The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1916-11-16
WILL REBUILD EUROPE
American Lumber viii Do Work,
Says Trade Expert.
Billion Dollars Worth Of Material to
Be Needed Abroad In First Year
After War, Doctor Pratt
Predicts.

American lumber will rebuild Eu-
rope at the close of the great war, in
the opinion of Uncle Sans trade ex-
perts.
Europe will need a billion dallars'
worth of lumber the first year after
the war" asserts DIR. Edward Ewing
Pratt, chief of the bureau of foreign
and domestic commerce, department Of
commerce. "There will not only be an
opportunity to sell lumber, there will
be a duty that should not be shirked.
"If the war should end in a month
or two, which is hardly likely, and
lumber imports into Europe should in
the meantime show no increase, there
will be an estimated deficit in the nor
NAL European lumber supplies of some
$400, 100000 This is entirely outside
Of the great additional needs for lum-
Der due to the actual destruction Of
the war. No one knows at present the
amount of lumber that will be needed
by France, Belgium, Poland and other
countries which have suffered directly
from the war, to replace ruined build
ings, railroads, bridges, etc. There
can be little doubt that this amount
will run into large figures and that
hundreds of millions worth of general
purpose lumber will be called for as
soon as the great European struggle Is
ended. 1t has been estimated in Europe
that at least S40O,0O0,000 worth of lum-
Der will be needed for this purpose.
Add the $400,000,000 deficit in the nor
NAL demand. This seems to indicate
that a total of $SOO,OOO,OOO worth of
lumber over and above the usual de-
mand of $5SO,OOO,OOO will have to be
supplied to Europe by the lumber-prO-
ducing countries. Allowance must Of
course be made for buildings that will
also be made for curtailment of con.
sumption due to enforced economy.
Three hundred and eighty million dol
lars would seem ample for those pur-
poses. SO it seems likely that in the
year following the war there will be
a demand for billion dollars worth Of
lumber in Europe.
ut is easy to anticipate what coun-
tries will compete for the privilege Of
supplying this lumber. We cannot ex-
pect to do all the business. We shall
be lucky if we are able to do even
major part Of the business. In the year
1913 we shipped more wood products
than any other country in the world.
amounting to a total Of $115,000,0000
worth in all. In the same year Russia
shipped S8SOOOOOO worth; Sweden
SS4, 100000, Austria-Hungary $68,OOO,-
600, Canada $5OOOO,OO9 Finland $47,-
100000, Germany $26UOO,OOO, Norway
S24, 100000, Roumania $5,OOO,OOO.
In direct competition with these
countries, so favOrabIy situated, the
United States exported to Europe,
chiefly to the United Kingdom and
France, over $50,00O,000 worth of lum-
Der and its manufactured products. OF
the seven European countries that eX-
ported lumber before the war, five are
cOmbatants and naturally their wood
cutters are at the front and their lum-
ber export business at standstill. No
figures are Obtainable for the 1915 ex-
ports of lumber. We know, however,
that many of the Russian mills and
mill stocks in Poland and in the vicin-
ity of Riga have been destroyed. We
also know that the rebuilding of Poland
and western Russia will absorb Rus
sian energies for some time after the
close of the war. We know that Ger
many is using up her forest reserves;
we know that Norway has long been
Overcutting her annual growth. We
can therefore safely predict that the
greatest European competition will
come from the mills of Sweden and
Finland. These countries are icebOund
during six months of the year, usually
from October to May. The lumber
men of this country can readily see,
therefore the possibilities and the re-
sponsibilities that lie before them"