Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-10-17

Washington, Oct. 14.-ln no great
American industry, not even the meat
packing industry, in which by common
! repute everything is utilized but the
!, hogs squeal, is conservation today re-
ceiving greater attention than in the
lumber industry. The lumber producer,
once of all our Industrial giants the
. greatest and most notorious Wastrel,
has begun to be provident n canny.
/ The industry has been forced to it.
Its alternative is to change methods
or prepare for the end of greatness.
! And what is now being done to change
: methods constitutes one of the most
interesting stories in modern industrial
! science.
The fact is that America is nearing
! the end of her timber resources. Even
10 years ago the prediction that the
end was nigh was secuted as the out
cry of the professional alarmist. But
> expanding population, the enormous de-
mand of the war for lumber, the cease
: less forest fires, all lave done their
, work. America is faced with the UNI
pleasant fact that her nee seemingly
{ inexhaustible forests, which stretched
: across 5000 miles with only a break
for the Great Plains, are nearing ex-
haustion.
Already the pinch is being felt, espe-
CldIs III tnC cast Sio"ihS PhhNSo
; tell part of the story. The consump-
c ton of lumber has dropped from an
r average per capita use of 500 board
/. feet in 1906 to 316 board feet in 1920
: Ia drop of 81 per cent in IA years.
Carry this out to the end. and the con-
> sumption of lumber would cease alto
! gether about the year 1910. The rem
{ nants of the virgin stands of pine In
i the southern states will be cut in an
other 10 years. That will leave the
Pacific northwest as the sole remain
= prices in the east will be based upon
u Oregon and Washington prices plus
5. the freight rate across the continent,
a rate that is. a greater sum per 1000
- board feet than fasteners had to pay
for lumber itself. including the haulage
n charge, a few years ago.
The government was first to realize
the impending doom of the American
II forests. and to combat it established
the United States forest service to
]. protect and maintain the timbered areas
of the public domain set aside in per-
petuity as national forests. Certain
states followed the governments exam
pie. establishing state forest services.
A little over 10 years ago the forest
service established at Madison, Wis,
the Forest Products Laboratory to
NJ SIuuy the DEODltE1S VI LIE luuuSLTy SCI
entifically, devoting special attention
ID to the conservation of wood after il
,f is cut. The industry at that time may
have looked askance at this innovation
'e as being another one of those gov
L ernmental bureaus. Be hat as it may,
~ when the laboratory celebrated its
v tenth birthday recently, lumbermer
IS travelled thousands of miles to be there
). and assist with their presence. The
- 1nI nrotnrv hos aIranEy SQvod millions
N to the industry, and it has only just
n begun to show what it can 10.
Finally. the lumber industry itself
10 took up the campaign of conservation
re Through its own organization, the Ma.
tional Lumber Manufacturers associa
{. ton, it is cooperating with the va
,e rious bodies as well as pursuing its owl
\. lines of research.
A Two-Foid Problem
6 There is room here only to outline
J. a few of the methods whereby the tim
N Der supply of the United States is t
.. be saved. The problem is two-fold, al
IL though both halves are interknit-tht
conservation in forests themselves, and
- secondly, conservation in the mills ant
&c in the use of lumber.
l. In the woods the greatest problem
is fire. Even with today's diminished
he ner capita use of lumber, we are cut
s. / Iln0 uONu -lIcEo lobl4 tllAN 40 AoOh "a
: nature can grow new wood; but in spit
& of all the systems of protection, thu
forest fire continues to be even NOR
destructive than the woodsman's axe
The solution of the fire problem Seems
~ to be a more elaborate system of fir
20 protection and greater cooperation
,,ooz with state and national fire protection
&c services on the part OF private own
,5Y ers of timber land.
,Ss OF the more than $4,000 forest fire
ST annually, lightning starts about one
,4S fifth of them and human carelessnes
so5 the rest. The tobacco smoker is tn
ss22SS chief offender. A strong effort is be
ing made to induce tobacco manufac
$50 turers to print fire warnings on a
l57 packages Of cigars, cigarettes and pip
,,n1 tobacco.
;2s The chief damage wrought by fores
Ds5 fires is not in the virgin timber bu
476 in the cut-over lands in which tn
5aa1 young trees have not YET reached me-
SS9SS charitable size. 1t is burning tn
o2s wealth of the future. Three-fourth
354 of all cut-over forest lands would re
$50 forest themselves, if it were not fo
OO2gSS fires.
The fire hazard, too. is the chit
800 deterrent to private owners of cut-ove
BIS lands TO reforest them. Men hesitat
o0e to lock I'D a considerable investmeI
Ts2 which is always subject to destructio
4si from an unpreventable cause. A be-
2s4 ter control of fires would ~undoubtedl
POS result in an increase in commercial r.
forestation.
al Yet it is a forward looking man wh
21S will invest in a business the profit
1as of which will accrue only to his grand
9 children. The slow growth of tree
900 does not recommend forestry as a bus
ness for an impatient man. Scienc
1e- therefore. is coming to the aid of thos
&C. who would like quicker profits. 1t
doing this through what is known {
VI laminated construction.
he Laminated wood construction WI
greatly developed during the war |
the forest products laboratory. !
Ich plain language, it consists of glueir
W. small pieces of wood together to for
w a large piece and then turning or othe
les wise working or using the large. PEE
&c. as If it were a piece of clear timbe
- Clues have been developed that Al
"A practically as strong ms the wood !
is self. and they are now practical
waterproof and bacteria proof. A
:, ready such objects as gunstocks, al
1er - -o,a1I1rc aylatrnps- how'll