The Cairo bulletin., 1907-09-11
RESPONSIBLE FOR HIGH PRICE
OF LUMBER IN MIDDLE WEST
ERN STATES.
ExHORBITANT FRE|CHTS
Yielding Enormous Profits, Vet Trans.
portation is Not Provided and
$1,000 Cars of Lumber Were
Burned.

Spokane, WASH Sept. 10--lnvosti
cations by commission of the bureau
OF corporations of the United States
department of commerce have dis
closed the fact that the excessive
freight rates from Puget Sound an
the Spokane country to points in the
middle western, eastern and southern
states Is directly traceable the pres
ent high price of lumber also that the
freight charges by railroads greatly
exceed the first cost Of the lumber
The commission is acting under in
structions Of resolution adopted by
the last congress, and the results OF
its probings i'll the west and north
west are surprising.
The Hill and Hartman lines, whose
net earnings last year nearly equalled
their operating expenses, have, it is
shown. practically throttled the peo-
pie compelling them to pay eXorbi-
tant prices for building material and
totally ignoring all appeals of the lum-
bcr men for even slight reduction in
freight rates in the interest of stimu.
lating trade. These appeals have been
frequent and have invariably been
turned down, and, to add still further
to the burdens Of the people, these
roads have announced another increase
in rates of 10 cents the 100 pounds,
effective Oct. /, which will add $3.50
per 900 feet to the cost of lumber
in all the territory east OF the Rocky
mountains, excepting Nebraska aud
Kansas, where the additional rate and
Der will be about per cent This
latest grip upon the pocketbooks OF
the public is based on the assertSn
that the haul of empty cars Is proving
expensive to the railroads.
Under the new rates the additional
cost of construction of an ordiary
house in the eastern, middle western
and northwestern states will be $G6
because the lumbermen of the Pacific
states are not in a position to absorb
the raise In rates.
Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Califor
mia and Montana contain 900,000,000,
600 feet of standing timber, or enough
to construct 100000 houses, and suf-
ficient to care for the wants of the
entire United States for period of
25 years. The five states contain
over 1000 say and shingle mills, en-
ploying 10000 persons, and a pay
roll of approximately s135,000,0o0 al
year, and of these 400 are in the Spo-
kane country. Last year these states
shipped by rail 100000 tons of
lumber on which the freight charges
were not far from $l50,000000.
The entire operating expenses of
the Northern Pacific are paid by the |
lumbermen of the state of Washing |
ton alone, and the most profitable |
business of all the tarnscontinental |
lines is this same lumber haul. Were |
il not for the forests of the Pacific |
coast the entire traffic of all the lines
could be handled by one road.
The cost of producing this lumber
at the present time is $3.50 per l.
600 feet, and the average selling price
is about SIS per 1000 feet at the
mill. Freight charges are so high
that in many eases the original selling /
price of lumber is exceeded. For ex-
ample. rough lumber weighs 3,3o0
pounds per 1000 feet. and by adding
the freight charges can be ascertained
the delivered prices per 1000 feet at
the following poins: