Lumber Reports

(Continued from Page 17) days when ninety per cent of Britain's sawn lumber came from abroad.

"No subject at the annual meeting of the English Timber Merchant's Association in London," says the Timber Trades Journal, "produced such evidence of strong feeling as that relating to the withdrawal of key labor from the industry. Major Newsum told of a communication from his local Man Power Board intimating that six of his timber fallers were to be withdrawn in the next few days, and the fate of five others hangs in the balance. Axe men are the very root of the home timber production job, and the question was asked 'f{ow can the Ministry of Supply and the Director of Home Timber Production hope to get the production they want and need this year if another Ministry through the Man Power Boards is drawing away key men from the industry?"' Sounds like an American situation, doesn't it?

All British authorities agree that there is going to be a terrific need for housing when the .ivar ends, both in England and Scotland. Postwar housing plans are getting much attention from the British papers and magazines. Prefabrication of wooden houses instead of the proverbial brick and stone houses and apartments are being freely discussed. The authorities in Scotland report that no more important task will fall to them after the war, than providing adequate housing facilities for their people. Looks like the rebuilding of housing in a war-torn world is going to be one of, the greatest of the postwar problems.

BRITAIN HAS ARMY OF "LUMBERJILLS"

In the U. S. we have our armies of WAACS, WAVES, and others of the female persuasion. They have all that sort of thing in England, too, but they have another army America has heard nothing about as yet-the "Lumberjills." These are the female "Lumberjacks." They exist and operate in both England and Scotland. In the childhood rhyme Jack and Jill went up the hill after water. In real life in Britain these days, the Jills go up the hills by themselves, to get logs and lumber needed for the war effort.

They are a branch of the Women's Land Army, and are called the Women's Land Army Timber Corps. Their work and enlistment is strictly voluntary. They can quit any time they want to. They are given thirty days training at a former country mansion house at Angus, Scotland. During this training they are urged to quit right then if they feel the jobs do not fit them. Very few of them quit. Recruiting for this Corps started in April, 1942. It was a success from the start. Today there are "many thousands" of them.

They are all girls of strong physique, aged 17 to 40. Their work is establishing camps, installing portable sawmills, cutting the timber, making it ,into lumber, shipping it, then thoroughly cleaning up the area, and moving the camp and mill and equipment to some more timber that has been selected for them. They use the hand ax, the felling ?.x, the crosscut saw; thev learn to handle tractors, buggies, and trucks which carry the logs and lumber, and all the jobs in the small sawmills. In fact, they do all the work of logging the land and cutting and shipping the lumber. Most of the camps are in isolated territory. Entertainment is furnished since there is seldom any to be had locally, no stores to visit, no places to spend money. They have radios, record-playing machines, books, g'ames, etc. Most of the wood cut is softwood. and most of the timber is small, so there are no jobs that strong women cannot handle.

NHA Approves Additional Housing Units For Northern California

The National Housing Agency has approved a program calling for the construction in Northern California of an additional 483 housing units, publicly and privately financed, for war workers.

The projects are: Dunsmuir, Calif.*60 publicly-financed temporary family units; 48 publicly-financed dormitory units and 4O privately-financed new family units.

Oroville, Calif.-50 publicly financed dormitory units. Portola, Calif.-60 publicly-financed temporary family units and 70 publicly-financed dormitory units.

L,umber is a Critical IVar Material

srrd Uncle scun comes first. It must continue to hove the right-of-wcy.for wqr needs.

We cne supplying mqteriols for mcrny wor projects but wont to serve the retoil' trqde too. If materiols cne qvailoble, we will get them. ' For 60 yeors we have been serving the Southern Cclilornic lumber trode.