The Portland daily press., 1873-01-04
For the Daily Press
Our Lumber Trade. Il ,

This interest of our city second only to
Bangor which latter city has had a special
law for long t.me) and which on the COM
pletion of our railroad now in process of con-
struction, will make our city the first in the
State, should enlist the fostering care of our
is this duty attended to by the author
tholities of the city? The Revised Statutes
ofthis state say thatevery town shall, at its
annual meeting elect one or more surveyors
OF boards, plank, timber and joist; and chap
ter forty one, section fifteen, says: All
boards plank, timber and joist, offered for
sale shall, before delivery, be surveyed by a
S orn surveyor thereof, and if he has doubt
of the dimensions shall measure the same
and mark the contents thereon, making rea-
sonable allowance for rots, knots and splits.
drying and shrinking. Pire boards when
fully seasoned, three quarters, of an inch
thick, and in that proportion when partly
seasoned, shall be considered merchantable
All pine boards Except sheathing) that are
not square edged, seven eighths of an inch
thick and ten feet long, shipped beyond the
United States shall be forfeited to the town
whence shipped. lhlA tkO 4 81 sci
The above is all the law says in regard to
the vast amount of long lumber daily coming
to this city and passing through by rail and
vessels to most all parts of the Union and civ
ilized world. ~2op
Not a word as to qualities, exceptmerchant-
able. And this large business, except such
as is sent to Boston or the Boston Surveyors,
which is large amount, and employs more
labor than most any other, is put into the
hands of the surveyors of this city with no
acknowledged usage, no legal enactment,
nothing to guide them but tn ir individual
judgment, which may be as varied as the DIFF
erent men who survey. Not foot of lumber,
nor q fhn md oh. olo ,1oo, III &c
surveyed in this city according to law. 81
One would suppose that in this as well as
other business, men would be selected whose
experience, judgment and education would
seem to point to them as suitably qualified
for the business. How are they selected? At
the annual meeting to elect city officers the
names of some fifty or sixty men are printed,
taken as a whole from a list handed down
from some previous generation; some dead,
some alive, some long since having left the
city, and they are blindly elected. Some few
oft csc, who have made this their special
business, Ike the oath required. The bal
ance are made up from men employedlb by the
dealers to handle lumber or survey, as they
may be wanted, by the week, day or month;
and the citycouncil at the request of their EN-
ployers make them Surveyors without regard
to qualification and regardless of law, that
they shall. be elect ID at the annual meeting.
Thus the intention of the law which was evil
IDENTIFY to place man vithour bias or suspi-
cion oft between sellersan purchasers is null
lifted. In view of such facts, Ought not our city
fathers to move at once and procure fir m the
present legislature special law like that of
Bangor, with such amendments as locality
and experience may suggest; defining, as
far as may be, the different qualities of lum-
Der, with a surveyor general. who shall APP
point suitable number of qualified men, so
that statistics may be obtained of the amount
OF the business at this port, and purchasers
tations as to quantity and quality, and that
the business may be secured to this city in
stead OF large share of it going abroad?