Wltnn Con -9 Itt So*n Prt*o, [(nl,ro"l!

By Kenneth Smith, President Colifornic Redwood Associstion

time control, producing in 1941 6O per cent more than in 1939. If the war had lasted through 1945 that recortl woulrl probably have been spoiled.

When the rvar started rve had 287 million {eet of ir.rventory at Rechvoocl mills. A year ago we had 70 million feet, practically all dead green. The week the war ended, rve had 63 million feet. As this is being rvritten three months later, we still have only 63 million and it is still pr:rctically all green,

Kenneth Smith

Of recent months it has sometimes secnrc<l tli:rt tltcrt: arc but tu,o questions for u'hicl-r peoPle n'islr arr r.r'ls\\:crWhere can I get some Redrvood? or Wl.ren can I get somc Itedu'ood? Yet 'n,hat u'e hear frorr our frienrls in the Sales Departments and our friends amoug lumber dealers inclicates that the times u'e are asked these cluestiorrs are actually comparatively feu-. Most of the time the questions are asked of us after an attempt l.ras been made to get an ans\\rer from others in :r much better position to give it than are rve.

We devoutlv t'ish rve kneu' thc :rnsrver. Thc prirrt:tt'.r' functior-r of the California Redwood Associatiorr is tr:r<lc promotion. For most of its thirty \.ears the '\ssoci:rtiorr l'ras been telling users u'here, hou' arrrl u'hv thcl should utilize Redwood and has been attenrptir.rg to gct as nranv specifiers and users as possible to apllreciatc thc r;rralitics of this unique species.

We are unhappy when u.e see ancl he:rr,,f greerr lie<lwood being used where properlv seasonecl Itedrvood should be used. But there just does not seenr to lte anvthinc the industry can do about it. The last of our norm:rl inventory of dry lumber vanished by 1941 and we har.e been rrnalrle to make anlr progress yet on the job of reconverting to tr normal seasoned Redrvood basis of operation.

We can tell vou why and how that is the situation c:ven if rve can't answer your cluestions. The record of the Redwood region in war production has been told so often that it may be getting tiresome, but it is a record of which we will continue to be proud from now on. As you already know, this region actually produced more lurnber, so ltadly needed for the war, in each of the rvar years than in the preceding year in spite of all the handicaps of labor shortage, equipment shortage, and operation under rvar-

The major reason why these questions are still being asked is. of course. the almost unbelievable demand for any kind of lumber. One dealer told us of two "terrible cars of lumber not fit to have in the yard" rvhich l.re rcceived, and then added that his customers simply took it arvay from him ar.rd if he knew rvhere he could get a couple more just like them', he would lte glad to l.rave them. When surrender ended the long period of rvorking under pressure and under the stimulus of rt'ar, m<lre men took vacations, more men rvent hunting :ttt<l lishing, ltnd {ewer o{ those theoretically added to the labor force got ready to return to the rnills so though much lledrvo()(l irr terms r>f pre-war volume has been going to dealers and inclustlials and has been getting into civilian ttse, llo dent has becrl made in the pent up demand.

While u'e still cannot ans\ver your questions, \\'e ltelieve the time u'hen tl'rey can be answered with some degree of eertaintv is not too many months off. We believe that the men 'n'ho har.e been arvav from the mills in the service anrl in rvar industries u'ill come back in increasing numbers. We believe the smell of sawclttst and the sound of sarvs antl planers u-ill seem very good to them and that production u'ill go forrvarcl with enthusiasm and efficiencl'. We believe the empty pipelines to dealer yards, to seasoniug areas and dry kilns rvill be filling and that it will soon be time to resume the selling of Redu'ood on its merits to customers.

Plans, improvements and preliminarv rvork have been accomplished so that when that time does arrive Redwood rvill have more to tell about as to quality, grading and seasoning of its product than it e'i'er had in the past. We are going to be ready to offer you Redwood grades lllore perfectly adopted tb the uses to rvhich they are put and to offer vou a u'ider range of grades of allheart durable Redwood.

And the storv will be told to a receptive audience for Itedr,r'ood continues to be a favored topic of discussion by those outside the industry. It is featured not only in trade and technical publications, and in the architectural and shelter magazines, but in general circulation publications such as you saw in McCALL'$ for June, LIFE of October 22, and SATURDAY EVtrNING POST of November 10.

At this, otlr first peaceful Holiday Season in fir, ye&rs, we wish to express our gratitude for rhe Peace that has come to our land, and to all the world.

And we wa,nt to say to you-our friends in the lumber industry

A Very Mercy Christmas

Ten more days and then the Christian world-and much of the non-Christian world for that matter-stops for a day to celebrate the birthdat :t J.."T of Nazareth.

Every year at this time in this column we turn from the worldly matters of the remainder of the year, and talk about Christmas, and the Man whose birthday gave us this outstanding holiday. We are going to do the same this year. We are going to talk about this "Man Nobody Knows" as Bruce Barton calls him in his beautiful book of that name'

The chief aim of this editorial every year is invariably in the same direction, a simple effort to drive home the thought that the Marr Jesus was NOT a weak, sad, sorrowful fellow, such as most of the so-called "sacred" pictures usually depict Him; that FIe was, without a doubt, the grandestlooking, most vital, most magnetic, most thrilling human that ever walked the earth; a happy, healthy, laughing, loving Man who so impressed those who saw Him that they instinctively turned unquestioningly, and followed Him.

Millions of sermons will be preached on His birthday; they will quote His words; they will relate the Bible stories about Him; they will applaud His example and His sacrifice. But few of them will talk abou.t Him as a personally, as humanly, and specifically as they might so easily, and so wisely, do. What did he look like? How did he sound? What were His features like? What sort of body did He possess? What sort of a kid was He in His youth ; was He as other children, and when did He become the Matchless Man? These are the things children would like to know. And these are the things that children would like to ask about Him. These are things that would bring His image and His impressions closer to all of us.

We can only surmise, of course, what the answers to these questions are. But, having drawn our deductions from the record before us, how can we doubt those conclusions? A man named Kahlil Gibran, a writer, a poet, and an artist, was once born in the Holy Land, and raised there. When he grew up he became a close student of biblical things, and developed the power of writing marvelously about that u.nbelievable personality, Jesus. And he wrote a book on the subject which he called "Jesus, the Son of Man." He illustrated the book with his own artistry. The book, of course, is fiction, but a fictional group of pictures of the living Jesus that will thrill you beyond measure. Each short chapter of that book is an alleged interview with some contemporary of Jesus, both men and women. They recite how He looked, how He walked. how He acted, how He talked, what were the impressions of those who i"**".U heard him.

And Gibran wrote into those inter-views many of the most bcautiful word pictures ever drawn by the mind of man. We have selected a group of extracts from those interviews for this story. They will serve to answer some of the questions that every thinker has naturally asked about Jesus. If your soul can be thrilled-these will thrill you. They are only a small portion, of course, of the book. But they are offered in the hope that they will give you some beautiful thoughts that you will treasure, regarding the Man who gave us Christmas. Take them home and let the kids .ead ihem. They may help erase from their impressionable young minds previous misconceptions of this Galilean carpente-t. Each interview begins with the name of the alleged s'eaker'

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CLEOPAS. OF BETHROUNE, said:

"FIis speech was simple and joyous, and the sound'of His voice was like cool water in a land of drought"' ***

ONE OF THE MARYS said:

"His head was always high, and the flame of God was in His eyes. When He smiled His smile was as the hunger of those who long after the unknown' It was like the dust of stars falling upon the eyelids of children"'

RUMANous, A GRE;rlJB,r,,"ia,

"There was a desert in His silence and a garden in His speech. In His voice there was the laughter of thunder "rra tn. tears of pain, and the joyous dancing of trees in thewind." * * *

SIMON. CALLED PETER, said:

"As I looked at His face, the net fell from my hands' for a flame kindled within me, and I followed Him' I, myself, was drawn by a power, viewless, that walked beside His person. I walked near Him, breathless and full of wonder, and my brother Andrew was behind us, bewildered and amazed. And He spoke to us, and we listened' and our hearts futtered within us like birds."

MIRIAM said:

"fle was walking in the wheat fields, and He was alone' The rhythm of His step was different from other men's, and the movement of His body was like naught I had seen before. Men do not pace the earth in that manner' And even now I do not know whether He walked fast or slow' (Continrred on Paee 10)

I

A, Christmas Bells are chimins out the old, old song of cheer, As once again the story's told That lives from year to yedr, As once again the meaning of The Season fills our hearts, Muy you have the peace o[ Christmas That nevermore departs !

(Continued from Page 8)

And I gazed at Him, and my soul quivered within me, for He was beautiful. He looked at me even as the seasons might look upon.the field, and He smiled. And then He walked away. But no other man ever rryalked the way He walked." {<**

PILATE'S WIFE said:

"Ffe was speaking to His friends of love and strength. I know He spoke of love because there was melody in His voice; and I know He spoke of strength because THERE WERE ARMIES IN HIS GESTURES. And He was tender, even though my husband could not have spoken with such authority. After that day His image visited my privacy when I would not be visited by man or woman. His eyes searched my soul when my own eyes were closed. And His voice governs the stillness of my nights; and there is peace in rny pain, and freedom in my tears."

ANNA, THE Mor"i*.o" THE vrRGrN MARY, said:.

"Now the Son of Mary was beautiful to behold, and she too was comely. The child grew in body and spirit, and He was different from other children. Oftentimes He would take away our food to feed the passer-by. And He would give other children the sweetmeat I had given Him, before He had tasted it with His own mouth. And He would race with other boys, and sometimes, because He was swifter of foot, He would delay so that they might pass the stake ere Ffe should teach it. Many wondrous things He said when He was a boy, but f am too old to remember. I still hear His laughter, and t*te, sound of His running about my house. And whenever I kiss the cheek of my daughter His fragrance returns to my heart, and His body seems to fill my arms."

MARY MAGDALENE said:

"IIe was gentle, like a man mindful of his own strength. I would speak of His face, but how can I? It was like night without darkness, and like day without the noise of day." :

RACHEL, A DISCIPLE, said:

"All the rivers of all the years shall not carry away our remembrance of Him. Ffe was a mountain burning in the night, yet He was a soft glow beyond the hills. FIe was a man of joy; and it was upon the path of joy that He met the sorrows of all men.

{. ,< ,*

ASSAPH, the ORATOR OF TYRE, said:

"What shall I say of His speech? Perhaps something about His person lent power to His words and swayed those who heard Him. For He was comely, and the sheen of the day was upon His countenance. But He spoke with the power of a spirit and that spirit had authority over those who heard Him. I often think that He spoke to the crowd as a mountain would speak to the plain."

JAMES, the SoN O" ,t"tlEE, said:

"He walked before us, and we followed Him. There was joy and laughter in His voice. And His face shone like molten gold."

RAFCA said:

"Then He looked into my eyes and said-'My blessing shall be upon you.' When He said that I felt as it were a great wind rushing through my body. And afterward, indeed, His voice remained close to my heart."

LUKE said:

"Jesus despised and scorned hypocrites, and was like a tempest that scourged them. His thunder in their ears, and He cowed them."

JoANNA, a SCARLEi .iroil"^r, said:

His wrath voice was

"But Jesus judged me not. And He bade me go my way. And after that all the tasteless fruit of life turned sweet in my mouth, and all the scentless blossoms breathed fragrance into my nostrils."

A COBBLER said: * 'r

"I listened to Him, not to hear His words, but rather the sound of His voice. All that He said was vague to my mind, but the music thereof was clear to my ear."

JOHN, of PATMOT, J"rUl *

"Ffis fragrance called me and commanded me, but only to release me."

HANNAH, of BETHSOTOO, ,"rU'