California Pine Selling Strong inTexas Territory-the Reason Why

In the last issue of The California Lumber Merchant facts were given showing that the State of Texas is the biggest consumer of California pine doors, not excepting the State of California itself.

Texas has been using California pine doors for a number of years, and the increase in their consumption in the Lone Star State is therefore not surprising.

But there is a change going on in the Texas territorymeaning Texas and its immediately surrounding territory generally known as the Great Southwestern Empire-that is of probably more importance to the lumber manufacturers of California even than tlre door consumption of that territory, and that is the now heavy shipments into that same territory of California white and sugar pine LUMBER.

Perhaps tl,e following excerpt from an editorial in the September 15th issue of The Gulf Coast Lumberman, pub' lished at Houston, Texas, is the chief explanation of this important development. It is under the heading, "Southern Pine Will Never Be Cheap Again," and reads as follows:

"The other day a big manufacturer of Southern Pine sat in my ofifrce, and we talked of Southern Pine, its present, its future, and its actual prospects. 'Have you figured,' " he asked me, "how much Southern Pine production has cut out and gone for good in the Sotrthwest alone during the past year, and how much more lvill go out in the next year? And.then he wrote a list of Southern fine mills that have blown their whistle for the last time during the past twelve months. Not small mills-and there were a, number of such that disappeared-but the bigger sort of: mills. There was one that cut 175,000 feet daily; anotherl that cut 300,000 feet daily; another 200,000 feet; anotherl 125,000 feet. These all Louisiana mills that market most ofi their product in Texas, a total of 800,000 feet claily produc-i tion of high grade timber, all Long Leaf mills, gone within trvelve months time. Then he mentioned others that are about to go. One cuts 150,000 feet daily, a Texas mill., Another Texas mill that cuts 100,000 feet daily has notl run for a long time, future indefinite. Another Louisiana mill has four months to run. It cuts 100,000 feet daily.' Two Louisiana mills that cut 175,000 and 200,000 feet daily respectivefy will go out for good in the early spring tof 1925. I have just mentioned those that my friend called attention to. There are probably others in these two states alone."

Texas is to the Southrvestern mills what California is i to the West Coast mills-the most desirable of markets, i and the passing of so rnany big mills in West Louisiana i and Texas means the dropping out of the Texas competitive market, a huge production of very desirable lumber. l

For the past two years the California pine mills-or some of them at least-have been shipping more and more lfcod

Caholh schoot erectcd nr 1870 now being dkmantled for its io*nd Rcilwooil bmber.