Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1922-09-29
TIMBER CUTTERS WILL INVADE
THE MALHEUR NATIONAL
FOREST OF OREGON.
BIG TRACT OF VIRGIN PINE
More Than Seven Billion Feet Of Lunn-
Der, It 10 Estimated, viii Be Taken
out--Many Miles Of Railway Are
Necessary.

is described as the last frontier settle
ment In the United States is foreseen
In the recent announcement by the for
est service Of the proposed sale of
timber In the Malheur national forest,
Oregon.
This wooded section, now remote
from railroad facilities and present
day methods of living, may soon ring
with the sound of blasting and ak
blows. of putting locomotives, of mill
whistles, automobile horns and other
noises of industry.
Where now stand giants of the
forest will rise numbering towns and
agricultural communities, and where
roam bear. deer and other wild anil
mails muscular men and hardy women
will tread. Dissertation of the last
great forest primeval' is impending.
Lumbermen of the country see In
the brief statement of the service the
final opportunity for their trade to
deal initially with virgin pine forest
of wide expanse ana the last oppor-
tunity for the settler to take posses
sion of a region now remote from
railways and markets and virtually
unused agriculturally.
Huge Timber Tract.
The opening for sale of the timber
of the Bear valley unit of the Malheur
national forest affects approximately
S90.0O0,0O0 feet of Blue mountains tim
Der now and marks the beginning of the
razing of the entire forest, containing
more than 7,000,000,000 feet of lumber.
To start the numbering operations it
will be necessary to build about so
miles of trunk line railway, In addition
to tap lines, thus opening incidentally
for settlement an agricultural country
having an area of 10000 square miles,
or about twice that of the state of
Massachusetts.
The agricultural development that
will ensue upon the numbering activi-
ties, which involve the employment of
hundreds of men In building of neces-
Sary railway alone, will demonstrate
also exceptionally the policy of using
the national forests as an adjunct of
the general progress and welfare of
adjacent regions. The forecast Of the
forest service provides for at least one
logging and numbering unit that will
never have to move elsewhere to find
new forests-at least one sawmill town
that will never die for lack of material
for its industries.
The mill site recommended Is at
Burns, Ore, village of about 1000
persons, located 80 miles northwest of
Crane, the present terminus of
branch of the Oregon Short Line of
the Union Pacific railway, which leaves
the main line at Ontario, Ore. 1t Is
likely that the Union Pacific would I'M
dertake to build a branch from Crane
to Burns If sawmill were put in oper-
alton at the latter place, it Is said.
From Burns on however, whoever
buys the timber will have to build
logging railway, which is required to
be a common carrier, for a distance of
80 miles to Senaca. The country is
well adapted to economical logging and
easy railway construction.
1t is estimated that. exclusive of the
line from Crane to Burns. whoever
takes this timber win have to expend
approximately S3,000000 In railway
building, mill construction and operat-
ing expenses for the first year. Be
cause of the lack of railways there are
10000 square miles Of land in Harvey,
Grant and Cook counties almost en-
tirely given over now to grazing. The
few natives of this section contend
that their community, from settle
ment point of view, is the last frontier
in the United States.
A Longtime Contract.
While the ancient forest is doomed,
the terms of the proposed sale are
such that the succession of Its sylvan
posterity is assured, according to the
National Lumber Manufacturers asso-
citation. Though the timber now Of
fered for sale by the forest service Is
sufficient only to keep a moderate
sized mill running continuously for 20
years, the service will at the end of
that time open up another unit and
so on until eventually 100000 900 feet
of timber will be made available.
The unit 1t is now planned to open
Is 81 per cent western yellow pine.
The minimum price the forest service
will consider for the pine in the initial
unit is $275 a thousand and so cents
for timber of other species, although
logging the latter win be optional with
the contractor. 1t is stipulated that
the mill must be in operation by April
/. 1928. and that stumpage prices will
be readjusted every three years there
after.
Better travelling Agents Needed.
careful selection Of efficient travel
ing agents for service abroad is
one of the most vital essentials
for success In our foreign business"
says Julius Klein, director of the