The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-09-04
ENORMOUS GUT OF
 LUMBER IN 1907 Figures Show Increase Over
 the Previous Year BIG RUN EARLY IN YEAR In the Lake States White Pine Supply Has Fallen of and Texas Has
 Now Taken Third Place
 In Production.
BIG RUN EARLY IN YEAR

Washington. September 8.-(special) Figures of the lumber cut in 1907 com piled by the bureau of the census and the forest service showed the largest total ever reported in the United States, exceeding by over per cent the cut reported for 19O6f until then the record year. This does not necessarily show a larger actual cut than in 1906, for the returns obtained last year were more complete than ever before The figures themselves disclose some inter esting facts.
 In 1907, 2S,S50 mills made returns, and their production was over 4OO0o,- GOO, 900 feet of lumber This is be- lieved to include s5 per cent of the ac- tual cut. In 1906. 22.39s bills reported about 37, ,5oo, ,0o0, ,000 feet. Since accord ing to these figures nearly 29 per cent more mills reported last year than the year before, while the increase in pro- duction was only a little over per cent, 1t might be thought that the amount actually manufactured must have been greater in the earlier year. This, however, would be a too nasty in- ference, for it is almost wholly among mills of small individual output that the gain in the number of establish ments reporting has been made.
 A classification of the returns by states and regions throws additional light on the situation. Individual changes, as for example the remarka- ble rise of Texas from eighth to third place among the lumber-producing states, are doubtless accounted for pri- marily by the greater accuracy of the 1907 figures; but in the majority of cases the advances and declines can be traced to specific influences.
 Before the year closed the genera
 business depression was severely felt in the lumber industry. It was not, how ever, the most important cause of T falling off in the production of the year where falling off occurred. For de- cline in production took place only in certain regions. The south is the region of greatest activity in lumber produc tion, and yellow pine the most impor- tant wood, forming 33 per cent of the entire cut of the country. The cut of yellow pine reported shows an increase of 13 per cent over that of 1906. In the early part of the year many of the
 southern mills cut so heavily that, in
 spite of the curtailed output which fol- lowed the business disturbance later, the total was greater than ever before. But in both the lake states and the | northwest a smaller cut was reported
 than for 1906, though the number of
 mills reporting increaseo.
 In the lake states the falling off evil
 denced the waning supply of white pine. Michigan, which for many years. led all the states in lumber production. and then gave way to Wisconsin. sank in 1907 from fourth to seventh place,
 while Wisconsin went from third to | fifth. Minnesota as late as 1905 held fourth place. Last year 1t went from | seventh to ninth. It was not until tn e 1 later sos that the south displaced this | group of states as the most important source of lumber supply. Since south = 1 ern pine is abundant in all the Atlantic
 coast states from the Carolinas to | Texas, the region as a whole will doubt l less maintain it's leading position for | some years in spite of the fact that at 1 the present Iale llle DuIh Ol lHt lllIl- 1 Der will be gone in another decade; but | in totals of production by individual l states the leadership has since 1905
 been held by Washington
 | The figures of production show that
 during 1907 Washington fell off very | decidedly from it's huge cut of 1906, l while it's sister state Oregon, Is cred | ited with a slight increase in it's total. l In the early part of the year Washing l ton suffered from a car shortage, and l at the end the combined effects of bus | mess disturbance and higher freigh t
 rates had brought the industry almost | to paralysis. Oregon kept up its cut | because of it's larger proportion Of | coastwise and foreign trade. These two | states together produced more lumber 1 than any other two states in the | Union.
 It is a striking fact that though 1 lumber prices have been steadily go- | ing up during the last half century, the | per capita consumption of lumber has l also been going up. In 1850, according | to the best figures obtainable, the aver 1 age consumption to each person in the
 country was 250 feet, in 1900. 46O feet, l and in 1907, 4S0 feet. This Illustrates what has been found true the world
 over-that with industrial progress tn e | demand for wood becomes greater and | greater.
 l