East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1908-10-15
MATCH MAKERS
ARE ANXIOUS
WHAT TO MAKE THEM
OF Is THE PROBLEM
Decreasing Supply Of Timber Is Al
ready Worrying Manufacturers Of
the Little Lucifers-SOme Peucllar-
tiles of Kinds OF Matches Used In
Different Localities.

1t is perhaps more characteristic Of
Americans than OF any other people
to hold small things In contempt for
getting that little drops of water.
little grains of sand" constitute the
planet we inhabit. A match is a
small and insignificane affair, yet
multiplied as 1t has been in this coun-
try and the rest Of the civilized world
IL has been one of the most potential
agents of modern material develop
ment 1t has come into use at late
day In the worlds history. There are
many living among us still who can re-
member the flint and tinder which
were the regular means of starting a
fresh fire and the old one was care
fully preserved by burylng the embers
night after night to be revived in the
morning. II is eighty years ago the
present year that the lucifer match.
the first genuine friction match, was
invented, and even that required an
attachment Of bent sandpaper to pro-
duce the desired results.
tlon to realize the inconvenience
from which the friction match eman-
cipated their ancestors. The manu-
facture OF this product has become a
great and even somewhat diversl-
fled industry because every section
seems to have matches peculiar to It.
self 4 man who has been a COM
cercial traveller for many years tells
us that If he were taken up and car
rled to any point east of the Alle-
ghanies he could tell within a hun
dred 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, visiting friends in Boston
a few days ago, spoke very highly Of
our "abominable Matches" and de-
clared that he did not see how high
spirited. Independent and enterpris-
ing people like ourselves put up with
them.
The American people, however, APP
pear to be fairly well contented with
buy and consume so many with COM
paratively so little grumbling. They
use up about 10000, ,O00, ,O00.0 a year
or about half OF all that are manu-
factured In the world. There are hun
dreds of factories scattered over the
country, one plant on the Pacific
coast covering 240 acres and operat-
ing over 30 miles of railroad, over
which is carried to II daily 100000
feet OF sugar pine and yellow pine
logs for the match machines. In
ferior lumber will not do. II must be
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 a thousand doors and 500
window sashes daily. In a single year
one match company in the lake re-
gion cut 225,000,000 board feet OF,
pine. though that was intended for
more than a years product.
II is no wonder when we consider
these figures, that the match makers
are becoming anxious And that is
true in other countries as well as our
own. In Germany and France there
is a movement to have forests plant
ed Just for match timber, and we may
soon face a famine in match wood
this country, for not all kinds can be-
used for that purpose.
1t may also happen that invention
may develop something that will take
the place of matches. II is not prob
able tha the limit Of progress has
been reached in the means of produc-
ing fire at need. There is no Pro-
mothean penalty for a man who shall
make the discovery, but rather well
come and reward by his eager fellow
men.