Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1918-06-14
Ryan Demanding
100000 Feet
of Spruce Monthly

Washington June 14.-John d. Ryan,
financier and copper masnate. has been
saying nothing ever since he took over
direction of aircraft production, but
considerable evidence has accumulated
that points towards definite accomplish
ment in one direction that military
men say it would be most dangerous
to neglect.
That is the production of airplane
spruce.
War figures are all large, too large
for most people to digest, but lumber
men say that Mr.. Ryan has demanded
10, OOO, 900 feet a month from the cas-
cade forests, and little things like the
drafting of 5000 men, the planning OF
logging railroads, and the mobilization
of a rather large existing industry LOT
war production, indicate that he in
tends to get 1T.
The consoling fact is that if Amer
lean factories are late in making planes,
SO long as the raw material flow to
France and England is maintained. the
allies will have machines.
Mr. Ryan's first move was to call III
Colonel Disque, head of the spruce di-
vision, from Portland, Ore. and there
after something was started. Ihere
had always been less criticism OF the
spruce production efforts than of any
thing else that had been done. large
ly because the expected consumption or
the raw material did not develop. About
3, OOO, 900 feet of spruce was the by
product of normal fir aand other lum-
Der cutting in the northwest each
month The allies were getting all CT
that from the open markets, and 1t was
a simple matter for the American gov
eminent to step in and take it all. 1t
was also comparatively simple to IN
crease prices a trifle, and double the
normal production.
But when it comes to running the
output up to the mark Mr.. Ryan Is cred
| tied with setting, a task is projected
that is immense when compared to even
the inflated standards of war work.
| 1t is because Of the peculiar qualities
| of Sitka spruce that it s,rstains the
stresses of high speed airplanes bet
ter than any other substance the
world knows, and it is because of its
peculiar distribution and habitat that
the United States is finding it a diff
liCulC IdSk W s5SI ellOuSli VI ~. ~ h'>N
but low esteem as a commercial wood
in the pre-war days, most of it getting
into the waste piles of saw mill yards,
though a little of the best and thickest,
especially prepared, went into the
sounding boards of pianos. Queeerly
enough Germany was always big
buyer of that portion of the product.
| Now that the world needs spruce a
lot of Americans will have to buy
liberty bonds and keep on doing it in
definitely just because the Sitka spruce
has retiring disposition and is fin
ky about the places where it grows. 1t
grows only when surrounded by trees
Of different species. which habit the
lumberman Is describing whenshe says
that from to 40 per cent Of given
timber stand Is the best that spruce
shows. It likes the sea-fog from the
Pacific ocean and grows to valuable
size only in scattered belts where the
fog comes regularly.
LASTLY, only about 35 or 40 per cent
Of the wood in the trunk has the
strength, toughness and resiliancy that
airplane struts and spars require. 1t
takes special machinery and special
handling in hundreds Of mills, small
and large, to get out this 80 per cent.
Il isn't practical or possible. the lum-
bet operators find, to take out the
spruce unless surrounding treese also
are removed. All the logs are immense
in size and it takes railroads, motor
trucks, or donkey eengine cables to
move them. Working out the problem
means that to get the 100000 feet
Of airplane spruce will require the
handling of at least 1oo,0o0.o0O feet Of
other timber monthly. 1t will involve
also problems concerning the DISPOSE
ton, present and future, of the unused
fir and other timber that comes out
with the spruce.
But immense as the task is, there
are signs that it is being done. Mr..
Ryan continues his refusal to talk about
the method. And it only takes 200
board feet Of spruce to make one air.
plane.