The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-05-21
MILLIONS IN LUMBER,
Huge Trees and Undecaying
Shingles Of Puget Sound.
WASHINGTON ROOFS THE UNION.
Frank Carpenter Talks with Gov. Ne.
Graw md Manager s~heiby-rAe
Non - Crlsso Minea.

Frank Carpenter Talks With Gov. Ne.
Graw and Manager sheiby-Iae
Monss Crisso Miaea.
/ saw 3 cedar stump the other dav on
which q crowd Of seventy-two people stood
and sat while q photograph was taken Of
them. 1t was SO large that = cottage could
have been built upon It. and the height Of
the tree before it was cut, l am told. was
800 feet. The greatest industry of this ra-
get sound region Is its timber. The trees
here turn out logs from 100 10 80 feet in
length. n Washington has now at tho
Chicago exhibition a log four feet square
which is i0 feet long. From n tree cut
here the other day six big saw logs were
taken, each thirty feet long, and the treo
was i've ieet in diameter a. the base and
its first branch started out lso feet above
the ground.
4 farmer not far from Tacoma lived In 3
hollow cedar tree while clearing his home.
stead. h cavity was twenty-five feet in
diameter, or as big - > large parlor. His
ceiling was forty feet above the ground,
and a knot hole just below this formed his
chimney. He put in . floor eight feet
above the earth and on this he built q
stone fireplace, with . stick and clay chin.
ney. Under the floor he kept his horse
n COW, and he lived ON the second story
Of the tree hole.
The best ship timber of the world comes
from Washington, and masts and spars
are sent from here to Australia. China and
other parts of Europe. Asia and Africa.
The timber resources are practically I'M.
limited. and l am told that there are over
three hundred billion feet of standing tim
Der in this state. At the present time q
little more than one billion feet is being
cut every year., and at this rate there is
enough left for three centuries 10 come.
Some Of the largest sawmiils in the world
are located near Seattle and Tacoma, and
more than two million feet Of lumber are
now cut every day.
During my stay in Minneapolis I was
told that tho red cedar shingles of Wash.
ington were fast driving the pine shingles
out Of the market. And l learn here that
'hinglcs are being shipped in vast guam
titles all over the United States.
Was shown in the Seattle Posr-INrEtlr-
eKNcER office . cedar shinglc which had
been on . roof forty years and which was
still in good condition. and l saw a photo
graph Of . fir trec the marks upon which
show IL to be more than 200 years old.
and in the roots Of this trce was fastened
. cedar log which must have been lying
on the ground when the sapling first grew
over it. The 20o-year-old cedar log Was
examined and found to be perfectly sound.
although IL has reached this vast age.
! talked with Mr.. Shelby, the general
manager Of the Great Northern railroad on
the Pacific coast. about the: shingie trade
Of this section. He tells me that IL 10
growing rapidly and that he expects to b
able to put cedar shingles down In New
York, Ohio and Indiana g about the same
rate ~ pine shinelea. He predicts that
within . few years the pine shin3le will
mo that 2.0Oo. 100000 shingles will DO
turned out from this region this year.
Said he:
There IL no comparison between tho
two products. A roof Of pine shingles has
to be replaced every fve or ak years. while
Al the present price and rates Of transpor.
ton We can ship shingles from here to
Buffalo so that for $50 . man can obtain
enough Puget sound shingles to cover .
ten-room house. and the result II that tho
lumber dealers Of the East are giving up
prise you to know how much traffic there
Is in this form Of lumber. IL
tho shingles which Washington win
send to the East this year, and when you
remember that the first car load of these
went East in 1857 you will see how great
the growth has been. expect to sec this
trade rapidly increase. and within two
years three-quarters OF the entire pro-
duction of shingles in the United States
will go out from the state of Washington.
We now use about 10000. 900. 600 Of shin
gles In this country every. year, and h
day will soon come when the whole Of tho
Union will: DO rooted with Washington
cedar"
Can you give mo some idea Of the ex.
tent OF the lumber regions Of Puget
sound ?" asked.
1--WE have" replied Mr. Shelby, "neariy
as much as all the rest Of the United
States put together. IL il = low estimate
TO PUT it at 800. 0Oo, 00O. 100 feet. Or. To give
q more practical idea of it, II woui take q
train Of cars long enough to go air times
around the world to carry this lumber.
Already there are 20.ooo men employed in
the wood working industries Of this state.
and We spend moro han $40. 10000 in
wages for lumber workers every year.
Lumber Is sent from here to Duluth and
comes right into competition there IN The
midst OF the pine regions OF Minnesota
and Wisconsin. We get ont . class of
logs here that you cannot lind anywhere
else. and the long timbers, from forty feet
and upward. which We send out annot be
found in the Eastern states"
met the young governor Of this state
at the Rainier Club in Seattle, and had .
cha with him about Washington and its
possibilities. Gov. McGraw 10 one OF the
brightest young executives OF tho Union.
lie is Just about 80 years of age. and he
came here from Maine eight or ten years
ago. His career reads like q romance.
lie was the son Of q lumberman OF
Maine. and his father died while he was
still small. His mother married again
and his stcpfather did not cradle him In
the lap Of luxury. The boy had To .
large extent TO take care Of himself
and his schooling was confined TO about
six months IN all. One story ! heard hero
was that the old man made young Nc
Graw wear his boots to school. These
were number t~weiycs. and when little Nc
Graw wore them they caused him no end
OF trouble.
IL was the custom there to make the
scholars toe the mark. There was a chalk
line drawn upon the floor. which the boys
had 70 toe when they stood up in their
classes to recisc. Mcssraw's boots were 10
large that with his toes on the chalk his
body vas thrown far back of the line Of
the rest OF the class. The teacher could
| not at first understand It, He thought
| the bov was cutting up. and he would go
behind and line up the class, hitting little
| McGraw for getting ont OF the line, aud
then going in front and seeing his feet
| over tie chalk line, he would he driven
back. hyiug thus betwecn ScyIia and
| C~harybas the greater part Of the time.
Mc6rAw's boyhood was spent In hard