Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1907-08-19
Increase Of the Acreage of Ma
tionaI Forest Reserves
Made the PreteXt.
WHAT JAMES J. HILL SAYS.
One Acre Gives Railroads Same
freight AS Wheat Harvest Sup
plies in 100 Years.
Especial to the ..News.n

Portland. Or, Aug. 19.--Increasiug the
acreage OF the national forests, more
familiarly known az the forest re-
serves. as well rs adding to the number
of forest rangers, is claimed by the
friends of the Roosevelt administration
TO DO responsible to large extent for
tho absence OF forest firese in this
state.
Others contend that we have had
more rain than usual. and still some Of
the old-timers say that there have
been summers in the past when the
forest fire was unknown.
Be that. az it may, citizens OF Port
land have not forgotten the remark OF
Henry Ward Beecher, when interviewed
by a reporter as to the country and it's
scenery, he said: II might as well have
been In mail sack for all saw" and
there have been many occasions during
August when the smoke from the in
Vulnerable forest fires hid the scenery
and almost obscured the sky.
The increased value of timber Is hav-
ing much to do with the care the for
ests are receiving, and the private hold
ers are guarding their great store of
wealth even more zealously than the
government.
ENORMOUS ADVANCE.
The advance In the values of timber
during the last three years is so enor-
nous as TO be almost unbelievable
There are 200 billions of feet of stand
ing timber in Oregon alone, and count
ing the advance at only S. per thou
sand feet and In many kinds of Ium-
Der it has been Ave times that the
a laNA 4 III
half dollars, or a hundred million
more than the capitalization of the
United States Steel and Standard OIL
companies combined.
Jamese J. Hill recently made the
statement that one acre OF Oregon tim
Der was worth as much to a railroad
from a transportation standpoint as
loo acres of wheat or as he graphical
~ put 1t. 'One harvest from your well
umbered acres gives the transporta-
ton company as much freight as the
same area IN wheat would supply In a
hundred and sixty years.
The scarcity of timber throughout
the United States and Europe is prob
ably the chief reason why skilled tim
bermen from all parts OF the world are
gathering in the Pacific northwest Ii
is not unusual to meet men who have
made their millions out of the develop
ment of the timber resources of Texas
Louisiana. and Mississippi. joining with
those from Michigan, Minnesota and
Wisconsin In acquiring timber holdings
here, and the millions that have been
transferred from the older states to the
northwest in such purchases have had
much to do with making Oregon and
Washington Independent of Wall street
in their development.
SLAB WOOD A LUXURY.
Slab wood, the outside or trimming
from the log, including the bark, has
become luxury instead of drug on
the market, as formerly, for years
slab has been the staple fuel for
the home A few years ago il was de-
livered in any part of the city for a
dollar cord; then 1t rose in price,
up TO two years ago, TO s1.75 per cord.
and the housekeepers groaned at the
advance and figured over the Increased
cost of running their furnaces and
their stoves. and many put in coal. Now
this slab wood brings 81 per cord, where
formerly the mills were so anxious to
get rid Of it that they used II as n
filling for the low lands around their
grounds.
Ordinary FIR wood in four-foot lengths
was formerly SO per cord; then Il rose
to 81 and $3.50. Now IL is So per cord
and the buyer is the one who is ia
vored.
SAVING THEIR KINDLING.
The waste resulting from the cree.
ton of new buildings was until last
year stacked up In the street and
burned. II seemed wasteful thing to
those from the eastern states, where
kindling is carefully put away but the
people out here have the habit now Of
saving this waste, and It is stacked
away in the basement for the coming
winter with the same care as It would
be in Ohio or Illinois
Then in the yards Of the larger mills
cars can be seen loading lumber for
Cleveland. New York, and even points
IN Kansas and Oklahoma, Just north Of
the timber belt In Texas, Louisiana and
Arkansas. There seems TO be an es-
peclally vigorous demand FOR large tim
bers which require two or three cars
to transport them. and these 80 10
every point OF the compass and are to-
day available only IN the northwest
When the forest lands are cleared
they take the name OF logged on
lands" or "cut over timber lands" and
are then available for farms. fruit and
daiiylng, and these lands are partlcu-
larry sought by the newcomer,
The Increased cost OF timber for fuel
and power has caused the people Of tho
norhNhst 10 realize the worth OF
their water powers, for while there is
an extremely progressive population IN
this section OF the country. they are
like those everywhere, IN not caring 10
make a change until necessity compelS
Il.
The Increased value OF fuel has
brought into service various coal fields,
and thore Will not be many years be-
fore good wood Will not be used aa
fuel even In this section where Uncle
sam holds his largest fund OF wealth In
that direction.