Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1916-03-17

not only upon Careful peTSOHdl Sur
vey of conditions, but also upon an
exhaustive amount of data gathered
by the lumbermen's organization,
always in the closest touch with the
mills and markets.
For the last four months the lum-
bermen have welcomed returning nor
NAL conditions and have done SO with
a full knowledge of what this means
to others in all lines of business"
Mr.. Bloedc, said this week. "But
not until now has there been a COM
plete absence of doubt as to the per-
manency of the improvement.
No Doubt Remains.
after the years of inactivity and
actual money loss no evidence of bet
ter times could have been accepted
with confidence. Every doubt had to
be removed, but it is safe to say that
no doubts now exist as to the fact
of solid, and at least for some time to
come, lasting betterment."
At the same time Mr.. Bloedel is
sued a warning against over-produc-
ton by the mills.
cit is possible" he declared, "for
the lumber manufacturers to kill
their own goose and undo all the
good that has come to them. ! refer
to the ever-present evil of over-pro-
duction. If all the manufacturers
will be content to operate ten hours
only, this whole Northwest will enjoy
a prosperous year.
"Irreparable harm win surely fol-
low night running in the mills. This
alone, in my opinion, now can set us
back to the days of idle mills, with
all the hardships that accompany
such conditions"
He sees big demand for lumber
as a result of what promises to be an
unusually active spring in building
lines. He also believes a tremendous
market awaits coast woods on the
Atlantic seaboard.
II am convinced that we may con-
servatively expect eventually to find
a market on the east coast for 5OO,-
OOO, 900 feet annually. That Is about
equal to our entire shipments to for
eign countries. approximately 1885,
900, 900 feet of our coast woods were
shipped to the Atlantic markets dur
ing 1915.
"This was shipped through the
canal and but for the canal would not
have reached the Eastern, market,
owing to the cost of rail transporta-
ton"
Need Lower Freight Rate.
Mr.. Bloedel says one Of the great
est boons to the future Of the pros
perity of the Northwest would be the
establishment of 60-cent rail rate
on lumber for the Atlantic Coast mar
kets.
with the present rate of Is
cents" he said. 1--WE are able to sell
our better grades of lumber in COM
petition with yellow pine, hemlock,
cypress and spruce, to some extent,
but with a 6O-cent rate today we
could find an outlet for our lower
grades that would only be limited by
the number of cars that the railroads
could furnish.
with this section Of the country
dependent as it is upon the prosper
ity of the lumber business, this is a
matter that vitality affects everyone.
A new market for such q large
amount of lumber would give us Just
that added demand which would
mean the difference between good
times and bad.
whether such rail rate ever be-
comes effective or not, we can look
forward to the permanent opening OF
the canal as the route by which we
will be permitted to do a large vol
ume of business on the East coast
The railroads, however, could enjoy
much of this business and therefore
add to their own and the country's
prosperity should the Eastern and
Western lines agree upon a division
of the rate and establish it on 60
cent basis for fir lumber"
An extended trip through the East
and Middle West has convinced Mr.
Bloedel that the reported prosperous
business conditions In those sections
are true in every sense Of the word
Discussing the situation there he
said:
"When 1 started East. about the