St. Helens Creosoting Co. Report Active California Demand for Creosoted Products in L923

The St. Helens Creosoting Co., headquarters in the l\[atson Building, San Francisco, state that there has been an excellent demancl for preservative u'oods in the state of California drrring the past year. This clemand has been for railroad ties, docks and whan'es, bridge material, crossarms, u'ooden barges, sheathing for floating dry docks and tirnber barges, paving blocks, and telephone and power line poles.

The St. Flelens Creosoting Co. has been operating since l9I2 and is one of the largest and best equipped rvood preservative plants on the Pacific Coast. Their large plant is located at St. Helens, Oregon. The plant contains four retorts, 7' by 736', lvhich are of sufficient dimensions to handle practically all classes of orders. The creosote pressure method is the process ttsed and their annual capacity is 5.5,000,000 board feet.

Orving to the large quantitl. of cross-ties used in California, creosoted ties lead all other items produced. With other important u'oods, such as oak ancl yellow pine, which have had the largest call for creosoted ties in the past due to their accessibility to the eastern markets, diminishing in supply; the raih'oads are requiring each year more creosoted douglas fire ties. I)ouglar fir properly treated makes an excellent tie, and figures for the year 1922, show that douglas fire creosoted ties ranked third in production in the United States, 3.fJ69,963 creosoted douglas fir ties were used riuring that year.

Creosoted douglas fir piling for clocks and wharves has supplied a constant demand during the past year. Treated fir piling is especially adapted for docks and wharves and has given excellent results and service on the Pacific

Coast. Several years ag'o, the dismantling of 1'1,000 douglas fir piling on the Southern Pacific Raih'oacl docks at Oakland, showed that alter D years of service 7O/o of. the piling removed was in good condition and reacly for further t1se.

The necessity and practability of using creosoted mateiials for docks and wharves, is a matter that is receiving much consideration from the State Harbor Commissioners. At a recent meeting of the State Harbor Commissioners held at San Francisco Nor-ember 23, regardirrg the proposed nerv pier No. 50 to be built in the San Francisco harbor, in Sacramento Countg plans for the construction of a new and rnodern pier which rvill be the largest in San Francisco rvere submitted and unanimously approved by the Commissioners. Construction of the new pier, that will extend out to the pier-line end, will cost approximately $1,500,000.00 according to the specifications submitted by Chief Engineer White. It was

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