St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-01-25
Review of This Industry in
the Northwest for
1889.
A Noticeable Reduction, and
the Causes Bringing 1t
About.
Under Consumption Rather
Than Over-Produetion the
Chief.
The Outlook for This Year Is
Extremely Favorable
The Figures.

The Mississippi Valley Lumberman
in its issue of yesterday printed a re-
view of the cut of the saw mills in the
Northwest for 1889, covering Minnesota
in its entirety, the Mississippi valley as
far south as st. Louis, Wisconsin as far
east as the Wisconsin valley and all the
territory tributary to the 500 road. The
exceptionally mild winter of 1855
followed by low water in all the streams,
OF course contributed to reduction in
cut, but the Lumberman finds that
the demand hasa been lesSened by
the change in the character of buildings
in Western cities from wood to brick
and stone, and the use of iron in con-
Structlon. The figures show that in the
Mississippi valley, from Brainerd to st.
Louis. the st. CroiX valley, on the Black
river, the Wisconsin valley, in the DID,
luth district, the Ashland district and
at the mills on the st. Paul & Duluth,
the Chicago, st. Paul, Minneapolis &
Omaha, the Wisconsin Central and the
500 railroads, there was a net de-
crease in the production of lum-
Der, amounting to 756. 404.777 feet.
an increase in the number of shingles
cut of 1926, 900, and decrease in the
number of lath made amounting to
q, 04S, 239. The production of lumber in
this region was 8, 467, 436. 593 feet; shin
giles, 1851. 576.550 pieces, and lath, $751;
260,671 pieces.
THE LARGEST DECREASE
in the cut was in the region along the
Mississippi valley, north of Minneapolis,
in which the cut has been in
normal years as high as 10000. 600
feet. but which this year amounted
fn nnlN
Of ~, S2S, 1874 feet from the cut made last
year. Nearly all the mills above Min
neapoliS- particularly those in AuOka-
were unable to procure logs. The same
difficulty resulted In a reduction i'll the
product of the Minneapolis mills,
amounting to 61,807, 653 feet, and af-
fected the output of the mills below
Minneapolis 50,00O,000 feet more.
There was decreased production every
where else. except in the Chippewa
valley, where there was a slight in
crease; along the Wisconsin Central,
where there was a little increase; in the
Wisconsin valley, where there was also
a little more lumber made, and along
the 500 railroad. where the lumber
business is developing. There was
made at the mills along the 500 road
during the year 2S6, 1872, 379 feet of lum-
Der.
SHINGLES AND LATH.
With the exception of the region
above Minneapolis, where the reduction
of saw mill products of every kind was
so great as to almost amount to cessa-
ton of operations, there was an increase
in the cut of shingles i'll almost every
district. There has been reduction in
the production of lath propOrtionate to
the cut in lumber.
THE STOCK ON HAND
Dec. l does not show as satisfactory a
condition as the large decrease in the
production of lumber would naturally
lead one to expect. Despite the fact
that there was in round numbers $780,
100000 feet less lumber made in the
Northwest last year than the preceding
year, there was It's, 600, 600 feet more on
hand than there was last year. In other
words, the lumber drawn from the ter
rltory under review was 925, 600, 600 feet
less during 1889 than it was during 1888.
This is explanation enough for the fact
that prices for lumber have ruled from
a dollar to two dollars less thousand
at primary points than the same stock
commanded year ago.
THE ZIMMERMAN CONCLUDES
from It's review that more lumber was
made in 1887 than was cOnsumed-de-
spite the fact that there was only nor
nal production-much less than during
the preceding year. Prices cannot ad-
vance in the year just entered upon,
unless there is a large increase in the
demand. In fact, the year just ended
was not marked by overproduction, but
by under consumption. Increased con-
sumption is the key to the situation :;
meantime, the prospects are particular
ly good for an increase in the produc-
ton of white pine lumber IN Minnesota
and Northwestern Wisconsin during the
season of 1890