The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-10-05
YELLOW PINE SITUATION
JOHN W. PRENTIss GIVES DE- TATLED FACTS AND FIGURES.
Demand for. Lumber-Possibilities oi South Just Being Recognized. | MT. Kirby's Big Deal Involves More Than $3S, ,oOo, ,00o.

uohn W. Prentis in Lake Charles News.
 In Southwest Louisiana and in South east Texas there stands belt of long leaf pine timber about 100 miles square. Today it Is the best and most valuable body of pine timber standing anywhere In the Unithed States east of the Rocky Mountains. From it Texas. Arizona, New Mexico and the great Middle west must draw its timber supply.
 The white pine forests of Michigan and Wisconsin have ceased to be factor sn the situation for they are practically cut off, In Maine, New Hampshire. Yer mont and Northern New York the pine was exhausted years ago. In these latter States spruce Is the reigning timber and very little of that finds Its way to the saw mills because the great pulp and pa per mills are literally swallowing 1t up at a terrific rate and as they can afford to pay more for spruce logs for the pur- pose of turning them into paper than the saw mills can for making boards. 1t Is not a difficult task to foretefl the pass ins of the saw mill in New England and New York. Not until one gets over the divide into Oregon, Washington and Cal afornia does one encounter any large amount of pine timber. In Washington and Oregon there is the red fir. common ly known as Oregon pine. And in Call
 
 giant redwoods But these great forests will not for many years come into com petition with the long leaf yellow pine of Louisiana and Texas They are too far away from the centers of population. and freight rates are prohibitive.
 This is why this belt of long leaf yellow nine has become the mecca of the north |. ern lumbermen. Their eyes are all turn sd this way and wherever there is
 nR t~o nR IO HA in this country they do not let it slip. Rus sell Sage recently bought 60,000 acres of nine lands in Mississippi.
 The Wright, Blodgett Company of Chi cago and Michigan, own in Calcasieu. Rapides and Vernon parishes, over 200,- 900 acres. The Gould family own nearly one million acres in Louisiana and 1t is not for sale. And much of the capital for the great Kirby Lumber Company of Texas. came from conservative Bos- ton.
 And iust a word about this great saw mill and timber land consolidation in Southeast Texas. There are two eompa- nies-the Houston Oil Company, capi- talked for $9oOOO,oo0. and owning ss3, 900 acres of long leaf yellow pine lands. The Kirby Lumber Company is capitalized at s1o, O0,oO0, and expects to turn out from its saw mills coo. .0O0.0 900 feet of lumber a year.
 This latter company has made a con- Eract covering a period of fifteen years or more with the Houston oil Company. Under this contract the Kirby Lumber Company agrees to buy the standing tim ber from the Houston oil Company upon Q stumpage basis. This year the Kirby Lumber Company pays the Houston oil Company 8 per M. feet; next year 1t will pay $3.5o per M. feet; the following year A per M; then A.50. and finally s per M. and the price then remains at s for the balance of the contract. In other words. the Kirby Lumber Company has contracted for its timber at an average vorice of $4.75 per M. feet The whole thing amounts to this-that for the stand ing timber of merchantable size upon Rs3. 900 acres of land the Kirby Lumber Company has obligated itself to pay nver $3s,0 s,0O0,0 600. And so great is the con- ndence of Northern capitalists in its ability to do so that they have actually subscribed for $40O0,0O0 of 6 per cent tim ber certificates of total issue of $6,OOo. mn issued by the Kirby Lumber Com nany. the only security for which Is this stumpaee contract with the Houston oil Company.
 when one sees such a gigantic combi- nation as this the question naturally arises: At this rate, how long will this little belt of long leaf yellow pine last?'
 Yet me give few figures. which, while rot absolutely correct, will serve the pur- nose hope they are given conserva- lively and are below the actual figures of nroduction-which are well nigh impos- rib1e to correctly obtain
 We have given tract of land about yoo miles square-that is 6,4Oo,Ooo acres-of tb,s more than one-third has already becn cut-say that we have 100000 acres