The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1895-07-29
AMODERN LUMBER MIL.
Methods Have Changed Since the Days
of the Old-Time Sawmin.

tFrom tho Minneapolis Press,l
wanted to see a fin de steele lumber
mill, When I was a boy in the pine
woods on the Allegheny hills they had
sawmills on the creeks and rivers that
used to do business with the logs in a
way that seemed to be amazing. They
used to have buzz saws in those days
about as big around as the full moon,
and the way that a little Gypsy engine
of three or four horse power could make
them revolve was a wonder. But they
told me here that l was out of date,
and that the Allegheny pine woods Were
not in 1t.
So / went down to a real lumber mill
"a Minneapolis lumber mill--yesterday.
The show is worth the price of admis-
sion. A Minneapolis lumber mill Is
place where they feed a forest into one
end and draw frame house out of the
other. A Minneapolis lumber mill is
the Keller of the mechanic are 1t
swallows log and vomits a wagon
load of toothpicks. There Is prestidigi-
tation for you. The modern lumber
mill is a place where the men are ma
chinery and the machinery seems to do
the thinking. Seems isn't really the
word. 1t does think. Or, If you can
prove that it doesn't. you can't make
me believe 1t. l saw it think. ! saw a
great big leviathan Of a thing, a jagged
hooked, long-toothed monster, reach
over and pick up log, log that was
half as big as the steel arch bridge, and
ND 40 ? n Any n q
woman would a baby, tuck 1t in, and
then-rip! 1t was all over with Mr..
Log. 1t made me think of when the
wolf unmasked himself to Little Red
Riding Hood He had been good and
kind and loving, and all that,you know,
but finally he showed his cruel teeth.
That's the way this human monster,
this machine that thought, did with the
log; the poor log that it had pretended
to be so fond of, and had coddled and
made love to.
Down in this mill where / was there
were three saws running. This isn't
technical, and / don't know for sure
what they call them, but one was a
buzz. saw-I know buzz saw when |
see it-and another was a saw like a
leather belt, piece of leather betting,
mean. 1t must have been twenty-five
or thirty feet long, and it ran over a
big wheel that went around million
times second Four or five feet of the
saw came down vertically, just at the
edge of little railroad about fifty or
sixty feet long, inside the mill. There
was a fiat car on the railroad and big
piston rod was it's motive power. The
car was fastened to the rod Ruth was
half as surely tangled up. Whittier
thou goest?" Well, when the rod went
you may be sure the car went, right
away A man pulled a string and the
rod did the rest.
1t was on this car that the thing with
the VOLTS teeth dumped the logs, one
by one. When they were in position
all tucked In and feeling pretty COM
Portable, 1 thank you, all at once that
string was pulled, and in about a Sec
ond the poor, unsuspecting log had its
nose up against that leather belt saw
and was being sliced and trimmed into
stick of square timber. In about two
minutes 1t had lost all its self-respect
1t was nude, shamefaced, pitiable.
Then some one pulled another string
or touched a button, l don't know
which, and what was left Of the log was
ANONYMOUSLY thrown overheard. 1t fell
upon a moving sidewalk, something like
that thing they had down by the steam.
| err pier at the Worlds Fair, and the
sidewalk carried ii off, first south, Their
east l think this sidewalk thought
| too 1t seemed to. 1t did just the right
| thing at the proper time It never
made anything that looked to me like 9
| mistake. 1t took this big timber ane
ran it over to the middle Of the mill anc
| laid ii on another sidewalk that was al
| rest. The brother of the moving side
| walk was very busy on the other side o.
| the mill, taking care of the timbers the
buzz saw was turning out, turning then
| into the same center. Every few min
utes six or eight squared timbers would
| be piled up on the sidewalk that was a
rest. Then some one pulled anothet
| string. The sidewalk that was at res
got move on itself; not very fast, bu
about as fast as a fat man with on
hundred and sixty dollars in his poke
| would walk after taking dinner at tn
| West.
Down the pike a little way was CT
der press, or something. Maybe, !
wasn't cider press for am not a me
chanical expert, but it looked like it. ]
was about as big as ton of hay, an
inside of it twenty-four saws were go
ing up and down, not around, bu
straight up and down, like typewrite
girls jaws when she chews gum an
thinks she is thinking The sidewalk l.