Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-11-28
STATE HOUSE,
Something About the Lum-
Der Industry in Maine.
State Road Work Brings Good
Money to laborers.
Augusta Corporation Votes to In
crease Its Capital Stock.
STATE HOUSE CALENDAR,
Next Meeting of Governor and Coun
Gil Tuesday, Nov. 20, at $50 A. M.


Gle il the Directory of the Manufac-
turing Industries of Maine, recently
issued by the Bureau of Industrial
and Labor Statistics. "OutSide of ag-
riculturc. more men are employed in
the various branches Of its production
than in any other line of business.
Nearly every town has it's local saw
mill, and besides, there are scores of
immense plants in the State where
millions of feet of lumber are sawed
annually for shipment. For years,
Bangor was the greatest lumber ship
ping port iii the world, and today, by
far the largest item of freight over
the Bangor and Aroostook and Maine
Central railroads is made up Of the
forest products of our state. and still
an immense amount of lumber is ship
ped by water.
although the amount cut for all
purposes shows no diminution as the
Years come and so, there is every in
dication that the supply, up to Il rc;l-
Sonable limit. will be permanent. On"
of the best posted men on forest con-
ditions is our state Forest Commits
sioner. Edgar r. Ring. In his report
for 1902, he has this to say ON this
point:
Very little land is being stripped
t. such an extent that it will not fur
nish another crop of lumber from the
understood trees Of the present stand
in IL comparatively few years. Actual
dcforcStatirn, except from forest fircs.
as | have stated. can never take place
to any considerable extent in Maine,
as the agricultural lands are very
largely occupied. ON the other hand,
here is likely to be Il constant in
crease in our lumber producing areas.
on account of there being 50 little
profit IL cultiIating dry. stony ground
for farm crops, and more or less os
such lands are reverting to forest
growth each season. On the whole,
it is safe to reckon that there will be
from eleven to twelve million acres Of
land in this State that will be lumber
producing for all time
1T is claimed that the first saw mill
in Maine was erected in what is now
South Berwick about 1884. and fifty
years later there were - mills in opcr-
alton in the State. The locality in this
town known as Great Works. took its
name from 4 mill cont aiming eighteen
saws. which was built in 1863, at tho
falls on the PiscataQuis river. TIC
abundance OF pine and tn" numerous
available water powers attracted the
at eniion ri the settlers. ana an cX-
port trade in lumber was early built
I'D which has ever since continued to
flourish
AS tie settlement of the State
sradually extended to the eastward,
many mills We're built. some OF large
capacity and manN of til" important
water powers on our larger rivers were
utilized for this purpose. Brunswick
was early i great lumber producing
place. having at one time thirty large
saw mills. Tho sawed lumber was
largely RATED t., Bath for shipment,
vet Il considerable portion was hauled
by oN-tcan,s to shipping point on
HE bay III the southern part OF the
town.
"Mat bias early h"cam" an Impor-
ant lrlnt in Eastern Maine III tue
.nan,Itnriurr of lumt"r later followed
l.v Ellsworth ON the Union river ana
calais on tn. Saint troiX; but tn" tallS
on Prn"hscnt river, between Old Town
a,Id Bangor, at on" time furnished
nnynr t.r more saws than were ever
nm in amy other section Of the state.
4 large amount of lumber was for
mrrly sawed at WinneSancc, on the
line hctucr l,ath and Phippsburg,
tide power ui over 300 horse power
being utilized.
''Thtrc is no manufacturing industry
i'm the state SO widely scattered, the
number OF mills being several times
greater than tu;t of any other indus
tn.
There have been great changes in
recent wears as to the location of mills
manufacturing lumber for export
While formerly they wcr" invariably
built at the falls on The rivers 50 as
to utilize the water power there dc
veloped, and from which the sawed
,umbcr could br RATED to tide water.
nj the present time the mills are punt
either on the line of some railway con-
venicnt to Il water way where logs can
be collected. or ON tide water river
where the logs can be RATED down
from the boom, and the sawed product
loaded directly on a vessel from the
mil.
"While the lumber sawed at the
mills located on tide water is very
largely shippcd to market by Scho"n-
nrs. that produced at the mills along
the railway lines is generally sent pS
"ail: nnG while formerly water was
the motive power used by all mills
now steam power is. for the most part
used in the large plants. sawduSt ana
other mill waste being utilized Tor
fuel. being conveyed automatically to
the furnaces.
"In the matter OF improved macnln-
erv this industry has kept we'll abreast
of the time. perhaps as much SO IN the
saw itself as in any other part or the
eouipment From the old up-and-doWn
saw. which would cut perhaps looo
feet of lumber per day. has been de-
yeloped the muley. the gang. the ro-
| tary. and the band saw, which latter.
under favorable conditions. has been
made to cut 100000 feet in a day.
though from $4,000 to 10000 feet might
be an average days work.
THE largest plant shipping it's pro-
duct py rail is that of the Saint John
| r ,,,~,,,or Co.,,papy located in the town