Evening star., 1914-10-07
How the War Affects Us.
XIV Wood Pre-
serving Industry.
By Frederic J. Haskin.

Conservation is one of the big les
sons which the war is teaching us. The
national habit of wasting with free
handed optimism and of continually
overlooking the little things in a haste
to realize big ones explains part of
the reaction Of Europe's difficulties
upon us. The old world has sent US
many of her economy and conservation
engineers, who have had their schemes
laughed at here as involving trouble
more than worth the gain. This heed
lessness for proper economies is re-
sponsible for our present stringency in
number of needful supplies, among
them the creosote oils used in the
wood-preserving industry.
The European situation promises to
have a very serious effect upon the
wood-preserving industry in this coun-
try. Several suggestions have been ad-
vanced concerning ways to avoid In
jury to this industry resulting from the
stoppage of European shipments OF OILS
and chemicals, but there appears no
way of altogether escaping from the
effects of the shortages. We have de-
pended upon Europe for fully so per
cent of our creosote. the most general
ly used wood preservative. when we
might have produced plenty of this ar
ticle as a by-product at home.
The chemical treatement of timber
to prevent decay has come to be
great industry in this country. There
were ninety-four treating plants in the
United States at the beginning of this
year. having an aggregate annual
capacity of more than Soo,oo0.Oo cubic
feet Of timber. In 1913. l5s:s1s'sSsss
this amount, more than 100000
cubic feet were impregnated with
creosote. ss.ooO.ooo cubic feet with
zinc chloride and 100000 cubic feet
with a mixture of creosote and zinc
about 10s,s73.O00 gallons of creosote.
of which 41.70O,00O gallons were pro.
duced in this country, while 66,673,OOO
gallons, or 62 per cent, were imported.
The greater part of these imports
came from England and Germany. The
war has cut off the German oil entire
ly, and the English shippers generally
are holding their supplies at home
Coal tar, the material from which
creosote is produced, is obtained main
ly as by
Coal Tar Product prod uct of
of the Coke Ovens. sud % Gas n,ants
coal A large amount of the coke pro-
in an old type of oven, the beehive"
type, from which the coal tar cannot
be recovered. Gashouse plants. also.
burn a considerable amount of the coal
tar or allow it to run to waste. Where
a manufacturer has been prospering on
the production of coke, he has often
been unable to see the necessity for
| the conservation of by-products and is
difficult to be persuaded to take his
~f $ha ppc{y, mn
enough to go over the prospects of
any side issue. In most Of the Eu-
ropean countries. on the other hand,
| people have been compelled by keener
| necessity and less bountiful countries
| to utilize their resources to the full.
| 1t is only in recent years that Ameri-
| cans have come to feel that it was
| better economy to preserve their tim
| the attacking forms of fungi take their
| destructive course and depend upon the
| inexhaustible forests for continuous re-
plenishment. Now, however. most ex-
| chemical or petroleum-ta -tar-creosote or
| coal impregnations. The
| kinds of timber treated are telephone,
telegraph and central station poles. pill
| ing, railway ties, fencing and various
| forms of construction timbers. Accord
| ing to government authorities the life
| of timbers can be increased from two
to five times by treatment with creo-
! sote.
| The saving effected by the wood-pre-
| serving industries is enormous, and the
| practice of treating all timbers exposed
] to decay is becoming more and more
J general. A serious diminution of the
! supplies of oils and chemicals for wood
| preservation would mean a severe blow
| at the industry and a significant in
| crease in timber expenses to the rail-
| ways, telephone. telegraph and docking
companies. Thus our dependence upon
| Europe for creosote oils is proving one
of our graver mistakes
1t has been stated by one of the ex-
| perts Of the United States forestry
| service that this country could be en-
| tirely Independent of the European Gre
i osote production provided that all the
| coke produced here were made in by
| product plants and the creosote recov-
j cred, and provided that coal tar now
i wasted by the gas works were made
into creosote. According to the same
! authority. 1t will take several years to
bring such a situation about.