The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1917-10-06
Pensacola Man, Returning
From Trip, Reports
Heavy Losses.
PAGES HERD FINE
CATTLE ALL KILLED
Timber. Turpentine, Crops.
Live Stock, Poultry and
Homes Make Total.

Timber interests in Santa Rosa
county were practically wrecked as
result of the hurricane last Friday,
according to estimates compiled by
the large companies owning vast
tracts of lands in that county.
Conservative estimates place the to-
tai loss to the county by the storm at
more than four million dollars. the
greater part of which is timber loss.
Added to the loss of timber, the bean
crop was ruined, cattle killed, and
potato crop injured severely, aside
from the damage to houses, and other
property.
The Escambia Land and Manufac-
turing Company, owned by J. G.. and
j. HI. Pace was one of the heaviest
sufferers in the havoc wrought by the
hurricane, and according to J. G.. Pace,
much of the timber blown down can
not be saved.
Mr.. Pace returned to the city yes
terday morning after a trip to the
great tracts of land owned by his
company in Santa Rosa County, and
stated to The Journal that it will be
almost impossible to save all. or even
any great amount of the timber
which has been blown down.
Running on regular time,' Mr..
Pace said, Our mill could cut about
twenty million feet of lumber a year,
and by running all night, may bring
the output to thirty million feet, but
all the mills in Santa Rosa county.
working dav and night, for four years.
could not cut all of the timber whicl,
has been blown down.
Much May Be Saved.
Much of it can be saved, if trans
portation could be arranged. That
is the greatest problam at the pres
ent time. If we could get help on
the transportation, move the logs,
cut and store them, the loss would
be confined chiefly to the turpen-
tine.
"Turpentine is of course a great
loss, for the trees had just been
boxed, and the gathering had not
commenced. On this point alone, /
guess the Escambia company lost
nearly 100000, and there are some
companies were the loss is evef
greater.
AS soon as this loss ives discav-
cred. many of the timber owners i'm
mediately planned to gather all the
turpentine that they could, but on the
advice of the representatives of the
turpentine interests the plan was
abandoned, as the cost of gathering
in present condition would be more
than the market valuation of the fin
ished product"
Not only was the timber damaged,
according to Mr.. Pace, but the mills
suffered severely as result of the
storm, the center of which apparent
ly passed over the entire length of
Santa Rosa county, sweeping all be-
fore it.
Live Stock Losses.
Added to the tremendous losses of
timber and turpentine, the loss in
agriculture and cattle is also stu
pendous, and live stock was killed all
over the county. "Only recently
Mr.. Pace said, I'VE had imported some
fine bred cattle from Tennessee to
our farm in Santa Rosa county for the
West Florida. Every head was as
good as could be bought, and cost
substantial sum. Ninety-four of
there were killed in the storm.
Similar losses were reported all
over the county, in addition to equal
damage to poultry. In the woods, or
fallen trees, whole covies of quail are
to be seen, drowned.
When one stops to think what all
this means, it is appalling for Santa
Rosa county was the greatest turpen-
tine producing county in the world .
Substantiated Losses.
Peter Tomasello, of Bagdad, was
in the city yesterday, and recounted
a similar story of the losses sustained
in Santa Rosa county. Il have lived
in Santa Rosa county for 35 years.
said Mr.. Tonasello, "and have seen
all kinds of storms, but never, in all
of my experience, was there a hurri-
cane such as struck US last Friday.
"It was deluge of water, accom-
panied by a veritable tornado, which
swept the county almost end to end.
In some places the damage to tim
Der is as low as fifteen per cent, but
the majority of the tracts owned by
the great mill companies, show loss
of eighty per cent. Naturally the
is serious loses, for it
was just the beginning Of the season,
and the trees were boxed.
Milton was hit mighty hard by
the hurricane, but the shipyards lucki-
ly escaped any great damage. Crops
were badly hurt though, and the
loss will fall upon everyone.