Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1904-11-17
CEDAR SHINGLES
THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY LUM.
herman ON THE SITUATION.
Manufacturers are Badly Handicapped For
Want Of Sufficient Cars to Cary Their
Product to Market. A Water Route to
Atlantic Seaboard May Relieve Them.

AtidntiC SedDOdTO way NGiICVG INGW.
The cedar shinge situation just now
has some very uncomfortable features
tor the mill men OF the far west. They
keep right Oh making shingles, but the
railroads have not been furnishing them
cars rapidly enough. That has been the
rule for number Of weeks; in fact, al.
most since they resumed saving after
the Fourth OF July shut down. The rail-
roads forsaw that they would have a
large amount of grain to handle both in
North Dakota and in Eastern Washing
ton, and commenced assembling their
rolling stock at points where it would be
readily available when needed for this
class of traffic. For time it was good
thing for the market that the capacity of
the cars tor shingle traffic was not equal
to the capacity of the mills, for the de.
mand was not lively enough to take all
the shingles that would have been sent
forward, and the market would have
suffered. Of late however. the demand
for shingles, though not large, has been
greater than the supply coming forward,
and the shortage OF cars has been a
hardship both to the mill men and the
eastern distributor.
There is less liability Of the eastern
market being glutted now than there was
few weeks ago. The new ruling OF the
railroads that shingles that reached the
Minnesota Transfer without definite con.
sgnment would have to pay tribute to
that point, will keep the transit lines
down. Few more shingles than the
trade actually needs will be shipped from
the mills, for the shipper who INDUCES
in this practice is taking chances that
are likely net him considerabl loss.
On the other hand, the fact that the
shippers cannot get cars now, and the
further fact that the railroads will not
now accept shingles for shipment east by
way of the great lakes and guarantee
-.that. they will 81 beyond Duluth, ought
to determine them upon policy of cur
tailment. In all the years that the
manufacture of shingles has been going
on in the states of Washington and Ore
gon, a very large percentage of the
manufacturers do not seem to have learn
ed that shingles are not consumed dur
ing the winter in this part of the country.
If the car shortage at the present time
shall force upon them the necessity Of
closing their mills for two months at
least, it will prove blessing in the long
run. The shingles now on hand at the
mills will take care of about al the BUSH
ness that will appear between now and
the first of February. Probably the
demand will commence early after the
beginning OF the new year. The country
promises to do lot of building next
season, and dealers are likely to antici-
pate their wants to some extent, but the
mills can take care of the demand if they
do not make many shingles during the
winter.
For the trade farther east a new route
promises to open. A western concern
has determined on venture, the success
or failure of which means much to the
shingle trade. Arrangements have been
made for the shipment to New York OF a
million and half shingles by one OF the
vessels of the American. Hawaiian Steam.
ship company. This is trial shipment
and represents about one-tenth the
capacity of the vessel, it will be cheaper
than all rail route to the east and about
way of the lakes. The time consumed
will be much greater, but other features
make this method good one. In ship.
ping by rail the matter of weight has cut
good deal Of a figure, and the shippers
have always been tempted to reduce it as
much as possible by kiln drying. A
common complaint has been that this
process has taken much of the lasting
quality, along with the dampness, out Of
the shingles. AS shipping by the al
water route renders the matter of weight
of no Importance. it will not be necessary
to kiln dry the shingles before loading
They ought to season to some extent be-
fore they get around the Horn, and re-
tain all OF the lasting quality OF the
natural wood. This method OF shipmen
could be carried on all the year round
and would relieve the transcontinenta
traffic OF the shingles that have beer
sent to the far east by the rail and watel
route, leaving hundreds OF cars available
for the shipment Of shingles into thu
Mississippi valley.-Mississippi Vale!
Lumberman.