THE MORXIXG OREGOSTAX. SATTTRDAT. JANUARY JE, 1921
OREGON'S
V
ore Than 2,200,000 Animals in State, Valued at $22,
By S W. MeCfn r. Former SrrxrUu-y
aUoauJ v oolsrowera Association.
THOSE Orc-gonia.ns who are not fa
miliar with the early develop
ment of Oregon, and those who
cpend their time in the cities, are apt
to overlook the fact that Oregon has
a vast and important sheep industry
that in ordinary times brings to the
state a large and necessary income
without in any way encroaching on
other Industrie .Oregon has now
about 2.200.000 sheep that a year ago
were -worth around 135,000,000 By
reason of the crash that has over
taken the wool industry this sheep
value has shrunk to about $22,000,000.
Generally it is thought that sheep
men have a relatively small invest
ment for the number of sheep they
own. This thought arises from the
fact that our sheep spend at least a
portion of each year on the national
forests or on the public domai In
spite of this fact, however, the sheep
Industry of Oregon and other west
am states represents a very heavy in
vestment in things other than eheep.
While the public domain is used a
part of the year, all sheepmen now
own ranAes and large areas of graz
ing lands. In addition to land, the
modern flockman has camps, houses,
barns, sheds and almost everything
else needed to place his business on a
table basis.
The days of the nomadtc flock
owner are over his place has been
taken by one of the most substantial
citizens the country has. His large
Investment in properties that can only
be used for sheep makes his a perma
nent fixture among the industries of
the state.
Land Investment Large.
Every
time the sheepman invests
one dollar In sheep be has to put one
dollar and a half in land and equip
ment with which to handle them.
This basis of cost obtains throughout
all western states except New Mexico,
jL'lllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllM
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiH
INVESTMENT IN SHEEP HE A VY
iimmiruitnt miiipi
Arizona and Utah where land holdings
are small. This investment in things
other than shaep is what gives such
extreme stability to the business. Fi
nancial panics, floods, blizzards and
drouths may come and go. but the
sheep man must go on fighting it out
along the old lines, for his plant is
only useful for sheep, and no indus
try has passed through the ups and
MILK-GOAT DAIRYING IS NEW
OREGON INDUSTRY,
With over 3000 milk goats In
the state at the present time,
goat dairying is taking form in
this section. A corporation has
been organized to market the
product of milk goats, with of
fices in Portland. More Importa
tions of pure-bred animals are
planned by farmers at Pendle
ton. La Grande, Albany, Salem.
Eugene, Astoria and In southern
Oregon. The only goat dairy in
the northwest has been estab
lished and now has 120 milk
goats. Later the herd will be
brought up to 1000 animals and
the company will enter the
cheese-making field.
downs that the sheep Industry has,
but always in the end it has won out.
Once I talked with a prominent
western banker, who told me that in
21 years his bank had loaned $16,600,
000 on sheep, but of this total loan he
has lost only J2750. He told, me that
twice during the 21 years it looked
as if his bank would be wiped out due
to sheep losses; But each time re
covery was made. This banker's expe
rience is not exceptional. It would
probably be confirmed by nearly
every bunker in the sheep countrj
Western sheep men have not made
money since our entry into the war.
Nineteen hundred seventeen was their
last good year. In 1918 most of them
about broJce even. In 1919 they lost
" rj j
... -
; " ' " '
Northwest Bridge &
Plant
Now building
000 MO Land and Equipment Ties Up Much Capital
money and 1920 has been their worst
year since 1893
Of course the public only knows
about the advance in the price of
wool and mutton during the war, but
does not know about the advance in
the cost of producing these articles,
which has far more than swallowed
up the increased income.
Let us see what happened to the
sheepmen during the war. In 1910 It
cost 59 cents per head for labor for
each sheep owned. In 1918 labor
costs $2.15 per sheep. In 1910 the
cost of grass, feed and hay for each
sheep averaged 96 cents; in 1918 this
had grown to $4.58. The cost of
shearing sheep in 1910 was 11 cents;
1918 31 cents. The amount
charged to miscellaneous expense per
sheep in 1910 was 14 cents, and per
sheep in 1918 it was 32 cents. The
fee to the national forests in 1910
was 6 cents, and in 1918 it was 12
cents.
Thus it will be seen that all along
the line, the expense of handling
sheep increased from 100 per cent
to over 4C0 per cent. But the in
come increased proportionately much
less than the expenses. The industry
however, could have sustained this
embarrassment had it not been for
the severe winter of 1919 and 1920.
That season turned out to be about
BRITISH TRAINS RUN OVER
OREGON TIES.
Trains in the United Kingdom
are to travel over wood from
Oregon forests, for 40 per cent
of the vast tie shipments of 1920
from the Douglas Fir Exploita
tion & Export company were
loaded along the Columbia river.
The concern shipped 21,000,000
feet from north Pacific ports.
- -
at the foot of Sheridan Street, Portland, Oregon
Steel Shipbuilders
ymiimuiiiiimiiiiMHimmii.n.it.immtimiiimiimtm
1 FOUR BUILDING SLIPS
I Capacity 15,000 Tons Each
5"i iijT'?MiinimittiTitiinnitiiinHuitTiJiniiiniiiiiitrwMipnii'ri:it'imiriTitrirtiiiMiifnoiirTMiiirtriii mpiiiitiirrnnurTTitiTivtiirTriiMriiirniirirTiiiTif 'lunimtiimiTtniDuriuiitJuiDiimiiuuiirti immuiuiiriniiiiiiTiiiri?nrrtmimrtmiiJti!:mtiHminiiittiirininir(ninnji'arni7
seven 12,000-ton steel tankers for the
Swiftsure Oil Transportation Company, New York
iiiirniiioiranonimintttnitminiinnnf
three winters turned into one and
while few grown eheep were lost, the
lamb crop was only 50 per cent of
normal. On top of this came the
deluge of foreign wool, with a decline
in wool prices to about 50 per cent
of 1918 values. This has made the
lot of the sheepman most difficult,
but, fortunately he still has his sheep
and a place to run them and, if
OREGON FORESTS GROW DI
VERSIFIED WOODS,
An example of the extraordi
nary number of diversified
woods grown in forests of Ore
gon is found in the report of a
forest examiner in this territory.
In the Cascade national forest,
within a distance of 12 miles, he
found 14 species of coniferous
trees. They included western
yellow pine, western white pine,
sugar pine, lodgepole pine, knob
cone pine, Douglas fir, western
hemlock, incense cedar, western
red cedar, Engelmann spruce,
white fir, red fir, mountain hem
lock and western yew.
given half a show, will pull through
and pay every dollar he owes.
Foreign Wool Floods Market.
When the war came, our govern
ment was quick to realize the neces
sity of a large supply of wool. There
fore, the .government appealed to the
wool growers to turn over their entire
1918 clip at a price fixed by the gov
ernment The wool growers in a
spirit ot patriotism agreed to the
sale and received for their wool a
price actually below the cost of pro
duction. The 1918 clip was taken
over on April 20, 1918, at a price
which proved to be from 5 to 20 pe
cent below its actifal value in our
markets at that date, but the war was
TH 107.0
Comp
on. the boys needed clothing, and the
grower sacrificed the chance to make
a profit in order to "do his bit."
Then the War Industries board
started to buy wool In foreign lands
and brought about large Importations.
Finally when the war ended our
government held a huge stock of wool
which It has been selling at reason
ably low prices, which have demor
alized the market so that growers
still hold 85 per cent f their 1920
wool, for which there ts no market.
Much of the present misfortune of
the sheepmen is due to the failure of
the Wilson administration to meas
ure up to its job and put in effect
definite and progressive measures for
reconstruction. The recent election.
however, assures the country that
something in this direction will be ac
complished In tne immediate future.
Wool growers are seeking an em
bargo againsthe importation of for
eign wool until such time as a tar
iff law can be enacted. Such a meas
ure would instantly restore confi
dence In the business. The exigen
cies of the situation make it pwbable
that early action along these lines
will be taken.
Naturally when one talks about a
tariff on wool the old talk of high
priced clothing is revived, however,
the consumer need have no fears in
this direction. The price of tke wool
entering Into a Suit of clothes is so
insignificant that it has no influence
on the value of the finished product.
As I write this I am wearing an all
wool suit of winter clothing. The
wool for this suit was grown in Ore
gon and the cloth was woven In a
Portland mill. At today's wool prices
all the wool in this suit would bring
the wool grower ab$ut 90 cents yet
the suit cost $50. A few cents more
or less on the price of the wool never
has and never ill affect retail cloth
ing prices. .
The sheep industry is of profund
Importance to all western states and
particularly to the state of Oregon.
Since 1821, when the first sheep were
landed at Astoria, Or., the industry
has been making history and contrib
uting to the development of the west.
It will continue to develpp and Ore
gon is destined to derive more bene
fit from it than any other western
state. Portland is a noted wool
center and will sooner or later become
large wool manufacturing center.
Already western Oregon has many
woolen mills and her ideal climate for
wool manufacturing must in the near
future add to the number.
The time Is already ripe for the
location of a big carpet mill at Port
land to use up the large supply of
coarse wools grow in western Ore
gon. Portland now needs a large
suit manufacturing establishment and
the development of a wool market in
Portland will tend to bring it about.
While the sheep industry is now
passing through a period of financial
distress, the industry is fundamentally
sound. There has been marked im
provement in the general conditions
surrounding the sheep, the range is
better condition than for many
years, hay and grain are abundant
and much lower in price, labor is
more efficient and working at less
cost. Everywhere extravagance jnd
unnecessaries have been eliminated,
and with any reasonable luck the
sheep industry will emerge triumph
ant and meet every obligation.
any
WAR IS WAGED ON PREDATORY ANIMALS
uinrfirtmiiiitim
Thousands Saved Oregon
By Stanley G. J.wett. Predatory Animal ,
losnretor,
Bureau of Biological Surrey
Portland.
S"
INCE time immemorial the larger
predatory wild animals of the
world have caused man much
concern. With hunting implements
of stone, the ancients protected their
homes against the saber-toothed tiger
and the cave bear.
Before the advent of the white man
In this country the Indian waged war
against the mountain lion and the
grizzly bear with spear, bow and ar
row. When the farmer and the stock
grower turned their herds loose in the
fertile valleys of the new world these
same wild animals took a heavy toll
to satisfy their savage hunger. The
history of the early efforts of the
stockman is replete with tales of
sheep, cattle and horses killed by
the hundreds by such animals as
wolves, coyotes and mountain lions.
This soon led to war being declared
against the marauders. Early in the
game, states offered bounties on the
most destructive species, large own
ers employed professional hunters
and engaged men to place poison on
the ranges, but still losses in the
flock continued.
Early In 1915 the first Atal or
ganized efforts by the Bureau of Bio
logical survey of the United States
Department of Agriculture were made
to control the depredations of these
pests. This was brought about
through the urgent appeal of stock
growers who had become discouraged
with the slow and ineffectual bounty
system. About this time the coyotes
of the northwestern states were seri
ously affected with rabies. During
the years 1915-1916 not less than
$500,000 worth of stock was lost in
the state of Nevada through being
bitten by rabid animals, principally
coyotes.
The loss in Oregon was nearly as
great, some ranchers in the eastern
part of the state losing from 200 to
300 head of cattle.
The force of trappers now operat
ing under the direction of the Bio-
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.il
Stockmen Through the Killing of Wolves and Coyotes
aoox)Oocjpoceooooococxc
logical Survey & under "the lmroedl-
ate supervision of an experienced
inspector In each district, the dis
tricts being divided by state lines
as far as practicable. Tbae personnel
of the force are chosen with ' care,
one of the requirements being that
the trapper has had experience on
the open range or the rough moun
tain country where he Is to be em
ployed. These men are paid a straight
monthly salary and are required to
produce the skin or scaJ3 of ervery
animal reported killed. During the
winter months all skins of any fur
value are collected and sold at the
government fur alea ajid the money
derived therefrom is deposited in the
United States Treasury.
During the past yar from 500 to
400 experienced hungers have been
employed throughout th stockr-rals-ing
states of the west. During- the
last fiscal year this force of men
has killed 523 wolves, 21,558 coyotes.
1S9 mountain lions, 2987 bobcats, 10
Canada lynxes and 94 bears. The
bears killed by government hunters
were known to be stock-killers. In
addition to the above, as a result of
extensive poisoning operations it has
been estimated that approximately
25,000 additional animals were killed
of which no skins or scalps were
taken. Stockmen throughout the
country where tnese poison cam
paigns have been conducted are "con
tinually reporting the finding of dead
coyotes on their ranges.
Special efforts, to destroy individ
ual predatory stock-killing animals
that have become notorious are al
ways put forth by the inspectors in
charge. For instance, a short time
ago a lone coyote was known to have
killed $375 worth of sheep near Ash
land, Or. A government hunter was
dispatched to the scene and killed the
guilty coyote.
Coyote Is Most Destructive.
The predatory animals against
whom the government hunters are
working in Oregon are the coyote, ,
Iron
iKiiiiiiiiiL'iiiiiiiriniMtitiiiimuninniin:nu(.i
bobcat, wolf and mountain lin. nf
these the coyote Is the most abund-
ant and destructive. Since the) work
of eradication was started fn this
state during the summer of 1?1j a.
total of 8511 of the "govaiuuenC
dogs" have been killed and account!!
for either by skin or sca3p. In ad 3
ditlon a great number have been pol-v
soned of which we have no mcum'
check. It has been estinhatcd that .It;;
costs the stoclcmen of the west an!
average of $50 apiece to provide food
for the coyotes on his riange. Thoj
8611 coyotes accounted flbr means a
saving of $425,550 to the sbock-gro a -ers
of Oregon. Stockman of several
eastern Oregon counties rcpoaft thaC
after government trrippej-s have,
worked on their ran?(pes practically:
all losses from coy cubes have been
eliminated.
Next to the coyotes in point of
abundance and destUrC liven ess comer;
the bobcat. Hie is a merciless kille .
often visiting the sheep corral and
slaying a scorto or more of his. help
less victims dlurlns a nlg;hL. Fortu
nately bobcats are easily trapped and
hunted with dogjs. A tot&A of ,1974
of these animas have been accounted
for by federal htunters in this state
since 1915.
Wolves and ccaigars-are only mode
rately plentiful In Oreigon, the range
of the former being almost entirely
confined to the Cascade mountains,
only rarely bein-g found elsowhr
Cougar are more plentiful in the Cas
cades and westward to the coast, but
few are found thro-ughout the .Blue
mountain regbon of eastern OregoM.I
Both these a noma Its are very destruc7
tive to livestock and game. The wolft
is a wily animal and has to be con-'
trolled with traps and poison, while;
the cougar or momntain lion can bt :
trapped or treed by dogs and imoI
Forty-one mountain lions and 14 tlm-
ber wolves have been killed by the
few men detailed to this kind of
work.