Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1911-05-04

Wood block pavement is attracting
a great deal of attention in this city,
and many people are hoping to see
the experiment tried. The treatment
of wood blocks is being improved
and will result in making perfect
street after awhile, If it has not al
ready. The main fact in favor of
wood block is that the principal raw
material Of the pavement is grown
here in Oregon and manufactured
here. The softer frs and pines are
used in this pavement, and are even
better than the red or harder Oregon
fir. Following letter will be of in
terest to our people all over West
ern Oregon, where there is more raw
material for street paving growing
each year than is being cut in the
sawmllls twice over
Creosoting Wood Blocks.
Seattle, May 2, 1911.
Ed, Journal have before me clip
ping from your paper under date Of
April "a, 1911, entitled Discusses
Wood Block Pavement"
In explanation I would say that
the author of this piece displays
more knowledge of the subject than
is usually displayed in newspaper ar
ticles on wood block pavement. How
ever, there are few criticisms which
we feel compelled to make.
First, in paragraph No. 8, in
which 1t remarks about long leaf yell
low pine and the vacuum process.
This process is not practical with
Douglas fir, but is used only with
success on long leaf yellow pine, lob
lolly pine and other woods of the
same fibre construction, from which
Il is practical to remove the moist
ure by the steam and vacuum pro-
cess.
Regarding the mixture of crosote
and rosin, There Is only one concern
which processes to treat by this pro-
cess, and prefer not to comment on
the same, except to say that there
are thousands of yards of wood block
pavement in the United States that
are giving absolute satisfaction, and
will even outwear granite, and never
give the least trouble from absorp-
tion OF moisture, which have been
treated with straight creosote.
At the present price of rosin in
the East, the treatment Of blocks by
the Creo-resinate Process, as 1t is
known, would make block so ex-
pensive that there is no municipali-
ty in the United States that could
pay for putting it down.
Regarding the treatment of lumber
used. We would be glad to have you
or some city official visit our plant
some time within the next week or
ten days, when we will be running an
order of blocks for Everett, and see
that 1t is not necessary to use $25
lumber. We do not use this grade
neither do we use mill waste. We
buy No merchantable export grade
and as it is cut into blocks all the
blocks which show any weakness
whatever from knots on the edges
are removed-thus giving in practice
the lumber which you advocate us
ing.
The statement is also made regard
ing the creosote man advocating the
dipping OF blocks. No creDsote man
advocates any such practice, They
know its fallacy. The only method
OF treating blocks by creosote so as
to be worth anything at all is known
as the pressure system. do not
care to comment upon competitors
methods, but IL you or any interest
ed party will investigate you will
sOon find that there is no reputable
creosoting concern advocating the
dipping OF blocks. We are sending
you, for your information. a block
such as we treat, which shows the
creosote through and through the
block. This is absolutely impossible
to obtain by dipping, and can only