HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION
Prosperity Forecasted for Coming Year
thousand. This loss of $2 to $3 on
each thousand feet manufactured is
In the aggregate a terrific drain on
the resources of the Northwest.
What Loss Means.
Its effect on the community may be
illustrated by a survey of what has
happened in one region which may be
taken as typical of any of the lum
bering manufacturing districts of
British Columbia, Washington and
Idaho. In this district three billion
dollars were invested in timber hold
ings, logging plants and sawmills.
The annual output made possible by
this investment was three billion feet.
These plants if running on full time
would employ 42,000 men and dis
tribute $29,000,000 in wages, $16,
000,000 in transportation, $0,000,-
000 in supplies and $18,000,000 as a
return on capital invested. It has
been impossible for this district to
continue selling lumber for less than
the cost ot production; over two
thirds of the mills are shut down, the
number of men employed has dropped
to about 5000, the aunual expediture
on payroll, supplies and transporta
tion has shrunk by $32,000,000 and
practically no payments can be made
on borrowed capital. The laborer Is
without a Job, the farmer is without
a market, the business man is without
a austomer and the property owner
is facing a shrinkage of capital.
"The whole public suffers with the
lumber industry."
Fire Prevention.
A noticeable feature of the year
which is far more encouraging than
the above is the success with which
modern fire preventive methods met
the driest year In history. Nearly all
authorities rate 19H as mora hazard
ous even than 1910, when there was
such tremendous loss of life and prop
erty in the Pacific Northwest. In
1914 there were nearly 11 weeks of
unbroken drouth over a large terri
tory the longest in local Weather
Bureau records. The reason that
there were no spectacular fires like
those of four years ago, to vie with
war news In the papers, was almost
wholly in the defensive preparation.
The timbered parts of the North
western States, from Montana to
Northern California, are now almost
wholly covered, outside the National
forests, by private co-operative patrol
associations. During the past season
these, with a contributing member
ship acreage of under 13,000,000
acres, patrolled over 20,000,000
acres. They employed over 600 reg
ular patrolmen and hired not far
from 10,000 emergency helpers for
varying periods. They spent about
$500,000 altogether. They handled
3000 fires considered worthy of re
port. Efficiency Greater.
They kept the total acreage of mer
chantable timber burned-over down
to 30,000 acres or about a seventh ot
1 per cent. Timber killed or injured
was about 462,000,000 feet, less than
a tenth of 1 per cent of the approxi
mately 500,000,000,000 guarded. It
was 3,000,000,000 feet in 1910. The
actual destruction of timber that will
not bo salvaged was only 342,000,000
this year, or about a fifteenth of 1
per cent. It. was five times as great
in 1910. Only one life was reported
last this year. There was, of course,
considerable loss of homes, improve
ments, logs, equipment, etc. But it is
negligible in comparison.
Another interesting comparison is
of expenditures. By having more
patrol and better methods, it cost
less than four-fifths as much this year
to escape with one-fifth the loss. And
although there was a longer dry
period, there were less than three
fifths as many fires to handle, a gain
directly attributable to education ef
fort. It is to increased patrol, edu
cation, bettor co-operation between
protective agencies, more trails, tele
phones and lookouts, slash disposal,
improved technical methods and like
progress that the Pacific Northwest
is said to owe this tremendous debt.
"Outlook for 1915 Bright
as We Have Ever Seen It"
Br W. C. Ilarbcrt, Sales Manager Charles
It. Mil? Company, Seattle.
THE business outlook for 1915 Is
as bright as we have ever seen It.
With wheat aud other grains
higher than they have been for many
a year, the farmers are In excellent
financial condition and with the enor
mous acreage being put in this year,
should be in even better shape, after
the coming harvest.
1914 treated ug kindly, particu
larly the last four months; business
has been steadily Improving and we
know of no reason why It should not
continue to do so. Our poultry sup
ply business is getting better all the
time; we are shipping straight cars
of these commodities as far East as
Salt Lake City and as far South as
San Diego so you see that our rep
utation has reached a long ways from
home.
Europe Is buying large quantities
of seed in this country and, since the
Panama Canal opened, we have
shipped several hundred tons of seed
to European countries. Both for
eign and domestic demand for seed is
very brisk.
Figures Upon Increasing
Business by 15 Per Cent
By W. G. Funrk, Sail Manaeer llewitt-I-I'iinc'k
Company, Beattle.
MR. W. G. FUNCK, general man
ager of the Hewitt-Lea-Funck
Company, asserts the company
is figuring upon increasing its busi
ness at least 50 per cent during 1915.
That Mr. Funck bases his predic
tion upon facts is illustrated very
forcibly in a voluminous report
which has been made up from thous
ands of letters received from farmers
throughout the great Northwest and
the Mississippi Valley states.
In these letters the farmers advise
the Hewitt-Lea-Funck Company that
it is their intention to sow a larger
acreage to grain, that it is their in
tention to plow closer to the fence
and take advantage of every available
acre, for they realize that the farmer
will be supreme when the harvest ot
1915 is over.
"Farmers are figuring at this time
upon building new barns, houses and
silos," say Mr. Funck. "A great
many of them have the money in the
bank to take care of these improve
ments at the present time; others are
figuring upon these improvements,
anticipating an average crop with
prices that will easily net them
profits that are seldom received from
two or three average crops.
"At the present time the Hewitt-Lea-Funck
Company Is making ar
rangements to increase its office
force, taking on such men that are
acquainted with the business and can
render the right kind of service
when the big rush of 1915 takes
place.
"Amongst our recent large orders
is one for furnishing the Ford Motor
Company with all the lumber re
quired to build their new assembling
plant at Fargo, N. D., and we also are
now figuring with the Belgium re
lief committee for 2000 houses to be
shipped at once.
"In the past, the Pacific Coast lum
ber market has depended largely upon
off-shore business and cutting orders,
most of which are received from the
railroad companies. The American
farmer will produce prosperity for
1915, without our Western lumber
men having to figure on off-shore
and railroad cutting business."
Believes 1915 Will Prove
Year of Great Prosperity
By Calvin 8. Hall, Hall A Cosxrove, Attor
neys, Seattle.
I BELIEVE that the year 1915 is
going to be a year of great pros
perity for the Pacific Coast and
base my prediction upon several reas
ons among which are the following:
The Panama and San Diego Expo
sitions will attract hundreds of thous
ands of visitors to the coast. Many
of these will make their first ac
quaintance with this part of the coun
try and its glorious climate. The
vast majority of the people of the
East and Middle West have only a
vague, general idea of the climate of
California, Oregon and Washington.
For example, one of the largest of
fice buildings in Seattle was built
under the supervision of a firm of
architects located in New York. One
would think that such a firmat least
would have heard of our mild winters
but evidently it had not for when it
came to put In a heating system it
based its estimate of the capacity re
quired upon that of a New York
Winter and after the building was
occupied the superintendent told me
that he had taken out enough radi
ators to equip another building of
like site.
Visitors Will Remain.
When the visitors come and learn
first hnnd of our pleasant summers
and mild winters, many of them will
remain.
A representative of one of the larg
est business institutions In the Miss
issippi Valley slated recently that the
traveling salesmen of his firm report
that all through that section large
numbers of people of means have
made all preparations to come to the
coast as soon as the Panama Expo
sition was opened and reduced rates
were in effect.
There was general rejoicing when
the Panama Canal was completed and
the coast states were basing great
expectations upon its bringing set
tlers here. It is true that the war
for the present has disarranged many
plans for colonization but that the
farming lands of this section will be
occupied by the better classes from
all parts of Europe is as bound to
happen as that night follows day. It
is reported that thousands from Bel
gium, Holland, Denmark, Norway and
Sweden have already made plans to
come and many are on their way.
Shipping Growth.
While many expected that the day
following the passage of the first ship
through the canal would be marked
by a general wave of prosperity that
would be noticeable all up and down
the coast and were disappointed be
cause that day was just like the pre
ceding one, yet the beneficial effect
will be as great as predicted and next
year will see coast canal commerce
grow by leaps and bounds. It is al
ready having its effect and shipping
men recognize It.
The year 1915 will see the regional
banking system changed from some
thing beautiful and wonderful to con
template to a thing of every-day as
sistance to all business, large and
small. The bankers will have be
come acquainted with it and its uses
and instead of it being a theory it
will be a reality and put to the uses
for which it was intended and money
will then be available for legitimate
investment.
Alaska's Contribution.
Next year will see great progress
made in the opening up of Alaska
and the coast will receive direct bene
fit therefrom. We do not realize the
wealth both of the minerals and ag
ricultural lands of that vast country.
While the rush may not be so great
as it was during the gold excitement,
yet it will be steady and every set
tler there will mean a new customer
for the various business houses of the
Pacific Coast.
I think the greatest cause of pros
perity next year will be that the peo
ple of this section are recovering from
a "get-rich-quick" debauch and are
ready to place their money in the
thousand and one channels for safe
investment in the coast states that
heretofore have been overlooked, but
which have always existed. If a
proposition did not offer a return
from 50 to 100 per cent annually
they would have none of it and when
they did not realize any returns and
lost the Investment they were natur
ally disappointed. They are now look
ing for a safe investment with a fair
return and that means the improve
ment of the West on a solid, substan
tial basis. There Is plenty of money for
investment and the coast states offer
thousands of opportunities for safe
investment and the people are begin
ning to take advantage of it.
Hopes for Gradual Revival
of Business in Year 1915
By J. W. Snangler, Vice-President Seattle
National Bank.
THE present state of business af
fairs is so abnormal and the
influences so very unusual that
I hesitate to attempt anything like
a definite forecast. I can only
say that the country's business
affairs have shown improvement
in the past few weeks due ap
parently to our having discovered
that even though the European war
situation has been extremely disturb
ing, yet our business may continue
notwithstanding. We have appar
ently found means to reopen many
channels of trade, which were tem
porarily closed as a result of the war,
aud It seems fair to assume that
Dusiuess should continue to reveal a
better tone as our facilities for cop-
iuk wuu me new conditions uecomo
perfected. Upon these grounds I
base my hope for a gradual revival
in the year 1915.
ASK your friends to
buy their Eailroad
Tickets to Cali
fornia, via the Pacifc
Northwest.
JU HI
The
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the
WHEAT
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If your dealer does not handle,
send 15c slumps for regular size
package by Parcel Post to
MORGAN MILLING CO.
GOLDENDALE, WASH,
Holiday Special
Pure Aluminum
Combination Double Boiler
$4.50 Tea Kettle for $2.99
TIiIh offer good for elcrht days from
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prepaid.
Calef Bros.
Complete House Furnishers
30-3U6 East Morrison St.
Portland, Or.
HILL
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S47 Morrison Street, Portland, Or.
WE ARE CASH nilYEHS FOR YOUR
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Highest Prices Always Try Us
PATTERSON CO
54 Front Street, Portland, Or.
Reference: Northwest National Lank.
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