Humboldt's Softest Clear Reduood

Big Timber

J. O. MEANS WHOLESALE LUMBER

MARK W. LILLARD, INC.

There IS a difrercnce in OAK FLOORING

Let me tcll you why.

SUPERIOR BRAND is "AMERICA'S FINEST''

ROLLINS A. BRO\MN

6lX6 Carlor Ave. - GRanite 3Ol2

FnTEDUOOD

A. L. HOOVER - 706 Standard Oil Blds. PHONES VAndikc tlSit2

For Sale

(Continrred from Page 59.)

now to State, County and City taxes. Not only has taxation become a back-breaking burden but it has, in my judgment, reached a stage where it is working to the detriment of future generations. To be more specific, I cite the following statistics:

The lumber production for the first 35 weeks of. l92O was 2,741,374,247 ft. and, for the same time in L925, 3,499,284,279 ft., an increase in production over a period oi the greatest demand in the history of the industry of 757,910,032 ft. or' 27.65 per cent. This, please note, is for 35 u'eeks only.

This tremendous ihcrease in production is, more than anything eTse, attributable to the increase in the tax on timber. Some stumpage owners, having become so burdened by the increase in taxes, were forced to market their timber to meet these added demands. . This marketing has been done through the building of saw mills and the starting of logging camps. I venture this statement, and I believe it is a fact that, except for this increase in the tax burden, the production of lumber today in the states of Oregon and Washington wouldbe 25 per cent less and logging correspondingly so and that .stumpage values would be from 30 to 40 per cent higher than at present.

Another and seriously destructive side of the tax burclen is the sacrifice of stumpage due to demoralized price cor-rditions. Overproduction has depressed prices to a point where few manufacturers are making any money' iome are breaking even and others have sustained heavy financial losses. Loggers rvho sell to log-buying mills find themselves in a similar situation. I know 'ivhereof

I sleak because I am closely affiliated with loggers and knorv rvhat they ard doing. I also know what the saw mills of these two great lumber producing states are doing. I have been intimately associated with the lumber inclustry for 24 years and my position, during the past few months, has given me an insight intothe situation such as l.am sure but few men have today. I know that the lorv prices rvhich prevail are 'ivasting our stumpage to an alarming degree. Trees whichordinarilywould be felled and 6tought to the market are being left,only to, decay and go into the discard. Isolated and scattered tracts of timber, where there are logging roads, are in some instances being passed up for more solid bodies, perhaps to be left tor itt time because the logging roads will bl taken ttp and it will never pay to rebuild them; to get this timber which, ttnder profitable conditions, would be brought intothe market. At " glance, you .can r€alizethe seriousness of this situation and visualize what it means to the timber owner whose stumpage is wasted, to the community in which the operation is situated and to posterity because of this waste which is being forced upon the industrY.

Thentoo, the logged-ofi land problem is a serious one. I will cite a caiJ of my own. I had many hundreds of acres of logged-ofi land in a district which was once forested with one of the finest bodies of Yellow Fir timber ever knorvn. There was a farm in the valley of this tract with improvements worth upwards of $10,000' The land rvas very rapidly re{oresting itself. In some places, the growth *"t so dense one could scarcely. crowd- betweJn the small trees. Some had attained a size of about 12 inches in diameter and, at one time. I resolved to carrv it -as a heritage for my children. Then, however, the taxes were very small. Conditions changed. The taxes grew from ;rear to year and I offered thl tract ,for sale for $15,000 including the farm with the improvements. I found no-buyers. I reduced the price and, including a trade; soldr it for $10,ffi0. Within a year and a half, I had to take it back and, finally, .because of two fine streams which flowed through it, a man who wanted to raise trout became interested and bought it for $950O. He is not interested in the reforesting of that tract and will likely sell it to be cleared for small farms. He will not offer the same protection against fire as rvould one interested in reforestation. So it goes, and there. my frie'nds, you "have.a picture of the destructiveness of excessive timber taxation as it is today.

Mytalk has already consumed too much of your time but, before closing, I want.to refer to a matter in r,vhich I am going to ask your help and that is the repeal of the Capital Stock Tax. This law was passed as a; emergency act and isnota legitimate tax. It is class legis- lation imposing on corporations a burden which is just that mucl'r more than any other class of business that I know of has to bear. Corporations pay their local taxes and plenty at that. They also pay their Government income tax to the extent of a good stifi percentage. Due to a _war necessity, this special tax was imposed, presumably to be repealed when the war ended. However. it has not been repealed. It norv appears to be the intention of the administration, during the next session of Congress, to reduce Federal taxes still further, possibly to the extent of several hundred million dollars gnnually. As to this, the whole country seems to be of one accord regardless of party affiliations, so there is little doubt but what something real will be accomplished.

Some of the nuisance taxes have been repealed and others are to be and why not consider the Capital Stock Tax one of these and repeal it and give business a sqnare deal? It is said to raise for the Goverhment, all told. from $80,000,000 to $100,000 annually but its repeal woulcl release a great number of Federal employees ind reduce the cost of handling the Tax Department possibly d' million dollars annually.

In this connection I might add briefly it is norv proposed to revise the valuations on timber lands in oider to increase the Capital Stock Tax on timber holdings rvhich have enhanced in value. Present values rvere alrived at, after a great deal of trouble, expense and distress on the part of timber otvners and the Government representatives, as of March 1, 1913. If we are now to have a periodical revision of timber land valuations, it will throw the timber owners and loggers into a state of chaos which will be destructive to the extreme and burdensome to a point that rvould cause real distress.

You can help obtain the repeal of this unjust tax and

I am going to ask every one of you who believe in its repeal. and are willingto do so, to write to, or interview, your Congressmen and Senators and .ask'them to vote for its repeal.By doing this, you will render -the industry a real service

In closing, may I for a moment leave my subject and refer to the policy of the Order of Hoo-Hoo ? It seems to rne that, to fill the place for which it is destined, its rvork must be of a character which will attract and interest the strong men-of the industry. Fraternal organizations cannot really succeed without offering something substantial to its members, The demands on the time of the business men of today 'seem'.morb ^exacting. it .seems.to'me, than ever before. If men had time to waste and could leisurely walkout of their offices to keep engagements on matters-of little consequence, I can readily understand how those. with interests in common would frequently get together to pass the time of day and otherrvise'enjoy themselves but notv the stress of business -is too great and the active man finds his calendar loaded rvith engagements which leave but little tirne for the qonsideration of things other than those of serious momeht. In this connection, I suggest to the' heads of HooHoo, if they would perpetuate the Order and bring within its folds those who have achieved success and would hold their interest, they must reach out to do things reallyworth-while. Perhaps the thought back of HooHoo in its origin and in its councils today is that it should continue as an order of good-fellowship, doing good where possible and otherwise helping its members to better themselves. But are there not still greater possibilities? These statements should not be construed as a criticism, but rather an expression of my feelings suggested by a desire to aid in the upbuilding of the Order. I unr derstand the membership is rapidly approaching the maximnm allowed under the by-laws, and, if so, that is encouraging, but, is the membership what it ought to be and have we built as well as we might? Can we build still better and become stronger and greater? These questions should be pondered in your councils and deep thought and study given to those things which might make for a greater and better Hoo-Hoo. I thank you.

So spoke one of our good cuEtomerE when unloading anotrher car of our fooring.

REASON: Our millr are the finert money can build and we own our own timber.