Lumber For Farmers

War Board Memorandum No. 364 from the War Food Administration to State Agricultural War Board Chairmen under the subject, "Procedure for Distributing Special Ratings Granted for Supplemental Farm Lumber," was issued on June 8, 1943. The memorandum is signed by Chester C. Davis, Administrator of the War Food Administration. It announces the program which might be termed "Lumber for Farmers."

- This program recognizes farm lumber as second in importance only to direct Army and Navy needs and for the third quarter of this year allocates 500,0@,000 board feet to retail lumber dealers on an emergency rating.

The important features of the War Board Memorandum directed to the State War Board Chairmen are as follows: l. The purpose and procedure for distributing special ratings granted for 500,000,000 board feet of "supplemental" larm lumber.

2. The tabulation of State quotas assigned by the War Food Administration.

3. A description of the several applications and certificates to be issued bv Countv War Boards to farmers and lumber dealers.

4. Instructions to State War Board Chairmen to invite the full cooperation of local lumber dealers and the description of the conditions involved in placing this "emergency" lumber in yards in order that it may be rqadily available for qualified farmers.

5. Reproduction of the applications and certificates which will be used to facilitate this program.

An outline of the salient features of the various paragraphs in the memorandum follows:

Paragraph l-War Food Administration authorized to assign during June, July, August and September, preference ratings of. AA-2 for the delivery of 500,000,000 board feet of "supplemental" softwood lumber for specific farm needs.

Paragraph Z-Discusses the distribution of the "supplemental" AA-2lumber and points out that WPB will require War Food Administration to report monthly on the distribution of this lumber.

Paragraph 3-Points out specifically that this lumber cannot be used for dwellings but for the following types of on-farm construction: l Maintenan,ce and repair of agricultural buildings or equipment.

2. New construction essential to the Food Production Program.

3. Reconstruction of essential agricultural buildings destroyed by fire.

Paragraph 4-In cases of major tornado or flood losses, special emergency ratings are available through the Red Cross and the inference is that AA-2 ,ratings shall not be used to secure lumber for this particular purpose.

Where substitute materials are available, it is expected that dealers will use them.

The limitations of Conservation Order L-41 still apply and County War Boards will not issue emergency AA-2 ratings for jobs subject to L-4L restrictions unless approved by the WPB Construction Branch.

Paragraph S-State quotas are listed.

Quotas allocated to the Pacific Coast states are: California, 15,800,000 board feet; Arizona, 1,200,000 board feet; Nevada, 400,000 board feet; Oregon, 6,700,000 board feet, and Washington, 8,8@,000 board feet.

Paragraph 5(a)-Requests State War Boards to report unused portions of their quotas.

Paragraph 5(b)-Provides that State War Boards may distribute the entire amount of lumber as county quotas in critical areas or may retain a State reserve.

The State reserve may be used to adjust county quotas where additional requirements become apparent or may be used to provide small emergency inventories for lumber dealers in communities where present inventories are exhausted.

Paragraph 6--Instructions to State War Boards in respect to the proper distribution by county.

Paragraph 7-Description of Form SL-200, the farmer's application for an AA-2 preference rating to be applied to an itemized list of lumber.

Description of Form GA-201, the Preference Rating Certificate, given to the farmer and, in turn, turned over by the farmer to his lumber dealer.

Paragraph 7(a)-Note particularly that the certificates, Form GA-201, must be surrendered by farmers to dealers within 1O days after date of issuance to the farmer.

Paragraph 8-Small Sales. It is urged that for small purchases lumber dealers take care of the sales so far as possible from lumber supplies on hand and secured under the preference ratings available in Conservation Order M-208. Where emergency purchases of $10 or less cannot be taken care of by present dealer inventories, a procedure is suggested which enables the County War Board to authorize the dealer by telephone to accept the order without a certificate and later secure authorization direct from the County War Board.

Paragraph 9-County War Boards are requested to meet with the lumber dealers within the county in order to discuss the best methods of facilitating this program.

The suggestion is made that dealers be encouraged to pool their respective certificates and it is pointed out that dealers should understand that they should continue their efforts to secure AA-3 and AA-4 ratings for farm lumber through the procedures provided by Conservation Order M-208.

Paragraph 9(a)-Note the suggestion as to the desirability of dealers filling the "GA-201" certificate orders from-present inventories and subsequently extending the AA-2 ruting acquired on these certificates for inventory replacement.

Paragraph lG-Direct Dealer Certification. In cases where dealer inventories are so badly depleted that dealers cannot honor GA-ml certificates for this emergency lumber, provision is made whereby the County War Board may request the State War Board to issue an emergency GA-nz certificate (see attachments) for a limited amount of lumber to provide a small working inventory.

Paragraph 10(a)-Discusses further the Direct Dealer Certification designed to take care of emergency and depleted inventory conditions.

Paragraph 11-A description of the records that must bc kept by County and State War Boards for the purpose of reporting monthly the amount of lumber released to tbe War Food Administration and the War Production Board in Washington.

Report on Lumber Stocks

Gross lumber stocks at mills at the close of the first quarter of 1943 totaled 4,011,457,000 board feet as compared with 4,950,915,000.board feet on hand December 31, 1942, a decrease of 19 per cent, the WPB lumber products division announced.

Data compiled by the U. S. Forest Service and WPB indicate that consumption of lumber is exceeding production for most of the critical species. Thou.gh March production as a whole was 14.2 per cent higher than that of February, demands are steadily decreasing stocks at the mills to a critical degree.

In the east, lumber stocks as of March 31, 1943, show a 14.8 per cent decrease from stocks on hand December 31, 1942. In the west, the decrease for the same period is 24.8 per cent.

'Western stocks, broken down by regions, reveal the following decreases : North Pacific, 2L per cent; South Pacific, 34.3 per cent; Northern Rocky Mountain, 17.2 per cent; Southern Rocky Mountain, 23.1 per cent.

Walnut, with a 40 per cent increase and Sitka spruce with a 6 per cent increase are the only important species with increases in stocks, while the supply of hard maple stocks remains level. All other important species show decreases. Stocks on.hand at the end of March and percentage decreases from December 31 are as follows: hemlq,k, 8O,274,00O board feet, down 13 per cent; Northern pine,257,233,000 board feet, D per cent ; Southern pine, 763,951,000 board f.eet, 2 per cent i ash, L4,7I5,000 board feet, 25 per cent; basewood, 22,712,000 board feet, 19 per cent; beech, 31,930,000 board f.eet, % per cent; birch, 7L,n6,W board feet, 30 per cent; soft maple, 18,761,000 board feet, 22 per cent; white oak, lX),557,000 board f eet, N per cent; red oak, 246,978,W,board f.eet, 27 per cent; yellow poplar, 69,393,000 board feet, 16 per cent; Douglas fir,426,776,W board feet, 19 per cent; Western white pine, 108,020,000 board f.eet, 24 per cent; and redwood, 129,000,00O board feet, 22 per cent; ponderosa pine, 539,618,00O board feet, 29 per cent.

New General Offices And Plant

The new general offices and plant of Whiting-Mead Co., Los Angeles, now under construction, is scheduled for completion about July 20.

E. J. Stanton & Son Kiln Dry . Million Feet of Lumber a Month

Here is a picture of the modernized battery of dry kilns operated by E.J. Stanton & Son, Los Angeles. The Stanton plant, one of the biggest wholesale hardwood yards in the entire country, has virtually become a war service plant, devoting most of its facilities to providing lumber and wood products for the war effort, and in a variety of ways.

They are very fortunate in the fact that not long before we got into the war they remodeled and modernized their battery of dry kilns, converting them into Moore Automatically Controlled Cross.Circulation Kilns. This change hugely increased their lumber drying facilities in volume, and gave them a decidedly improved product, all of which is very beneficial during such times of stress as we are going through.

E. J. Stanton & Son carry in stock all the available hardwoods, domestic and foreign, as well as Sugar Pine and other softwoods. They have been in business in Los Angeles for nearly fifty years. LeRoy H..Stanton is president and manager.

NHA M.y Amend WPB Approvals of Delense Housing Authorized War Housing Materials

The War Production Board delegated to the National Housing Agency authority to amend within limitations WPB approvals of material and products to be used in War Housing projects. The action is contained in WPB directive No.24.

Concurrence of WPB in amending approvals is not necessary if the materials and products appear on:

1. The current list of permitted substitutions and additional inventory items issued by WPB, of,

2. The war housing critical list under the same item number as an approved item on the list of materials, are to be used in place of materials of products so approved and do not exceed them in quantity, and have not been specifically prohibited for the project by the War Production Board.

The directive also formalizes the existing authority of the National Housing Agency, as a claimant agent, to make allotments of controlled materials and to issue preference ratings for material and products appro.red by WPB for use in each project.

Engene Weston, Jr., Los Angeles regional director of the National Housing Administration, announced that priorities for 2,000 housing units for war workers, principally in the San Fernando Valley, had been authorized at an estimated cost of $12,000,000.

Mr. Weston baid 1,000 privately constructed housing units would be built within two miles of Lockheed and Vega aircraft plants and would have rent ceilings of $42.50 for two bedroom units, $5O for three bedroom units unfurnished and without utilities included.

Another 5@ units to be publicly financed will be erected adjacent to San Fernando Valley, while the remaining units would be conversions from.old properties.

Back From Northern Trip

Arthur Twohy, Twohy Lumber Co., Los Angeles, attended the Commencement Exercises at the University of California, Berkeley, where his son, Dick, was graduated. He then spent several days visiting the Redwood and Pine mills. Mrs. Twohy accompanied him on the trip.