Daily Kennebec journal., 1910-11-21
Using Up Our Forests.

The preliminary report Of the De-
partient of Commerce and Labor on
lumber. laths and shingles, is of more
than ordinary interest to Maine read
crs. Comparisons made between to-
tails Of lumber productions and OF
lumber producers show increases Of
both in alnounts that bode i'll for con-
SerVation and for profits to the mills.
The production has risen from little
over $4,000, 100000 feet to over 44500,-
100000 feet in ten years The mills
have increased from 1888 in 1899 to
is,322 in 1909
These figures show that the small
mills must have greatly increased in
numbers. .tS the small mill is waste
| full. and not cOnserver of the for
ests, the showing is regarded with
mere or less alarm. Maine people can
better understand this when they con-
sider the number Of portable mills
Maine where there is respectable
amount of merchantable lumber that
can be readily transported by railway.
Many Maine farming towns have been
thoroughly Skinned" of their COM
mercial timber, and then these mills
have moved on to some other avail
able tract to continue their process of
clca ming up the lumber, and in man
nor which is not approved by up-to-
date conservation notions.
We haze in mind several towns that
| have been cleaned up until there is
scarcely stick Of timber, IN former
splendid stands of timber and wood,
Of more than four inches in diameter
can now bc found. The reckless waste
If saplings and the immense piles and
| windrows of slash are n standing men
ace To communities in dry seasons.
This refuse mass is allowed to remain
| ii IRE does not sweep through the
region. until it rots away. encumbcr-
ing ncw growth. and. If it starts at
al under such n mass Of waste. its
| :irst Years are spent III making a tor
tuous way up through the heaps Of
dccaying branches, rendering the
butts of future timber stands crooked
and winding and useless for CONNER
rial purposes if il ever attains the
size desired by lumber manufacturers.
| The comparisons of the totals in the
recent report with those of mid-census
reports were held misleading because
the decennial census gets practically
all the mills. whereas midcensus re-
ports made by the Census Bureau
and the Forest Service. are conducted
thousands of mills. The decennial
census of 1879? showed a total produc-
ton of 35,0S4 loo 900. The increase,
therefore. has been y per cent In ten
wears During the same period the
population increased only 10 per cent.
These figures serve to explain the
unprofitable prices of which lumber
manufacturers have complained.
With standing timber prices increas-
Ii ing, because of growing scarcity, and
with labor and supplies at higher
costs many of the mills in all parts
of the country report that they are
losing money. Others. probably the
majority, are reported to be doing
business without profit or loss and
comparatively few are reported to be
making reasonable profit. These
prices refer to those secured by the
lumber manufacturer and not thosf
made by dealers to consumers.
| Perhaps the most striking fact Of
the preliminary report was the wide
distribution of the lumber industry.
No grand section of the country has
any monopoly of numbering. for
among tho leading states are those so
widely scattered as Washington.
Louisiana North Carolina Virginia.
Wisconsin. Pennsylvania and Maine.
Forty-.ivc rf the states and territories
were represented in the report the
smallest producer on the list being
Kansas. with an output of only 5000
o0n flat But the estimate made by
the forest service that the rate of
consumption of timber is about four
times the annual growth indicates,
when the figures of production are