Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1873-09-01
OUR LUMBER INTERESTS.

into the timbered regions of Vermont a
large and prosperous business has sprung
up in numbering In many sections the
amount of money that has been received
from lumber has been greater than for
everything else that has been sent to
market. Large numbers of men have
been employed both in logging and in
the manufacture of lumber, and many |
prosperous villages have grown up from
this business alone. We still have in
many sections, large amount of timber
that can be spared, and so long as lum-
Der maintains good price, we must de-
pend upon it, to partially counterbal-
ance the great drain that is at present
made on this section, by sending West
for so much grain and -four. While we
have been benefited by the railroads, in
the means afforded us for shipping our
produce and our lumber, they have been
equally benefited by a very large
amount of lumber freight Until this
year very large trains of lumber have
been run daily on the most of the YER
mont roads, and lumber men claim that
the freights have been high. 1t seems
that this must be the case, for we find
that load of gram or load of lumber
is sent from Detroit or Chicago to
Springfield Mass, or to Hartford Conn.,,
for about one hundred dollars, while the
freight from Orleans county to these
places is fifty dollars. In the one case,
cars are run from eight to ten hundred
miles for one hundred dollars, in the
other, little over two hundred miles
for fifty dollars. 1t will be seen by
these figures that great loss is sustain
ed by the western railroads, or a great
profit is made on our roads. 1t may be
said here that much of the cheap west
ern freight is over the Vermont Central
line, so that what the road does in the
western freights, is done cheaply; what
it does in Vermont freights, is done at
the same rates that are charged by the
Passumpsic and other roads, if we are
correctly informed. If we are paying
an excessive tariff on our lumber we
have right to ask our railroad compa-
MES to redress the grievance, and to as
sist us in our efforts to build up the
business of this part of the country. We
have reasons to believe that discrimina-
lions are made in freighting upon our
roads that certain parties, along the
roads, and certain places are favored by
just, and it is probable that the poor
man who is struggling to build up &
business pays the high freights, while
those who are already established in {;
large business, or are at favored points
where they can use rival roads, are ia
vored. For the last two years it hal
been impossible to sell much of our lum
Der at previous prices, and this has re
suited partly from stagnation of bust
ness in the Connecticut valley where GU
lumber is mostly sent, but chiefly fror
the fact that large mills have been bull
at different points on the Connection
river, and the timber has been foate
down the river to supply them. Man
million feet went down that river thi
spring, and the parties who own tn
mills are selling their lumber at froI
two to five dollars a thousand cheape
than we can afford to sell our lumber.
Many of our mills are doing but littl
business, great quantity of lumber re
mains in all parts of the country un
sold; the rolling stock upon our raj
roads that heretofore has been insult
cient to meet the wants of shippers,
to a considerable extent lying idle. Thi
is a bad state of affairs all around
When we reduce the price of our lumbe
two or three dollars thousand, there
no profit in the business; when th
large amount of help that is required
manufacture the many millions of lun
Der annually consumed in the Connect
cut valley is taken away from us, and
employed in Holyoke, Northampton
Turner'S Falls, Hartford and other pl
ces, we are suffering greatly from tn
cause alone; when our railroads are d.
prived, to considerable extent, of 0,
lumber and our bark freights, they mu
raise other freights in order to pay e,
penses or dividends, and we shall suff
in this direction. The effect of this d
preston in the price of lumber is a
ready seriously felt and will be more
in the few years to come There a
two ways to partially overcome tn
evil; one is to build up manufactori
and work our hard and orr soft wo,
into every conceivable article that '
can sell, put more labor and more val
into each car load and thereby virtual
reduce freights, and Civ employing
to more men the other way is to a
the railroads to reduce freights to t
lowest living rates, so that we can mo
than compete with the river and 0
''down river" rivals. 1t will be
much for the interest of railroads, as
the advantage of the people, to keep
lumber business in fourishing con-
ton, and prevent its being carried