East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1909-06-25
SMALL LUMBER
OUTPUT IN 1903
STATE OF WASHINGTON
LEADS STATES OF UNION
Total Industry In the United States
Falls Off II Per Ccnt--Due to the
Smaller Demand Following the
Panlc-Washington Is the Banner
State, With Louisiana Close Sec
ond-Orcgon Comes Eighth in the
List of States.

Washington. During the year
1908 31,231 sawmills in the United
States manufactured 33,239, 369. 900
feet of lumber, according to a pre-
liminary report just issued by the bu-
reau of the census. These mills also
cut 1906, 6,4S3,O00 shingles and o.
9S6, 1854 lath. Lumber manufacture
ing like every other industry felt
the effects of the business depression
which began in October, 1907. Con-
sequently the production in 1908 was
below that for the present year. In
1907 the cut OF 2S,S5O sawmllls was
40,256,154,OOO feet, the highest pro-
duction ever recorded. Notwith-
standing, therefore, that in 1908 re-
ports were received from s per cent
more mills than in 1907, the decrease
in lumber cut reported by them was
slightly over II per cent.
Washington Leads States.
Washington, as for several years
past, still ranks first among the
states in lumber production, its cut
in 1908 being 2,915, ,92S,OOO feet--a
decrease Of 22.S per cent from the
cut in 1907. Nearly all the lumber
manufactured In Washington is
Douglas fir. the market for which
was seriously affected by the panic.
Louisiana ranks second with 2,722,-
AL 900 feet, a decrease of 250,000,-
900 feet, or S.4 per cent from the cut
In 1907. Louisiana is first in the pro-
duction Of both yellow pine and cy-
press. Cypress Is a particularly use
full and valuable wood, and apparent
ly the manufacturers of It did not
suffer as severely from dull times as
did the manufacturers of yellow pine
and Douglas fir.
Mississippi was the third state in
lumber production in 1908, with
total of 1,S61,O16,0OO feet-a de-
crease of IL per cent from the cut in
1907.
Arkansas ranked fourth with l.
656,991,000 feet--a decrease Of al
most II per cent, and Wisconsin fifth
with 1,61S,S15,OOO feet against 2.OOS.-
279,OOO feet in 1907.
In Texas, where the lumber indus
try is confined almost exclusively to
yellow pine, the falling off was very
heavy. The total cut of the state in
1908 was l,524,0OS,OOO feet--a de-
crease of 31.6 per cent from the cut
in 1907.
Oregon Ranks Eighth.
Eight other states manufactured
more than 1,O0O,O0O.O feet each of
lumber last year In the order of i'm
portance they were Michigan, Ore
gon. Minnesota. Pennsylvania, Vir-
ginia, Alabama, North Carolina and
West Virginia. California and Maine,
other states which reported more
than 100000 feet each in 1907,
went just below that figure in 1908
The totals for a few states were
greater in 1908 than in 1907, but this
was chiefly due to the larger number
of reports secured in those states in
1908 In Georgia, for instance. a
particularly close canvass increased
the number Of mills reporting nearly
one-thrd, while the resulting in
crease in reports Of total production
was only per cent. In Massachu-
setts 610 mills reported n cut of 3S4,-
526, 900 feet in 1908, as compared
with S64.231.OO feet by SIS mills in
1907. In Colorado 254 mills cut
1S2.036,000 feet in 1908, while in
1907 28O mills cut 134,239,OOO feet.
A particularly large gain in mills re-
porting was made in oklahoma. In
1907 129 mills in that state cut 140,-
O15,O feet, while in 1908 PA mills
cut 15S,756.000 feet.
Many Small Sawmills.
While there are many very large
sawmlls in the United States, the
small mills far outnumber the large
ones, and ii Is particularly interesting
to note how many of these small
mills there are in the states which
are not now of first rank in lumber
production. The statistics for New
York were collected by the forest,
fish and game commissions of that
state, which secured reports from
2291 mills In Pennsylvania 1924
mills reported to the census, and In
Virginia 1887 mills. In North Caro-
lima reports came from 1740 mills |