The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-11-13
THE cEDAi. PENCIL.

who among us Is old enough to re- member when there were nc lead pom cilss Many of us can remember time when they were sxpensive. and when the scnooiboy or girl SO fortunate as to possess one was looked on with envy by those less fortunate. We of- ton wonder how people got aions without them before their invention. but suppose it was because they didn't know what they were missing. and so managed ts exist in ignorance of pen cils.
 And speaking of pencils. most pso- pie will faii to cali to mind any kind but those made of red cedar. We have ali seen come of them of ether species of wood. and Of other color than red. and hays even seen paper psnciis. but in the main the red cedar has been 90 common and 50 popular that doubtless many people came to tho conclusion that pencil could Dc made ef nothing else. but now we are told there ts to be change. Uncle sam.' says The New Bedford stand ard. towns millions of acres of rich timber land in the Northwest. on which stands much timber of mature age---fir and pine and Alaska cedar. 1t needs cutting, because 1t Is ripe and on the way to deterioration. It ought to be out and young trees h. But there Is yet no demand for the far-away pine and fir. when private holdings nearer at hand are equal to supplying the demand. Pencil cedar. however. that has yearly been sup piled from Southern forests by the miiiions of feet. is disappearing at an alarning rate and a substitute has simply got to be found. The common western cedar. red in color. is too coarse grained and soft. The Alaska cedar under the control of the na- tionai forest reserve Is believed to be solid enough in texture and soft enough in quality to answer every re- uuirement of the pencil manufactur- CTS. The matter is to be laid before them: but when they consider 1t. they will also ask. Will the people buy pencils made of white wood? Gus toms hold Is hard to break. But what the people must. they will"
 It remains to be seen whether these other woods will be accepted and be- come popular as substitutes for the me-honored cedar with which all of us are so familiar. There may be some sentiment connected with the hold this wood has obtained. If 1t were due only to the color 1t would be easy to initiate the hue of the genuine article; ct least as to, out side appearances. As to that matter. they are painted in any and all colors now, but most of us prefer the old style. The odor may have something 70 oo Wttn leI Aiso tue SoIt nature or the wood which makes 1t so easy to sharpen one.
 All these advantages endear the old style to most of us. but coming gen erations win have to accustom them- selves to something else. We have frequently seen 1t stated of late years that the supply of red cedar was fast disappearing. and that soon there will be none left. at least in our own country. whether other regions of earth can supply future demands we cannot say but 1t seem that our gov ernment proposes to take a hand and see if it cannot provide for the fu- ture. It may be that the woods re- fsrred to in the article quoted will prove satisfactory but all the same most of us will regret to see the last of the familiar old red cedar pencils