The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-01-06
LUMBERMEN CLAIM THEY HAVE BEEN
 M|SREPRESENTED
Southern Association Issues Statement Showing Mills Are Doing Their Bit"
 in War Work
By HUGH W. ROBERTS

Washington, January 5.-(Special) ) The Southern Pine association. with headquarters in Washington and New Orleans. has been doing it's bit toward the winning of the war by supply ying | large quantities of lumber for use in l building wooden ships for the govern ment ahead of the time called for in | it's contract with the emergency fleet | corporation
 This has been made clear by men falniliar with the facts. who feel that the southern lumbermen have been | misrepresented in connection with the investigation of the government ship building programme that is in prog ress before the Senate committee on commerce.
 Records show that about 20, 900, 900 feet of yellow pine ship timber and | lumber for government ships was supplied from southern pine mills prior to September l, l911 About that date shipments began on a much larger scale, owing to the adoption of plans | for the reorganiza ation of the work | of getting out ship stock.
 Daring the past four months south ern mills have actually shipped 1o5.- 0Go.000 feet of material for govern ment wooden vessels. The total shipped l In that period is nearly half of the | aggregate amount of lumber required | of southern pine mills for government wooden ships up to July 80, 191S | The southern pine emergency bureau | is under contract to furnish material for 200 ships by that date. Material | for 50 more wooden ships is to be | furnished under contract by the bu
 reau between July 30 and December 1 50. 1918.
 | That lumber is being furnished by southern pine mills more rapidly than promised is shown by the fact that ! to complete the first 200 ships by July | 30 next an average of 966.000 feet must l be shipped each working day. where | as the mills have actually shipped on | an average of 1.2S4,0o0 feet per day | from December 1 until December g. | or B per cent more than necessary. While making this record, the soeth- ern pine mills have had to struggle with delays caused by the shortage of l freight cars and especially by many | changes in the plans and specified | tions of the fleet corporation for the government wooden ships. These changes have numbered literally doz- ems and scores and hundreds.
 l Within the past few days, 1t is stated. while the shipbuilding investi- l gation was proceeding and southern l pine lumbermen were being charged l with responsibility for delay in the wooden shipbuildins programme. ad- | ditional changes in specifications for | materials have been ordered The lat est notice of this character was re- ceived on Christmas eve
 | Officials are understood to admit l that they were misinformed as to the | job done by the southern pine men
 and some of them arc reported to be i prepared to correct the impression that
 has gone abroad
 | r. L. Canford of Zena, La. has been
 called here and will appear before the | Senate committee on commerce to eX-
 plain the lumbermen's side of the case l Among the great difficulties the | southern pine men have had to over 1 come in carrying out their contract with the government. it is stated is
 the construction of many miles of rail-
 roads into the woods in order to get at the big timber needed for wooden ships Much additional equipment has
 had to be purchased by the mills. One | concern, 1t is understood, has expend- 1 ed $60.000 in preparatory work of this
 sort. When this concern gets it's tracks extended as would not otherwise be
 necessary for years, it is said, but for 1 the government contract for ship tim 1 Der, 1t will be in a position to fur nish the lumber required for a gov l ernment ship complete each month. 1 The impression has been created | that the southern iumbermen raised their price for government ship lum-
 Der from SS5 to $50 per thousand feet 1 It is explained that some independent mills not affiliated with the Southern l Pine association asked this higher l price of the fleet corporation, but | their proposition was rejected. The l prices actually received by the south ern pine bureau mills for government I ship lumber have been considerably
 less than $50 and much below the prices being received for commercial business of the same general char acter.