The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1899-10-26
GREAT DEMAND FOR PINE.

IL winter conditions are favorable.
| there will be a crop of pine logs in the
! Duluth Qowa) district the coming sea-
son OF not far froiA SOC, 900, 600 feet. more
tnah VIII be cut in any other white pine
logging district i'm the United states.
! says the Chicago Times Herald. Not
laf from $4,000 men VIII be engaged In
TINS work.as well as thousands Of horses
ana oxen. The wages to be paid these
men are double those OF the winter of
lS9'-eS and viii average more than $50
month and board Owing to the high
er cost OF wages. food feed for animals
ana all supplies the cost of logging will
exceed that of the recent years by at
least - thousand feet. and the price
or lumber must reflect this advance
another year. either I'm direct advance
or in lessened profit 10 manufacture
ers and shippers.
How great the demand for lumber
from this district for Eastern shipment
has been this season is shown by the
tact That, though the cut OF the Duluth
district for this summer is about I5O.-
0OO.0OO feet. IL has been impossible for
month or more 20 secure any but the
smallest lots Of odds and ends. ana
from the further fact that stock that
is usually considered worthless and
goes to the sawmill is now being sold at
from 81 TO 81 a thousand feet. What
are called three man b0ards'--from
the fact that IL takes about three men
To lift one To prevent its falling To
pieces are aow selling at profitable
figures.
The wonderful demand which is so
sudden that the manufacturers have
anf ah1 20 L d. 10 n.
not been the result OF increased de-
mand i'm the building trades. but has
resulted chiefly from the enormous de-
mand for boxes, all sorts OF packing
cases, and also to the increased ship-/
ments of all sorts of manufactured
goods. In many lines OF business, es-
pecially those of the dry goods. the pi-
ano and carriage maker. the exporter
OF goods boxed. from locomotives 10
canned stuff there has been an in
crease Of six,and seven fold i'm the de-
mand for boxes over one To two years
ago. At the present time there are on
docks at this end OF Lake Superior ten
cargoes Of lumber sold and waiting
sh' pment for every one ship an the
trade.an1 mill'cns OF feet OF sawnll lum-
her needed bv the yardmen Of New
York and New England. the Michigan
peninsula and Chicago. will not be sent
forward this fall simply because ton
mage cannot be got for its transporta-
ton.
With the expected increase of build
ing operations i'm the West another year
the demand for lumber is likely to be
as good next season as this.aud there is
practically no possibility of an over
product on. In is92 the three white pine
states-Minnesota. Michigan and Wis
consin-were cutting at the rate of
1000 900. 900 feet annually, which they
had six wears later reduced to 5500,-
900. 000 Today the country is back on
the basis of consumption of 1892 and the
basis Of production of 1898. and II Will
take some time 70 make no the differ
ence of / 900. 600 mn feet. The forests OF
Michigan and Wisconsin are now so
nearly exhausted that. they can never
make il up. and the entire burden will
rest on the Duluth and Minneapolis dis
tricts in Minnesota. For the next ten
years these two districts can probably
produce as much pine as they are now
cutting. At that time tho end of the
white pine timber of the United States
will be in sight and not far away.