The Washington times., 1920-11-28
ELECTRIC WELDING
C0NSERVESLUMBER
Application of Up to Date Meth
DDS in Construction Saw
ing Forests.

L
timber in America.
| While geologists and economist
point with alarm al the rapid de
pleiion OF the coal reserves OF the
| United States and Franklin X. Lane
warns us that foreign powers have
assumed such control Nover the oil
helds of the world az TO eventually
cripple the oil burning war ships
and cargo carriers which ny the u.
:. nag. We have the authority OF W
Il. Greeley. forester of the United
states Forest Service. that three-nfths
OF the original timber in America ID
gone and that we are taking every
year four times the amount of wood
out OF our forests which we are grow
ing In them.
FORESTS DEPLETED.
According to Mr.. Greeley less Than
| 9 per cent OF the forests OF New Eng
| land and about IL per cent OF the
original stand OF timber is left. New
York, the leading State In lumber pro =
duction in 1850. now supplies less
/ than one-tenth OF the requirement of
her own Industries. The original pine
| forests Of the lake States. estimated
at 350OoO,OOO.OOO feet. are now re-
duced 20 less than 5000. .000. 900.
The bulk Of building and structural
thnbers used in Eastern and Central
States during the last twenty years
Was grown in the pine forests OF the
North. The cut OF Southern pine has
= fallen Off that within a few years
only enough will remain to meet the
modest requirements OF the Southern
States themselves.
One-half OF the timber remaining in
the timber States Is in the three
States bordering on the Pacific SIX
ty-one per cent lies west OF the Great
Plains. Another decade, Mr.. Greeley
believes. VIII mean the importation OF
timber from Siberia and South Amer
lea. IL the consumption Of timber con-
tinues at its present rate.
wOOD-IsING NATION.
lip TO the present. the United States
has been pr~-eninentiy a wood using
| iatiOn. W. use from two to four
times as much wood for every mem
ber OF our population as the mos.
highly developed countries Of Europe.
An idea OF how important d part wood
has played in the domestic and indus
| trial development oI the United States
and in her commercial supremacy is
apparent in the following statistics:
The United states at this nome mt
IL short at least .00o,00O homes. sn
comparison with the need, new dwell
ings are being constructed at a
snail's pace because OF tn. high cost
Of lumber, with other building mate.
rials. and OF labor. From the short
| age Of homes arise exorbitant rents,
crowded living conditions, and low
| cred sta ards OF comfort and famii,
! life. The average farm in the United
States needs about 2mn board feet
Of lumber every year for new build
inKs and improvements. Because the
average farmer cannot obtain lumber
at prices within his reach farm de-
velopment is handicapped and the er-
ficiency of agriculture suffers.
TIMBER IS NEEDED
We need 6.250.0OO cords of wood
year to make our newspap pers. maga-
zines. books. pasteboard boxes, and
other products manufactured from
wood pulp. We are meeting this
need at present only BY importing :,
third of our paper or paper-making
materials from Canada. We require
l25. .0OO. 900 railroad ties each year to
keep and extend our railroad lines.
aside from enormous quantities OF
timber used in other forms for rail-
road construction and the building
of cars. We have to have at least
5000. 900 feet OF timber yearly fo-
boxes, crates, and barrels, a require
ment which is steadily increasing.
y group of our important manu-
facturers. the makers OF wood We
neers handles. vehicles: furniture,
and agricultural implements. consume
SOC. 900 900 feet OF timber yearly. 1t
Is upon this group, perhaps. that the
growing shortage OF timber falls
most heavily, since they require
largely high-grade hardwoods and
other timber which the virgin forests
OF the United States furnished so
lavishly. but which il is now becom-
ing more and more difficult to find in
sufficient quantities.
DEMAND OF FORESTS.
All told. we demand of our forests
about $4,000. 900 900 feet of timber
yearly, aside from we'll over 100000
900 cords OF small material for fuel
and various chemical products. There
is nothing comparable to this enor-
nous use of wood in the history of
the world.
Even the substitutions for lumber
which the application OF electricity
are making possible will hardy re-
duce the present total need OF wood.
with its growing population and the
rapidly widening fields OF the worlds
industries into which the United
States has been called upon TO venture,
the drain on the nations wood re-
cources is bound to continue. Elec-
tricity in welding material and in
manufacture of substitutes will be de-
pended upon to meet increasing lie
mands. but national and state juris-
diction. over and development of the
463. 900, 900 acres OF forest land in the
United States, which is not required
for any other economic use and
which, IL kept productive, would pro-
vide an ample supply OF wood, is i'm
needed to meet demands.
In responding to the call of mankind
in the growing scarcity OF wood.