Essential \(/ar Needs for Lumber Will be Met, Says Dr. Compton

Chicago, Nov. I8.-Wilson Compton, executive ofticer of the Lumber and Timber Products War Committee, in a report to the members of that group, meeting today in Chicago with officials of war agencies, warned that gov€rnment lumber procurement agencies may expect another "bottleneck" in lumber production if the federal controls of forestry practices now being sought by the U. S. Forest Service as a war measure are imposed on the tinrber industries.

Referring to the "complicated succession of war regulations, limitations, and restrictions on production and distribution already found to be neceSSirr/," he stated, "to add to these now an experiment in federal regulation of forestry practices, which is not necessary, will be merely to throw a firebrand into the woods."

Pointing out that the Forest Service is not an agency charged with responsibility for the supplying of vast quantities of timber products necessary for the war effort, Dr. Compton said. that these proposed additional regulations "will not add a tree, a log or a foot of lumber to the nation's war supply" but that they "will drive a lot of log and lumber production back into the ground

"Our industry has met all war requirements this year by supplementing production with existing inventories," said Dr. Compton, adding that the so-called "lumber shortage" is being exploited to "procure covertly by executive order, without public notice and without public consideration, a federal control over local forest enterprises which for over a quarter century Congress had declined to grant.

"This has nothing to do with the merits of federal control as a method of public forest regulation. But the United States Forest Service ought to be able to restrain, until after the war, its ambition to dominate American forestry, American forests and American forest industry, and to permit that issue to be determined by the processes of orderly and deliberate public consideration when it is possible for it to have orderly and deliberate public consideration."

Referring to prospects for 1943, Dr. Compton said, "Timber reserves are adequate and mill capacities are ample to provide the necessary log and lumber production, but public agencies must take' more determined action than has yet been taken, especially in three directions:

"First, in protecting the lumber and timber products industries from a further dispersal of their labor, especially their woods labor;

"Second, in making promptly available needed maintenance equipment and repairs;

"Third, in rectifying income tax timber provisions which penalize extraordinary production of logs and lumber needed for war purposes."

National lumber consumption during 1942 will be approximately 38.6 billion board feet, an increase of about 12 per cent over 1941.

National lumber requirements for war and essential civilian uses in 1943 will be about 34.5 billion feet op 4 billion feet less than this year. The decrease will be largely accounted for by a drop of 7 billion feet in the requirements for war plants and war housing, construction of which has passed its peak. This decrease, however, will be offset by an anticipated rise of 4 billion feet in requirements for boxes, crates, and containers for the overseas shipment of munitions and supplies. War industry uses will be greater by over 250 million feet. Production and importation of lumber is at an annual rate of 33.5 billion feet and mill and distributors' inventories are about 9 billion feet. Essential war needs for lumber and timber products, said Dr. Compton, have been met and will be met.