The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-04-07
;78E CENTAUR LINIMENTs
FINANCE AND BUSINESS
LUMBER BUSINESS.
GREAT FALLING OFF.


The special correspondent OF the Inter
Ocean from Bay City, and one evidently in
possession of the figures, gives very full
review of the condition and prospects of the
Saginaw lumber business. He says: There
have been a limited number of lumber
buyers in this market within the last few
weeks, and some good sales have been made,
but nothing like the usual spring activity
has prevailed. The lumbermen generally
attribute the stagnation to the uncer-
tainties which have so long hung over the
financial question in Congress, With re-
markedly few exceptions, these mon cannot
see how relief is to come from an aggrava-
tian of the present difficulty which they
think is lack of sufficient currency to do
the business of the country. So, at time
when business should be lively our lumber
men are standing idle, waiting for some
better fortune than has yet come to them.
Nearly all the mills on the river have a
greater or less stock of logs in the boom
enough to start up with. There are not less
than 35,O00,000 feet of logs in the various
mill-booms, and some computations reach a
much higher figure. An unusually large
quantity of logs was left in the Tittaba.
vase river boom, which is the main source
of supply, and these will, of course, be at
once available for the mills. Everything
necessary for an early start is therefore pres
ent, except a demand for the lumber, which
has not yet come. The amount of lumber
left on docks unsold last fall was about one
hundred million feet, with about sixty .uil
lion feet besides, which is in the hands of
mill owners who ship to their own yards
in the various lower lake ports. This
large amount of stock on hand crowds
many of the docks, and some of them must
ship before they will have room for this
years product. An ordinary demand and
the usual shipments would soon clear away
the glut on the docks, and this is the only
glut there is likely to be this year, for the
stock of logs for the seasons saving is very
short. The winters logging was laid out on
very small scale last fall, for lumbermen
had neither the means nor the courage to go
into the woods for full winters work. The
actual operations, however, were curtailed
even beyond the calculations. Except
on the Au Ores, the Rifle, and some
other of the streams which empty in
to Saginaw bay. the winter has been
an exceedingly unfavorable one for lum-
bering, and the almost universal report is
that the operators have fallen short Of their
intended crop from one-third to one-half
On the streams which send their logs into
the Tittabawassee river, for instance, where
the yearly product of logs is usually counted
by hundreds of millions, not more than 75,-
100000 feet have been put in the past winter.
On the Cass, also, which had been furnish
ing for the two previous winters about
100, 1000, 900 feet, it is computed that 10000
900 feet will cover all the operations last
winter. The shortage in logs may be seen
by the following carefully prepared estimate
of the amount which it viii be possible TO
get to the river mills il the season gives a
better running stage of water In the various
streams than is usually had. With snch a
running season, there are the following
AMOUNTS OF LOGS