New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-11-12


market perhaps for industrial goods.
What she requires is not gold or
money, but industrial products, such
as Germany sold TO her before the
war, and will sell to her again after
the war is over. Unless Russia's
allies in this war can finance her in
peace and give her a market for the
things she has to sell, she will trade
with Germany very much as before.
Lumber is one Of the few COM
modities of which there is more than
enough to go around. 1t has ad-
vanced very little in the last two
years, and is still lower by about 10
per cent than it was ten years ago.
The National Lumber Manufacture
ers' Association has launched
propaganda ito save the lumber in
dustry and the forests of the coun-
try" It's explanation is that with
prices so low "the lumbermen are
cutting only the cream of the for
est, leaving as tremendous waste
the portions of the trees which do
not return a ready profit" And the
remedy proposed is to increase the
demand for lumber in building, in
payments and in exports, in order
that the price may advance to a
point at which the lumberman will
find it profitable to clear the ground.
Whether that would save the forests
is another matter. 1t might only
save the waste, yet that would be
great deal and we'll worth doing. On
casual consideration this seems a
preposterous situation. Why is
there an over-production of lumber
at low prices? There are several
explanations. One thing that hap
pened to the lumber business was a
relative fall in the demand, owing
to the greater use of other materials
in construction of many kinds. The
steel car has been replacing the
wooden car, and the steel bridge the
wooden trestle, and in these two
items alone there was very large
loss of market for lumber. Concrete
construction of houses is another
count. The facilities for producing
and milling lumber were increased
on assumptions of demand which did
not fully materialize. Put there was
one thing that happened to the for
ests. They were capitalized. Gold
bonds at 6 per cent were sold upon
the trees. Interest has to be paid
upon these bonds; therefore, the
trees have to be cut and made into
lumber so long as there is any profit
TO be made by it at all. Finance is
probably as mysterious to trees as
it is to most people. Fancy a 6 per
cent gold bond being sold to a city
dwelling investor on trees that have
been growing in a Maine forest since
his grandfather's time! No tree
could understand this. Nor could
tree be expected to understand how
a forest is TO be saved by cooperation
between the government and the
lumbermen in an effort to find an
export market for American lumber.
Recently the British government,
acting through the Royal Commits
sion on Paper, having already re-
duced by one-third the amount OF
paper that might be imported into
Great Britain, again reduced it to
one-half the normal amount. The
text of the new regulations is now
at hand. 1t contains the following
very interesting paragraph:
1t is hoped that makers OF and
dealers in paper will not increase
the price of paper here in conse-
qnence Of the reduction in the sup
ply of foreign paper. Should. how
ever, complaint be made and estab-
lished that prices have been unrea-
sonsbly advanced the commission
may at once reduce or stop the sup
plies Of the offender
The practical effects will be worth
noting. The threat to cut of the
supplies of the offender who unrea-
sonably advances the price of paper
will ha q resfraipf unon Drice raising