The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1934-01-05
MUCH CASH BEING SPENT
ON SUPERIOR and MEsABA
Daily Being Spent by the Government the Forest
Camps of These Two National Forests in Payrols and
Costs for Food and Supplies.

pTOAlLldtcly $1t,OVV CdCll udy Re GiAC
camps in the Superior and Mesaba
National forests i'm the form of payrolls
and costs for food and supplies, E. S.
PIERCE of the United States forest SER
vice and supervisor of the forests,
estimated.
The $500 men in the camps receive a
minimum of 81 day, or $50 a month.
In addition there are number of
veteran woodsmen, foresters, foremen
and other persons in supervisory cap
acities stationed in each of the eighteen
camps At least three army officers are
at each camp Estimating an expendi-
lure of 81 per day for food, clothing and
tools is considered conservative figure.
The 800 men in the MIRA camps in
the two forest reserves of this region
work eight hours day and receive SO
cents an hour. Their total wages
amount to about S., 1900 each day. Costs
of meals are taken out of their COM
pensation.
The most recent work in the forests
has been started by crews of men work
ing under the CWA augmenting the
forest workers by about 1900 employees.
These men commute daily from their
homes. They work six hours day and
receive so cents an hour, with total
of about $4,000 day. FOremen and
foresters and other supervisors are on
the stats of the MIRA and CWA groups.
Seventy-two men are engaged in
special work at the experimental sub
station at Halfway, south of this city.
This staff commutes from Ely as CWA
workers. A crew of siXty-eight APP
praisers are at work in the forest ex-
amining land and timber offered for
sale to the government.
About 100 engineers, foremen, SUI
perintendents, and other skilled workers
are in the camps and in charge of the
crews. There are fifteen men on the
regular rangers force and in the offices
of the United States forest service in
Duluth there are about a dozen men.
A total of about $500 men are engaged
in forest improvement work in the
Superior and National reserves. A close
check-up of expenditures of the vari-
GUS projects would total nearly 100000
a month.
Up to the first of December the Fed
eral government had contributed $780,
GLASS to the state of Minnesota in
to men and for subsistence
in emergency conservation camps, ac-
cording to the report of r. T. Smith,
field supervisor. OF this, $124, 95442 was
paid for wages, $73 1852 for equipment
and supplies and 500 ,035.81 for trans
portation.
The men did 42,547 days work
fighting fires, saving the state more
than $4,000 in wages, had the men
been hired at So a day.
They also built 165 miles of new
telephone line and rebuilt seventy-Six
miles. They prepared 1887 telephone
poles. They built 254 miles of truck
trails and 108 miles of firebreak. They
cleared the brush and debris away
from 1913 miles of roads and trails,
making firebreaks of them and re-
ducing the hazard of fire along them.
They built ITS culverts and constructed
IL 500 feet of off-take bitches to drain
roads and trails. They spread 1880
yards of gravel surfacing and moved
40, 1000 yards of earth in making fills.
They also built Sc bridges.
They marked boundaries totaling ASS
miles in length. Fire hazard removal
is reported on $3.50 acres. The number
of acres planted to trees was 1,054. The
forest stand was improved on 1914
acres. Tree and plant disease control
work was done on 1872 acres. Timber
survey was completed on 25,840 acres.
handspring was done on five acres.
Nursery work took 2,410 days. Public
camp grounds were cleared and other
wise improved. Seed collecting took
1876 days. One airplane landing field
has been constructed.
Hunting for men lost in the forest
during deer-hunting season required
sixty days of time by men.