Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1905-11-28
A Large Army.
PROBABLY TEN THOUSAND MEN IN
THE MAINE FORESTS.

Probably not one person In twenty II
the ordinary walks of life has con-
ception of the number of men who are
sent into the lumber woods from Bangor
every fall to get ont the winters cut OF
logs. They read every day almost of the
numbers being sent north by various EN-.
ployment agents and know that the time
for numbering Is at hand again, but they
do not begin to realize how important q
part this furnishing of men plays In the
great numbering industry of the state
because they are not in touch with the
business.
When 1t Is stated that one firm In Ban
gOr has sent 200 men into the lumber
woods of Maine and New Hampshire
this fall many will doubt the statement,
yet 1t is true and the books of the firm Of
COwhig & Golden, employing agents,
show it to be so. These men were pick
ed mp from the army whose members
make the various boarding houses in the
city their rendezvous for several months
in the year when there is no work in the
lumber woods or on the drives. About
go of these 200 men were brought to
Bangor from Boston. These men are
better class of workmen than are usually
brought from the large cities for work
In the woods. In years past many Poles,
Swedes, Firms, and other foreigners,
able men and willing to work, but know
ing little about the use of an axe or saw,
have been brought to Maine and have
been found to be of little use in the
woods, but the men being brought down
this year are many of them natives of
Maine and are glad to come back to the
state for the winter.
The 2700 men sent into the woods by
this firm Is only small item, when the
army of men employed in the woods
during the winter is considered. Ten
thousand men is small estimate of the
number of men employed in all the
camps in Maine this winter. The Great
Northern Paper Company alone will
employ nearlp 5000 men In its own
camps and camps of its contracting
operators. There will be nearly 90
camps in operation this winter getting
out logs for this concern on both the
Kennebec and Penobscot waters. On
the North branch of the Penobscot alone
it is estimated that Charlie Jackson will
get out 30, 000, 900 feet. The camps will
average so men each and these are only
a few of the camps operating in the
Maine lumber woods.
Most of the men who are numbering in
Maine this season have hired all the men
they want and the work of sending men
into the woods is about over. There are
many expert woodsmen now working in
the saw mills all over the state who will
go into the woods as soon as the mills
shut down for the winter, which will be
in a couple of weeks now. These men
are held in demand by the lumber oper-
ators and are sure of work and the high
est wages as soon as their mill work is
done. The wages being paid for woods
men have declined considerably in the
last month. Earlier In the season when
men were in demand the wages ran all
the way from $2s to $S2, the latter
wages being paid for expert woodsmen.
500 and 1928 is about the general run of
wages being offered woodsmen now,
though extra good men can get $50. The
Bangor employment agents, basing their |
judgment on the number of men they
are sending into the woods, say there are
more and larger lumber operations being
conducted in the state this winter than
for many years past.-Bangor CONNER
rial