Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1891-10-22
Aberdeen Herald.
washington and oregon Lumber.

Washington and oregon LUMBER
The Oregonian, in speaking about the
numbering interests Of Portland and
vicinity. saws: The principle forrest tree
indigenous to Oregon soil is the mr. For
heavy frame work of all wooden surue-
lures. for bridge timbers, and even for
boat building, the fir IS the best timber
in the world. 1t has all the tenacity OF
fiber of the best oak, without the pro
pensity to split Of the latter, and It's last
ing properties, when exposed to all the
severity of weather, are not equaled by
any other available timber In the world
1t has been found by actual experiment
thar a piece of fir timber, when submitted
to a heavy strain, did not break as soon
as a piece OF well seasoned oak o. the
same dimensions. 1t is only within the
last five years that the Union Pacific, one
of the greatest OF the transcontinental
lines, became convinced that fir was the
safest most economical, and strongest
timber for wooden bridges that could be
obtained in the United States, and Port
land-cut fir is now regularly shipped by
this company as far east as Omaha, Tor
use in their new reconstructed bridges.
Large quantities of this same wood are
now used BY this company in the con-
struction Of cars for their line
The average price at the Portland mills,
for both rough and dressed lumber. is
about $14 per 600 feet. This price may
vary little at times, but long years Of
experience in this line has convinced the
mill men Of this city that lumber cut here
cannot be sold proftably On an an average
for less than these figures.
The supply of logs for the local mills is
now obtained from the banks OF the
Columbia river and its tributaries north
of Portland Along the banks Of the up
per Willamette there is supply OF good
timber, but this timber connot reach
Portland, owing to the distractions to
floating RATS in the falls of the Willamette,
at Oregon City, twelve miles north OF
Portland. The large RATS of logs from
the Columbia are now towed up to the
Portland mills by steamers regularly en-
gagged i'll this traffic, at rate of about
rs cents per 1000.
Up to within year past the Portland
sawmills enjoyed large and steady sale
of their product to all points on the Union
and Northern Pacific between Portland
and the Missouri river. Last season
most of this trade was cut off from the
Portland mills, owing to the scarcity Of
cars furnished by the railroad companies
for the transportation of this lumber
East. The lumberman of Portland have
a great cause for complaint against the
transcontinental lines Of roads out OF
Portland the present season,in the mat
ter of discriminating freight rates on
lumber in favor Of the south, as against
Portland. A delegation of the Portland
lumbermand. headed by Mr.H R. Duni-
way, one of the youngest but brightest
men in this business in the northwest,
recently went east with view Of laying
their complaint before the traffic man.
ayers. Chairman Walker, of the West
ern Traffic Association, has called a
meeting of the traffic management of the
different railroads in the association for
this month, and it is the hope of the
lumberman of Portland that new rates
will be made on the shipment of lumber
which will be entirely satisfactory to the
Portland mills.
In addition to the cutting of fir, cedar
is sawed III small quantities by the local
mills, and oak and ash are sawed to
limited extent, by small mills in Portland.
Along the low lands of the Columbia and
Willamette rivers are immense forests of
cottonwood, a wood that is especially valu-
able for box making and for the manu-
facture OF wood pulp for paper making.
This latter wood is now sent to Portland
in considerable quantities for the purposes
above named.
The saving of lumber in Portland fur
nishes steady employment to about 800
men, and yearly pays out in wages $780,
900. There is about $1,000, 900 invested
in the saw mill plants of Portland, and
the yearly sales OF lumber made by these
mills will approximate s., 800, 900.
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