Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1893-01-06
WASHINGTON LII MBER
A MAGNIFICENT SHOWING MADE
IN THE PAST YEAR.
Nrw tumbrr and ShiugIe Wills are
Ssringing up All over the sound
aud the tuturr Prospects are of
- uasy Hue General Notes.

~ uosy hue .cucrat NOtes.
The lumber industry Of the State OF
Washington has made very rapid
rid,s within the last few years, and
for several months past there has been
u large number Of lumber and shingle
mile. either put in active operation
or construction begun on them in Or
der to enter into the next season s
trade. While almost every part OF the
state has u lumber mill OF some de-
-crip,ion, the principal ones are To-
Gated at Seattle. Ballard, Port Blake
| Icy. Tacoma. Port Gamble, Blaine,
Port Discovery, Port Hadlock, Port
Madison, utsalady and Port Ludlow.
The first lumber mill was started by
| Colonel Simmons, almost half a cen
tury ago at Tumwater. the oldest town
| In the State. From that small mill
aud its mcagre output. to the gross
returns Of the lumber industry OF the
past year. we can form something OF
an idea Of the marvellous timber re-
sources of the State, which have
already given employment TO thous-
ands of men and hundreds OF ships,
aud are now our largest source of
revenue.
The various kinds of lumber manu-
iaciurcd by the mills are fir, spruce,
pune and cedar, and shingles, laths
and pickets. while ties, piles and spars
cut no inconsiderable figure i'll making
the grand total of values. In the
matter Of spars alone this State
promises To gain reputation second
10 none in point OF quality and length
~ we'll as quantity, and the demand
fo' them in the East is steadily in
creasing. The active construction Of
the Great Northern railway during
the past year has resulted in the con-
sumption Of great amount OF ties
and large dimension lumber, from
which Seattle mills have received no
inconsiderable benefit. The promised
construction OF railroad extension to
the south warrants the belief that this
branch Of the trade will be equally
active in the year just ushered in.
| Manufactured lumber for foreign
shipment has comprised dimensions,
flooring, iaths and pickets, and the
market has been chiefly Australian.
The trade in this direction has been
very much hampered on account Of
the excessive tariffs imposed by the
Australian government. In the mat
ter Of shingles the market has been
almost exclusively Eastern, shipments
being made principally to the Middle
States. The railway transportation
charges on lumber, however, have
amounted TO practical prohibition, and
were IL not for the fact that the
middlc-men expect the Great Northern
10 solve the problem by grand cut
in the tariff, very many of the mills
would have ceased operations several
months ago or have confined them
selves 10 the needs OF local consumers
aud the manufacture OF shingles.
While the lumber industry has ex-
perienced slow but steady growth in
past years tho shingle industry is
subject Of surprise and wonderment.
But q few years ago both our lumber
and red cedar shingles were unheard
OF in Eastern States. Now the fame
ot Washington shingles has gone
abroad throughout the land and the
demand is steadily increasing. Ac-
cording to the West Coast Trade there
were at the beginning of 1892, 165
shingle mills In operation in the State,
cutting 10000 900 shingles per year.
During the year l27 new shingIe mills
have been built with daily capacity
Of 6OOOO0O shingles. The estimated
output for 1892 is 6QO,OO0,0OO. The
daily capacity of the shingle mills of
the State is 20,OOO,OO0 shingles. The
shipments for the past year will
amount to over 1000 O00, 600 shingles,
and u more cars could have been OBJ
tanned fully 2j0.OOO,0OO more could
have been sent East. Over $4,000
carloads Of shingles were shipped East
over the Northern Pacific from various
points in the State during 1892, and
OF this number Seattle's proportion is
estimated TO be 1000. Valued at 5000
per car the enormous returns OF this
industry can be readily understood.
The local consumption of shingles is
no mean item in the estimate of the
years work,
The lumber output for the past year
IL estimated at 1,O00O0,000 feet,
about 10000, 900. feet less than the
output OF 1891. The decrease is ac-
counted for in many ways. Financial
depression has limited the demand for
lumber in Australia, Chile, Peru, and
Hawaii and the California and local
demand has bcen such as TO cause the
various mills to be operated on some.
what conservative basis. IL is esti-
mated there has been S0,000,00 feet
OF lumber shipped 10 foreign points
end 2l0 900 900 feet to domestic points
OF thi. last amount over l25,000,OO0
feet has been used in Eastern States.
over 5O.OOo,OO0 feet of lumber has
been shipped from Seattle by vessels
during the past year, also large
quantity by rail. Above 70,O00,000
feet Of lumber has been shipped from
the mills around Gray's Hsrbor during
lHp2, an increase OF 100000 feet
over 1891. This does not include rail
shipments of lumber and shingles,
which would considerably augment
the output Of that district.