Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-08-24
Some Facts About the Single,
the Great Staple of Wash
ington State
ANNUAL OUTPUT ENORMOUS
The Product of the Washington Saw
Mills Goes Not Only to Every State
in the Union, But to Almost Every
Country in the World = Immense
Amount of Waste.

Seattle, Wash. Aug. 24.-The shin
gle is the great staple of the state of
Washington. In the course of year
the 1000 saw mills of this common
wealth eat up 10000 acres of timber.
tearing it into billions upon billions of
the thin. strips that are such an i'm
portant commodity of commerce.
The annual output of shingles from
this state, If laid side by side, would
make a path reaching from Seattle to
New York City; the quantity turned
out every twelve months being suffi-
cient to put roofs on 100000 average
sized dwelling houses. During the hard
times in the '9Os "shingle scrip" was
in circulation here in the place of
money. The police court record of the
town of Blaine, In Whatcom county,
near the British Columbia line, shows
that John Smith was fined 10000
shingles for drunkenness" The court
record further shows that John Smith
paid his fine.
But the lumber fame of Washington
does not rest entirely with the little
single. Far from it. Its slanting
mountain sides are the homes of the
lordliest pines in the world. The trim.
shapely Douglas fir is the unrivaled
dandy of the tree family. The flag
on Windsor palace in England and that
which flies over the castle of the Mix
ado of Japan, are supported by poles
that grew In our great northwestern
forests. The great sticks on the ships
of the much-vaunted German navy
and silent north.
The product of the Washington saw
mills goes to every state in the union,
and to almost every country in the
world One steamer carried to Manila
in one cargo twelve train loads of
lumber. The export business provides
some strange inequalities. We hear so
much about the great foreign market,
yet the home trade is always the most
valuable for the producer. This is true
in all lines. The Minneapolis miller
gets more money for his flour in the
Twin Cities than he does in London,
and the Seattle lumberman gets SO
more for every 1000 feet of lumber he
sells in his home city, than that which
he ships to Johannesburg, South Al
RIGA.
The quotations for the South African
trade are INTEREST," ting. The freight rate
bv steamer from Seattle to the South
African seaboard is $l2 per i.0UO ieet.
From the coast to Johannesburg is Il
distance of 800 miles by rail, ana the
rate for this very small; traction of the
long journey is $40 per 1000 feet-an
Increase of SIS. This lumber sells at
retail In johannesburg FOR $3.50 per
LOCO feet. and the cost of the same at
the mills in Washington is only 81. l,
would seem, on the face of 1t, that the
railroads and lumber dealers in South
Africa ought to be doing pretty Well
from the modest profits they demand.
There are some most astonishing
facts in connection with the Washing
ton lumber industry. 1t employs 3l,o0o
men. and the annual output is worth
S34, 000,0 900, yet for every dollar that is
earned several are wasted. The condl-
tiuns surrounding the business are such
that every year millions of dollars
worth of wealth is destroyed that ma
ture required thousands OF years TO
create. A detailed account of the pro-
cess will be necessary 10 explain this
statement When a log is taken into
the mill ii Is first made square. The
four slabs taken from It in the first cut
are utilized in making iath and fence
pickets. The outside of a tree is the
least valuable portion of it, because of
the presence of sap near the bark. This
Sr.- ,,1a
wood. But when lath is covered with
plaster rotting is prevented. The
Washington tree. however. is more free
from the i'll effects resulting from this
cause than any other tree in the world.
After the slabs are taken off, the first
and second cuts are the most valuable
portions of the tree.
The lumber from this part IS used for
interior finishing. flooring, ceiling, sid
ing, wainscoting, etc. /; sells for flom
SIG to $50 per 1000 feet. This Is the
grade of stuff that Washington sells
everywhere. But it is All she can sell.
1t only constitutes 20 per cent OF the
tree. and the remaining 10 per cent Is
nearly all wasted. The heart OF the
tree is the least desirable portion OF
Il. 1t is used for timbers. joist. COM
mon fence boards, fence, sidewalk,
barn siding. and all the lower and
cheaper grades of lumber. The market
lis so far away that the freight rates
make it impossible for the Washington
lumbermen to utilize three-fourths OF
their resources. 1t is burned up to get
IL out of the way. The forests are
picked over to get out the best trees,
and the waste left lying around dries
up and makes food for fires which an
Inually consume millions of dollars
worth of the rich resources.
Flood Brought Residence.
An old bachelor living about six
miles from Richmond. kas., was large