming, where the chief forest industry 
is the production of railroad ties, turns out 8jT million 
feet. Within the last few years western timber has 
assumed a dominating place in the principal markets of 
the lake states and has largely replaced southern pine 
at many consuming points in the central states. 
11 - 
