The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1920-02-12
HIGH LUMBER PRICES
Are Direct Result of Forest Devas-
tatiOn and Wasteful Methods

There has been a tremendous in
crease in the cost of lumber required
for construction material, boxes, fur
nlture and other multitudinous uses
for the past few years, and there is
every reason to believe that lumber
prices are going to further increase.
Naturally, the man who is lumber
user wants to know the reason for
these increases, and how it is going to
effect his business. The reason for
advancing prices is not difficult to
find. We have, for many years, been
cutting our forests more than three
times as fast as they have been grow
ing. Large surplus timber supplies
have enabled US to do this for so long
without bringing disastrous conse-
quences. We have now reached the
point where we have nearly exhausted
our forest capital, and the interest
(Which represents the rate Of growth
of the forests is very much less than
enough to sustain US In other words,
we are in a state of forest bank
ruptcy, and our creditors are applying
for receiver.
The condition here in Maryland is
common to all parts of the country
with the exception of some portions of
the Gulf States and the Pacific north
west. In the case of the Gulf States,
the original forests are rapidly dis
appearing, and the lumbermen who
are now cutting the timber are conf
dent of less than ten years supply.
The Pacific Coast forests are too far
removed and freight rates too high to
help US much.
1t is simply case Of supply and de-
mand, with the supply nearly exhaust
ed. while the demand is rapidly in
creasing. Wood enters into so many
of our daily uses, and is so common,
that we do not appreciate how Deepen
dent we are upon cheap and album
dant supply.
Take the single item of newsprint
paper which is made entirely from
wood. The paper used in single edi-
ton of a large New York daily re-
quires ten acres of fully stocked for
est. The scarcity of wood for this
purpose is largely reflected in the al
ways and greatly increased prices
asked, and obtained, by the paper
makers Five years ago, newsprint
paper cost less than three cents a
pound, while today the paper upon
which The Republican is printed is
quoted and brings nine cents per
pound, plus the freight charges from
the point of shipment which is from
GO to IS cents per hundred pounds.
This alone shows an increase of
more than two hundred per cent.
While substitutes are being found
for the use of wood in some cases, we
are also finding new uses for wood,
which more than Offsets substitution.
While the per capita consumption of
wood has decreased, we are today US
ing more wood than ever before, due
to increase in population and discovery
of uses not known ten years ago.
The outlook is a gloomy one, cal
culated to make US think more seri-
ously of the future, but it has one en-
couraging aspect, and that is that the
forests can be renewed, in which this
resource differs from other natural
resources, such as coal, oil, and gas,
which once used cannot be replaced.
But in order to renew our forests, we
must change completely the present
methods of handling them, so that a
new crop shall quickly follow cutting
in place of devastation which is the
outcome of most numbering opera
tons. II