Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-12-01
PACIFIC FOREST WEALTH.
Riches to be Wrung from Our ereA'
Forest.


o. .,.nL,.sa forests of the PACING
Northwest In the presence OF the
prea, monarchs Of the forest, many OF
which have no doubt defied the war
,,ng clements for centuries. and sun
stand with their huge trunks pointing
he,venward 200 and even 300 feet be-
fore branch is met. unconquered
kings of incompatible majesty. great
pity and sadness fills the heart.
civilization in the form of the axe
and the saw il rapidly accomplishing
what Father Time and the elements
have failed to achieve. the downfall Of
these great monarchs Of the North
west. If one loves nature in her super
lative dress. d feeling of intense regret
follows q visit 10 any one of the lumber
camps in the Oregon country. 1t does
not seem right that this mighty forest
stretching as it does from the Straits
Of Fuca to Humboldt Bay In California
the greatest and, in fact. the only
great timber belt on the continent.
should be put to the uses OF man.
The fall Of n great forest giant is Il
scene never to be forgotten. Stricken
to the heart, it shivers and trembles
throughout its towering height as
off the unknown force gnawing at it's
vitals. Unable to do 90, 1t signs AS IL
sways in the wind to come crashing
and laundering down. cruelty soaring
its fellows as it falls to the earth with
a groin that echoes for miles down the
mountain sides. To the numbering in
terests OF the Northwest, however, the
great forests have no poetry, no beau
~ no soul. All this Is lost
70 those who regret this fact there
Is comfort In the knowledge that the
Government has reserved areas aggra-
eating I'll square miles, nearly all ~.
ing IN the Cascade Range, and which
contain fully 5000 900. 900 feet Of lum-
Der. which can never be sold for so
much per foot. The rest is doomed to
comparatively speedy destruction, for
the markets of the world are seeking
tn resources of this the last of the
mighty forests. For generations to
come the greatest industry of the Pa
cilic Northwest is bound to be i'm lum-
Der. The resources of the. Oregon
country are almost beyond conception
Great corporations and combinations
and combinations Of capital capable Of
Developing these resources economical
~ ana rapidly are fast acquiring title
I" III" forest lands Of the Pacific Coast
states ana OF Idaho and Montana.
Combinations Of railroad interests have.
been effected which make il possible
FOE the lines serving the forest regions
OF Tn" Northwest to make through
rates to all the markets of the East
These two new conditions are accom-
publishing wonders in developing the
lumher industry of Washington. Ore
gon. Upper California and Western
Idaho.
y few figures will give some idea of
IN" vastness of the opportunity Gov
rrilmcnt forest experts have estimated
that the st tie of Oregon alone has 335
""'"oo.pO0 feet Of standing timber
Wiirh II sawed into boards an inch
thl'k would make walk half n mile
"Ihc ana extending around the earth
ny the close Of the present century the
oregon country forests will. il is es,,.
mattel. have contributed fully SI2Oo0
o"""oo to the wealth OF the iJpit.d
States
During 1903 the lumber and shinrJe
Fr"du"tion of the Pacific Coast STAR.
WAS between 1000, 900 and 5000 OOO :.
"o feet. Washington, greatest thus
lar among the Understandings
states, came first. with approximately
3'".n0OO 900 feet Oregon second with
about 1.2o0.0OO.000 feet and California
third, with about 1000. 0OO, 900 feet. The
cut from the Columbia river basin
alone amounted to approximately GOO :
oooooo feet. and Portland still retained
h'r prestige as the greatest lumber
producing city on the coast with a
record of 3Gl.00o.oOU feet. 1t is infer
'sting to know that the foreign shin.
ments of lumber from the Northwest
increased that year over L.. 500. 900 feet
anu the domestic consumption over "a :
300. 400 feet
In View of the fact that between ~
an" =" Yer cent OF the area of Oregon
Is t'mhcrcd. amounting to between 40 =
VI" and 10000 square miles. and 20 Dor
cent. OF Washington. or about 1900
square miles. and 4 per cent. Of Idaho
or $1,000 square miles. 1t would almost
seem that the timber supply Of the
fi'ihc Northwest is inexhaustible. All
81 the TIMBER. however. is not mer-
'hantahle. In Oregon. for example
the understandable timber does not
cover more than 80 per cent of the
c""htrys area o, about 2S.34S SQUARE
miles Presumably about the sam.
corresponding reduction should be
made from the tinbered area of tn.
Two other states. The timber lands of
oregon lie in the Cascade and Coast
ranges. The latter possesses an al
most unbr"ken supply from the mouth
"t the Columbia to the southern
boundary of the state The Cascade
rang" Is heavily wooded from its west
trn slope to its crest, the forest be-
coming less dense toward the southern
portion Of the state. On the eastern
slope. where the rainfall Is scanty, the
timber is sparse and much of it is un-
m'rchantable. Oregon is the heaviest
timhered state In the Union, although
It is not producing as much lumber
annually as Washington
The development of the lumber interest
OF the Northwest has been especially rap
I'd during the last five years. The increase
IN activity is shown by the fact that dur
ing isNa ?So timber entries were made ir
Oregon. embracing total area of 1876
g.. acres In 1905. however. the Oregon
timber entries were 100. covering total
acreage OF sE.57S. Total sales from
Oregon timber land showed an increase
from 3r.5I to 1913 S During this
year OrcSons receipts from timber lands
e..lN,-