The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-28
MILLS JET READY
 FOR 4 B|G CUT
Some New Mills Are Being
 Erected
OLD CNES ARE REPAIRED
Newman Lumber Co., Will Decide the Matter of Rebuilding at Hatties- burg In the Next Few Days.
 Plans of Other Plants.

Hattiesburg, Miss, June 27.-(Special)- While there is little doing in the way of lumber manufacturing in this district just Low there is much activity in the direction of preparing for & big cut when the in dustry shall revive. New mills are being erected and old mills are being enlarged The belief prevails that the day of the small mll has about passed away anu that in the future the trade will be rather in the controlling hands of the larger operators. It will not again be possible for the man of small capital and moderate credit to get control of few sections Of tmberland, put in a mill on credit and proceed to unload on the market his quota of the mill product to swell the offerings and bear the market
 The next few days are expected to de- eide whether or not the ]. J. Newman Lumber company will rebuild at Hatties burg. The directors of the United States Lumber company have been in session off and on at Scranton, Pa, for the past week, debating thls among other questions that came up for consideration. The City Council of Hattiesburg two weeks ago forwarded to the company a set of reso- lutions pledging this city to absolve the company from taxation for 10 years if the mIll shall be rebuilt here. It is known that the company, through President F. L.. Pec.- has had plans drawn for a costly and durable mill plant of concrete and steel. Some of the directors want to re- build here, but others, who are interested in the Mississippi Central railroad us well as the lumber company, want the plant elsewhere in order that the railroad may get the revenue for the haul and for the carrying of merchandise.
 For the present the company is hay ing all of it's sawmill work done at the Sumrall plant which is running night and day The rough lumber is brought to the planer at Hattiesburg where it IS finished. In case the company does not rebuild in this city the new mill will go somewhere south of here, to where the company has extensive tracts of virgin timber. and to which point it will be necessary to extend the Mississippi Cen tral railroad line in order to get the lum- Der out.
 The mill of J. F Wilder at Epps, which was burned to the ground few months ago, is being restored in a leisurely man. ner MT. Wilder needs a saw mill, but he sees no special necessity for rushing the construction of it in order to be able to cut lumber at loss The build ing has been completed, and the machin- cry is being installed The plant will be somewhat larger and much more conve- nient than the old one It will be ready for the fall cut
 The mammoth plant of the Interstate Lumber company in the Lake neighbor- hood near Columbus was started up for regular operation about a week ago. The run at the start was made largely for the purpose of testing the machinery, and everything went well from the start eX- cept the water supply for the boilers was found defective, the discharge of sand being so great as to clog the pipes. This was a small defect to remedy and the plant is now running in good shape.
 The plant of the Interstate company Is one of the largest and most complete in the state, and represents, with the tim Der holdings. an investment o1 about $1- 000,000 In addition to the mill, which has a daily capacity of some 125,000 feet of lumber, the company controls thousands of acres of timber land in the adjoining counties, it's holdings extending oyer into Lamar county, Ala. Besides big work ing force at the mill. a large number of laborers will be kept in the woods, and the company will have from 200 to 300 on its payroll all of the time. MT. J. M. Curtis, the president of the company, who lives in PennSYlVanla, came down to be present at the opening of the plant. and he was pleased with the operations of the new mill and in the prospects for the lumber business in general.
 He said that while the lumber market is at present exceedingly dull, he looks for a reaction in the near future, and hopes to see building and car material of every kind in big demand. The new plant is complete in all it's details. In addition to the mills wherein are situated the bandsaws and gangsaws, the company has machine shop, a hotel for em- ployes, a commissary and an administra- tive building The administrative building contains handsomely furnished offices for the heads of departments and their as- sistants, and is fitted with a fireproof vault and all other modern convenences.
 The Warsaw Lumber company, which had made all arrangements for the erec- ton of a large plant at Laurel this year, has abandoned all it's operations for the present except that a gang of men Is en- gagged in clearing off the 100-acre tract that has been given them for the site of their mill. The promoters of the plant have gone to their home in Wisconsin to remain till conditions in the lumber world show some improvement.