Paul Bunyan Enlists

By Wilson Compton Secretcry cnd Mcrncger Nctioncl Lunber Mcrnufccturers Associcrtion

The goal of the lumber industry during 1941, when production reached a new high fof recent years, was "defense." This year the saws will be humming a song of "offense,t' and even greater production is to be anticipated. The industry is at battlestrength now.

The job the industry did during the past year -meeting the extraordinary demands of the emergency with its established equipment and man-power-was in enormous volume. One item alone, the prompt delivery o12,I37,0N,000 board feet of lumber to build the cantonments, staggers the imagination-the biggest single carpentry job in American history.

Besides barracks, lumber has built for the Army laundries, hospitals, portable bridges, recreation centers, warehouses, laboratories, "chapels, offices, mess halls, hangars, shipping crates, tank models, rifle stocks, ammunition boxes and uncountable other items. For the Navy-ships. drydocks, shipyards. In addition to direct military use, thousands of new, lumber-built defense factories went up, and 120,000 new houses for defense workers.

Yet all this was only practice for what must be accomplished this year.

It is impossible for any man to foresee what the demands will be for the forthcoming year, but it is safe to say that the pace will be greatly accelerated.

The most important factor in the job that lumber is doing has been the development during recent years of improved timber engineering techniques that permit wood to do work formerly thought possible only by costlier and scarcer materials materials now sorely needed and indispensable for the construction of actual fighting tools. For example, thousands of tons of steel will be diverted to munitions by the increasing use of wood in the manufacture of some 120,000 freight cars scheduled for 1942. The list of such "substitutions" is virtually endless.

In meeting all these extraordinary demands "in a hurry" no more than temporary local ,shortages of normal supplies of lumber (and then only in a few grades and items for ordinary civilian use) were experienced during the past year. The industry is confident that no such "bottlenecks" will occur this year. The forward planning and coordination of defense buying of lumber and timber products has been much improved.

Nor is the industry neglecting to insure the perpetuation of timber crops for the future. More conservative management and more careful logging of forest lands, with the aid of better forest protection in most regions and with more scientific aids are fully replacing the heavy industrial drains on the forests in these desperate days. More important, fire-the greatest single enemy of our forestsis being curbed. In the State of Washington alone, the number of forest fires was reduced from an average of 1,5O0 to 1,050 last year as a result of state-rvide cooperation of public and private agencies, and the industry is hopeful of reducing the toll even further.

No matter what the war needs of the nation and its allies, the industry can fill them promptly this war year,and with ample provision for the future. Immediately upon the declaration of war, and in behalf of the Lumber and Timber Products industries of the United States, I sent the following wire to the President:

"The lumber and tim,ber products industries will promptly and willingly undertake any assignment necessary to our national defense. We no doubt can help also in the maintenance of vital civilian economy. We can and will produce all the timber products which our government and her allies want. This is our defense and our war and our job just as it is yours. We await orders of the Commander-in-Chief."

There is no need for the lumber industry to enlist; it has already enlisted. "Paul Bunyan," the great woodsman of America forest lore, lvill run his saws faster in 1942.