The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-06-24
THE SAWMILL BUSINESS.
Interesting Things Learned by Fe-
male Reporter,


Flora Moon in Women's Tacoma News.
Naturally / visited the big mills first.
At the St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber Com
pany's mill l found everything going TO
beat all. Capt Everett Griggs, the super
intendent told me mat the best way to see
how lumber was manufactured would be
TO follow a log 10 the saw, then see a
board cut and follow It until II was on the
cars. Well, | waited until / saw a log
coming up on the back porch and pulled
on TO what they called a deck. but which
in reality was the floor. \ man. with the
awfullest dirty hands yanked a piece of
iron, and a great black iron fixing came
up through the floor and hit the log a pop
that knocked il clear across the mill, then
il popped back out OF sight. | asked a
Swede what he called il, and he said "a
steam niger" | didn't say anything, but
l felt like asking the Swede If he saw any
thing green about me. | am sure the men
had been posted about me coming, and
Just lied TO me from one end of the mill 10
the other They spoke about dogs" and
a whole lot OF things I know are not in
any sawmill. Well they got that log onto
some kind of a machine and drove some
thing into II that looked like picks, then
man pulled another piece of iron and away
went that log and buzz-the big saw took
II. Wen. II wasn't a minute before they
one side. I grabbed my skirts and took
after II. They run Il along on rollers so
fast I could hardly keep up with it. ran
nearly the whole length of the mill 20
catch Il. Just as | caught il two men
pulled Il against a round saw. and when !
asked them where that board would so
next they smiled and said IL wasn't
hoard but only a slab, and good for moth
ing hut freWood.
I around "a NJ they called the
pond. II was full Of logs. | asked a man
how much lumher they got out Of log.
lie said sometimes they got twenty-four
or TWENTY-FIVE feet Then asked him
what they did when they came 10 a log
with a hole In II. lie said they sawed
up until they came TO the hole. then run
It through tho scantling machine and made
lath oe it.
Then went to II. G. Fosters Office
When I asked him how old a tree should
be before II should be cut up he said he
had issued orders 20 all his miilers not 70
cur tree under liS years oil nor over go
lie said whom they were cut too young the
lumber was liable 20 De TOO fresh. and II
cut too old much of 10 was cuitus- Tha'
seems reasonable enough 20 any one. Then
IRskof him what he thought OF cedar. He
said that wherever cedar is indigenous and
grows prodiei0us that the vivjseetion OF
them showed a longevity unparalleled
since the DAYS az the food. The only
trouble ~ had with cedar was IN the tend
ency of the knotholes 10 work out and
leave the knobs sticking ia the hoard
Many carreuters object to IL for that rea-
son. Again. "A great many Eastern carpen-
ters AL 20 set their squares right angied
before the spring building begins. and as
result often make bad joints ard blame
oar lumher for them. ! then asked him
for an opinion as 30 what could be done IN
the sawuilis - 90 away with the sawdust
nuisance Tie said 81 should all b savef
and a consuauv ORGANIZED 70 manufacture
dolls No stuffluE s. so cheap and valuable
as saWdust for dolls.