The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1872-02-09
POrtIand's Lumber Market.

10 We Edttof o. the ffesS'
The lumber business of Portland is the crea-
ton of railroads. Twenty-Five Years ago there
was not single wharf in the city used exclu-
sively for lumber. Here and there uptown,
was little retail yard drawing its long lumber
from the lower Saco, and its short from the up
per Saco, twenty to sixty miles, by horse and
OK power. with now and then a cargo from
some eastern port,-a petty hand-to-mouth re-
tail business.
ABut railroads were built chiefly the Atlantic
4 st. Lawrence, and behold the change! 1885,
100000 feet of lumber are now yearly received
IN Portland Thirteen of the largest wharves
are used Tor Its storage and handling almost
exclusively, or over one-third of the total wharf
room of the city. They are the best-naving
wharfs we have. A greater number of able,
bodied men are employed in handling lumber
than IN any other single interestin the city, and
by consequence support is rendered to a very
important body of population, women, children
ana dependents. The lumber business supports
our south American trade and gives the West
India business its main strength and reliability.
Ii 1t falls, they fail, and the wharf and dock
property of the city would not be worth own
ing:
Now, Sir, the Portland & Ogdensburg r. r..
VIII much more than double this business. 1t
penetrates vast lumber country. Not to
speak OF the region already opened there are
IN bartlett loo, 100000 feet ready to be cut, in
jackson 0,0O0,0 900, in Harris Location great
quantity, in Chatham 100, 200, 900 feet, in Car
roid l00,OO0,0O0, in Franconia 200, O00, 900, in
JEFFERSON 200 000, 900, in Whitetield 100000, 600
IN Dalton 50,000,00O. At this point the road
crosses the magnificent water-power on the
connecticut river, at the head of the Fifteen
mile Rips" Here the hundreds of millions of
lumber about the head waters of the Connecti-
cut can be cut up and put upon the rail only
IL miles from tide water at Portland, and 1876
from Boston. Beyond, in Vt. are hundreds of
thousands of acres of timber land adjacent to
fD,.A Al.
been no means of getting the lumber to market.
In addition to the lumber already grown, is a
vast supply coming forward, and getting ready
Tor the harvest every year. In addition to soft
lumber, specified above, is an illimitable supply
OF hardwood stock, cabinet wagon, excelsior,
paper-pulp stuff, cooperage stock, ship-timber,
masts, spars, bark, etc.
But this is not all. One terminus of the
T. & D. r. II. is at Burlington ON Lake Cham
plain Burlington is already the third
lumber mart in the United States. AT Bur-
iington the products of the Canadian forests
are brought by water within DO miles of Port
land, against 252 miles of Boston OF the total re-
ceipts at Burlington undoubtedly 90, 600 900 feet
are of the class shipping lnmber. That lum-
Der can reach tide water at Portland cheaper
and quicker than at any other point. 1t can
be handled here much cheaper than i'll Boston
Open the railroad and it will come here, and be
shippedIfrom here.
say, then, the aggregate lumber trade of
Portland would be much more thar doubled by
the opening up of this new thoroughfare
Portland would stand as high as fourth or fifth
in lumber receipts in the whole country. AS
result hundreds more of laborers would find oc-
cupation. Houses would be in demand for
rent and shops for business. Carpenters, ma
sons and painters would have occupation grow
ing out of this demand. Shoemakers would
have more people to shoe, tailors to clothe, and
grocers to sell goods to, and every trade, occu-
patton and business would receive new stimu-
lus or course there would be numerous other
equally important lines of traffic with lumber
opened up, but of these 1 do not feel called up-
on to speak. speak only of what best un-
derstand. j. II. H.
Commnrcia1 ST