The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-02-25
Talk Still Chiefly
 About Transportation

| The car situa ton in Florida was very
 bad this week and materially interfered
 with the shipment of lumber to both
 the government and domestic markets,
 says a Jacksonville special to the Amer
 ican sLumberman. Cars were plentiful
 enough but they could not get by the
 embargoed points.
 l As far as demand is concerned it could | scarcely be better. Domestic inquiry
 came freely, with attractive prices att 1 tached, but very little of this class of offering could be entertained on account | of the transportation problems Govern ment offerings continued to arrive in quantity. The ship yards clamored for stock in both piling and ship material and this in spite of the fact that this class of stock was reported by the ship ping board to be moving better than ever before
 There was a furry of excitement early in the week when an order came from Washington cancelling much of the ship building stock that was and is being cut in this territory, but a call from the Georgia Florida emergency bureau brought Assistant Purchasing Agent Haynen of the shipping board to town in a hurry and he discovered that the can cellation order was an error and word was at once sent out by the bureau to continue.
 In this connection the department wished it distinctly understood that no fault can be found with the manner in
 which shipyard piling and shipbuildng lumber is being cut and delivered by the mills in Georgia-Florida Sawmil as- sociation territory The statement was made officially to the American Lum- herman representative that leach week recently has seen satisfactory improve
 ment in the way the mills are getting out this stock. Delivery delays, it was ascertained, were due solely to the rail- roads, and this has been corrected within the week.
 The weather has cleared throughout the territory and logging is progressing as well as can be expected with the labor shortage. Figures compiled by the Geor- gia- Florida Sawmill association this week revealed the fact that the shortage of la bor has curtailed production 14h per cent. Sawmill labor has been drafted to the big army camps and shipyards and la Dor at the sawmils is at premium. Wages have been increased throughout the territory. but they cannot compete with the wages paid at government jobs.
 The general situation has given rise to so many important problems in the lumber trade that a meeting of the Geor- gia-F1orida Saw Mill association and the emergency bureau of the organization has been called for Monday in Jackson vile to take stock of these problems and discuss ways and means of meeting them. The labor matter is of prime inn portance. Cost-keeping will also be dis cussed. The eight-hour law Is to be discussed also, as this is regarded as masked attempt to organize sawmill labor at a critical time.
 George w. Ward, formerly connected with the United States revenue depart ment, has been employed as auditor of the Georgia-Florida Sawmill association. At a recent meeting of the association the employment of an auditor was au- thorized. together with the adoption of a system of cost keeping, which the au- ditor will install and superintend.