The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-03-31
Log CUT IS HEAVY
FOR A BAD SEASON
FIGURES ANNOUNCED TODAY
SHOW NEARLY 5000, 900 FEET.
Logs Are Now Being Rushed to Mime
apolis by Rail to Meet the Demand
for Lumber Caused by the EARLY
Opening of a Brisk Building Season.

Logging operations for the season of
19O5-6 arc over as far as any produc-
ton is concerned. In few days all
the camps will break up and in two
weeks if the present weather holds the
drives will start. Some logs remain
sippi and tributary streams, but all will
be cared for by the time the river
opens.
Despite adverse conditions the log
cut Of the second or Minneapolis dis
trict comprising the Mississippi and it's
tributaries north from the mouth of the
St. Croix below Hastings will be fully
80 per cent the cut Of the previous sea-
is no great falling off of any particular
grades or varieties, the decrease being
evenly istributed and the pine holding
up well. At least 20 per cent more
tamarack than usual has been cut.
These results were announced today
by the surveyor general s office where
the returns from all camps turnout the
second district are kept.
1t Is believed that the river will open
IN ten days, and once open no time will
be lost in getting the drives started.
.. Logs Came by Rail-
In anticipation Of brisk demand for
lumber and heavy building operations
with the opening Of the season and be-
cause of the shortage in stocks all over
the country, millions Of feet of logs are
being shipped in to Minneapolis this
spring by. rail-. The major portion of
as usual, but much of the timber for
early saving will be shipped in.
Saving operations were continued so
late into the fall last year that compar-
atlvely few logs were left in the river
tor the opening cut. With a heavy de-
mand the lumber companies cannot wait
for the drives and will depend on logs
brought in by rail. The operation is
expensive, but with the present high
prices, and because of the demand that
is expected, the experiment is being
tried. ~
Usually some 200,O0O,0Oo feet of logs
are carried over in the river every win
ter. The. mills start on these and are
thereby enabled to keep in operation.
until the drives arrive. A few COM
panies, notably the Backus- Brooks com
pany and the Scanlon- Gipson company.
have rallied, logs in to help out a. tenn
have never been undertaken heretofore
on so extensive scale as at present.
Hundred Cars a Day.
:; The 1 G. A. Smith company is bringing
hundred cars a day from the country
north Of Bemidji, a distance of $50
miles. They come in on a fast sched-
ule over the Minnesota & international
and the Northern Pacific. A tempo
rary line has been built into the yards
at Camden Place, and the logs are
dumped on the ice to be ready when the
season opens. The first contract Of this
company calls for 5,000,000 feet. Later.
25,O00,000 Or 90,000,000 feet of logs,
cut in previous seasons, that have been
stored in northern. lakes, will be
brought in all rail.
All of the mills have some logs on
hand, but not enough to keep them run
ming fullblast until the new cut comes
in unless they open later than the COM
panies that are shipping by rail. The
heavy demand for lumber last fall and
the open season combined to make the
saving season unusually long and to
reduce the amount of timber in the
booms. thereby creating the log short
age that will prevail at the opening of
the present saving season.
Companies that are not bringing in
logs by rail are hoping that the sea-
son will open early so that the drives
may be started soon