Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921, 1907-12-26
Match Makers
Getting Anxious
The Rapidly Decreasing Supply Of
Timber is Already Worrying
Manufacturers of Matches

1t is perhaps more characteris-
tic OF Americans than any other
people to hold small things in
contempt, forgetting that little
drops of water, little grains OF
sand" constitute the planet we
iuhabit. A match is small and
Insignificant affair, yet multiplied
as it has been in this country and
the rest of the civilized world,
has been one of the most potential
agents of modern material de-
velopment. 1t has come into use
at late day in the worlds his
tory. There are many living
among us still who can remember
when the flint and tender were
the regular means of starting a
fresh fire, and the old one was
carefully preserved by burying
the embers night after night to
be revived in the morning. 1t is
eightylyears ago the present year
that the lucifer match, the first
genuine friction match, was in
vented, and even that required
an attchment of best sandpaper
to produce the desired results.
1t is hard for the present
generation to realize the incon-
veniences from which the fric-
ton match emancipated their
ancestors. The manufacture Of
this product has become a great
and even somewhat diversified
industry. because every section
seems to have matches peculiar
to itself. A man who has been
a commercial traveller for many
years tells us that if he were
taken up and carried to any point
east of the Alleganies he would
tell within a hundred miles of
where he was by the matches he
should find in use. There is also
a national pride in matches. A
recent mayor of Manchester,
England, visited friends in Bos-
ton few days ago, spoke very
b igh ~ Of our "abomiable
matches" and declared that he
did not see how high-spirited,
independent and enterprising
people like ourselves put up with
them.
The American people, how
ever, appear TO be fairly we'll
contented with our home product,
else they should not buy and con-
sumo so many with comparatively
so little grumbling. They use
up about 100000, 100000 a year
or about half of all that are man
ufactured in the world. There
are hundreds of factories scat
tered over the country, one plant
on the Pacific coast covering 24O
acres and operating over thirty
miles of railroad, over witch is
carried to it daily 100000 feet OF
sugar pine and yellow pine logs
for the match machines. In
ferior lumber will not do. 1t
must be straight-grained and
free from knots and carefully
treated in addition. The by
product goes into larger things.
The factory on the Pacific coast
referred to turns out as this by.
product thousand doors and SOC
window shashes daily. In q
single year one match company
in the lake RECON cut 225, 0OO,O 0(
board feet of pine, though that
was intended for more than q
years product.
It's no wonder, when we consider
these figures, that the match
makers are becoming anxious
And that is true in other count
ries as we'll as our own. II
Germany and France there IS ;
movement to have fores
planted just for match timber
and we may soon lace a 1amin'
in match wood in this country
for not all kinds can be used 70
that purpose.
1t may also happen that in
vention may develop something
that will take the place o
matches, 1t is not probable tina
the limit of progress has bee
reached in the means of produc
ing fire at need. There is n
promothean plenalty for the ma
who shall make the discovery
Il hut rather welcome and reWar