Co1

•

In a recent issue of Newsweek ap­peared the information tbat the Unh'er­sity of ldaho has lurned out moreRhodes scholars than any otber collegeor university west of Michigan.

The Rhodes scbolarships afford gradu­ate courses al Oxford university in Eng­land and go to those American studentswho prove lbemselves outstanding inliterary and scholastic attainments. in­terest in athletics, qualities of manhoodand moral character. They are bighlyprized a;:aclemic awards. The high ratioof sucb students graduated from tbe Uof I reflects credit upon !be faculty andcurriculum of the unlversily.

Take a bow ... faculty....

COVER PICTUREThis black and white of clouds and

landscape was shot almost directly intothe sun on infra-red film. Tbe sun'srays. peeking through lbe formalion ofclouds throws a rather unusual paUernof straighl lines of light against a darkbackground or rorest green.

The picture .....as laken from a lowdidd<! along the road leading to Camp53 on Craig Mountain. Much of thecountry in the background is a parlorthe Craig Mountain Tree Farm wbichwill be ollicialI>' certified next summeras a tree farm by the ·Western Pine As­socialion.

This whole area is a tTUck loggingchance. Timber could not be harvestedfrom tbe region al a profit exceptthrough tbe medium of the logging truckand pay-sb.e loads. PFI land r:nanage­menl plans to insure future crops oflrees !:rom. this area have been care­fully followed and qualify it for classi­fication as a Tree Farm.

A FISHIN' HE OlD WENT-Our Headquarters journalist wrltef

that champ fisherman Boots Edelbutegot itCh>' feet in early S<!ptember andbegan looking far afield for somethingto try his skill as an angler.

It was early last spring that Bootsmade ready to fisb Lake Pend Oreillein North ldaho as it was never fishedbefore, but the pressure of work causedhim to fall a little short of catching allthe Kamloops In the lake.

Then, come early Seplember and thechamp decided to try a bil or oceanfjshing at Port Angeles. An ordinaryfisherman would bave tossed gear inUllhe family auto and departed post haste.Witb Boots it was different. The prepa·rations to catch Kamloops bad provideda fine boat and a good trailer so he load­ed the boat and tbe trailer and tookit along with 90() feet of IS thread line..the rod thal was fasbioned from a pikepole handle, and the reel tha~ camefrom somewhere al a bargain price.

Tbe astounding part of the story' isthat the trailer did not break down ..lhe boat proved e.xtrEme.ly sea worlhr... the rod, reel and line all held lIrgether ... the champ landed tbree largesalmon, two of them in the 30 lb. clasSand the third only a trifle smaller. And... lbe return journey home was equal­ly trouble tree. All of wblch sbouldprove something or other besides thefact tbat EdeIblute knows bow to buildboals and trailers. . maybe that theLord is on his side.

September, 194i

viding control of weight and SiZEof motor vehicles is essential to thefuture of good highways as well a.~

preservation of roads and bridges."There can be no questioning the

desirability of laws which will per­mit the movement of commerceacross one st.'\te and into anotherwith a minimum of interference. Anetwork of super-highways canachieve this. BUT, a state's high.way system must be reconciled toits purse and first of all to theneeds of people within the state,plus highly variable factors as cli·mate, terrain, and traffic. It makesabout as much sense to declare amaster set of regulations can per·mit maximum use of all highways,and at the same time afford neededprotection against highway abuses,in all the states as it does to urgesarongs for Eskimos simply be­cause 1\1jss Lamour appears to beso exquisitely gowned when sht:wears one.

.'

NICE CO;UPLll\lENT

Tut ... tut ... Mr. MathesIn a paper released to the press

during August the tl'affic engineerfor the Idaho Bureau of Highways,E. L. Mathes. waxes indignant and

. :wrathful on the subject of Idaho"!J.:ij;.!t\V'l,Y Laws.

. . '.~ . ~ GooShing his teeth over passage~. . .... .:: ~...... of house bill 121 by the 18$t Idaho

1.,( '~'_'.' :~"'.-"~; legis.lature i\lr. Mathes states -I ," "In my own state, for example.

.z'<Y-'\.'r the Idaho law go v ern i n g.;r ~ weight. speed and tire l'egulationsPublished by Potlat-=h Forests,lnc., Once is of 1933 vintage. No proposal to

Monthly for Free Distribution change this law so it would C011·____-=''''''c'E'''m,PIOyees form to policy was presented to

september, 1947 our last legislature. Only actionVolume XI No. 12 taken concerning this subject was

Lewiston, Idaho the passage of a bill which makesEditor _.._._.._.. ... ..__. Leo Bodine it mandatory upon the highway

Correspondents department to post any highway,Mabel Kelly _.._. ... Potlatcb section of highway OJ' bridge overCharles Epling .__ ....._.._. Clearwaler which loads of logs, poles, pilingCarl Pease .__... .._..__ Headquarters or material from mines which hasRcger Carlson __ _ Rutledge not been finally processed may be

transported in continuous opera­tion, etc.. etc."

This, asserts Mr. Mathes, iscrass legislation and its purposewas to dispense with the necessityof obtaining permits of the high.way department.

Tut tut ... and a whoa.whoa Mr. )Iathes! YOll revealyourself ignorant of the law towhich you refer, or worse yet, will­ing to exaggerate that your papermay gain flavor. The law in ques­tion does not make it mandatorythat the state highway departmentpost highways for overweight, etc.,travel by logging and miningtrucks ... it simply gives authorityto the department to do so at theirdiscretion and the attorney gen­eral's office has so held in an opin­ion from that office.

The law, which you term classlegislation, favors the state of Ida­ho more than any single concernor individual since the state ownsmuch timber which needs market·ing ... which must be marketed incompetition with the timber ofother states ... and can only reachmarket via the logging truck.

True. the law does eliminate lhenecessity for obtaining permits tocover e\'ery movement of oversizeequipment along a particular high­way or section of highway ... athing the highway department it­self professed to con!'-ider desirable.

Mr. Mathe$ states further "uni­form regulation by all states pro-

Page 2

September, 1947

Troy Named toApprenticeship Committee

Announced during the month byGovernor C. A. Robins was an ap­prenticeship training committee toaid in developing a larger skilledlabor force within the state.

Selected to represent north cen­tral Idaho on the committee wasD. S. Troy, manager of PFI'sClearwater Unit. The governor, inannouncing membership of the:ommittee stated. "Idaho's economywith agriculture as its base, isfiguratively bursting at the seams.Skilled laborers are needed fOl' con­tiJmed growth and prosperity. 'Vemust be in a position to supplyskilled workers for new industriesand expansion of existing industry.It is for that reason that r have ap­pointed this committee to giveneeded impetus to the training ofcompetent craftsmen."

Wire TiresDue for a tryon PFI logging trucks are tour

ply wire-woven carcass tires that have a car­rying capac.it)· equal to four times thai of.rayon fabric. tires of similar size. twelve ply.

Test use will be made on trucks and trailers carrying togs from Camp53 LO the Lewiston millpond. Upper right, tire doctor John Huff points totire size ... 10.00 -20, 4-ply. The tires were manufactured by the U. S. RubberCompany and wiu be used singly, one bl'e to each wheel as contrasted to duals nowin use. Rims, pictured above. will be used in two sizes with inside widths of 7.33and 8.37. The smaller of the two rims meets factory recommendations. but a widerrim has given better tire service on logging trucks and permits lower air pressureas weU. Hence both will be checked.

The wire tire has a u'ead especially designed to withstand rceks, but neitherpurchasing agent Harry Rooney nor Hull will predict good or' bad of the wi.retire as yet. Rooney. largely responsible for PFI's tire l'esearch progl'am, says-­"We're piuneering the use ot single low pl'essure tires to replace duals that mustcarry higher pressures. The singles will give a wider surlace contact with the high­way and will pack Ole road much as does a roller designed for that purpose. Wehave discovered that wide rims and duals carrying relatively low pressure (50pounds) tend to pack roads instead of cutting them. Large singles should work

. even better in this respect."

Huffman to TalkAt Grangeville

PFI assistant general managerRoy Huffman will address mem­bers of the North Idaho Chamberof commerce at their fall meetingin Grangeville on November 21st01' 22nd. Subject-Wood By-pro­ducts. Other speakers who ,villtalk on kindred subjects inc.1ude anational e.xecutive of the FarmChemurgic Council.

From Dunbar Furniture Co.,New l'ork City

"We appreciate what you have beendoing tor US in these tl'ying times andyou can rest assured you have gained acustomer in the Dunbar Furniture Man­ufacturing Compan;r who is going to befair and procure as much pine lumberfor crating as possible from your goodfirm, You have many serious problemsin allocating your lumber to the bestof your ability and we believe it is onlylair to lei you know that we appreciatethe way you have handled our accountin the past."

------,-----Logging Trucks Operate On

Farm Truck LicensesUnder terms of the Idaho Motor Ve­

hicle Laws logging truclcs al'e licensedas farm trucks. This system of licensinghas attracted some criticism but seemsentircl)' jusiHied when consideration isgiven the comparatively short stretcho! time each year during which a loggingtruck is able to haul.

PFI trucks are licensed at $70 pertruck under the classification of trucksO\'er 35,000 pounds.

"There is no need to review tbestrike picture 01' the back-to-workdecision of PFI employees in thecolumns of The Family Tree," saidGeneral Manager C, L. Billings as"The Tree" went to press. "Thebasic values at stake ... the whyof a differential in wages as be~

tween Inland Pine and West CoastFir, , . are things which can besthe e.xplained in conversation by aPFI foreman. Any employee wbohas questions he'd like answeredshould unhesitatingly ask them ofhis foreman or supervisor.

"There has been abundant andunmistakeable proof that a ma­jority of workers did not wish thestrike. Even men who are doingpicket duty have readily expressedin private conversation a disUkeof union action and a wish to getback on the job ... in fact, havesought out company officials tomake such statements, Just bowlong picket l.ines can be maintainedand the strike kept alive in tneface of such feeling is a matter forconjecture. l\fisleading statementsby union officials as to the strengthof the back-to-work movementmust of COttrse be expected untilpicket lines ha"e been withdrawn,"

Above--Georl:e Gruser caurht lhese beautiesIn lbe Norlh fork or Lhe Clearwater belowlhe Buntalo,,· on )\.u;ust 31. Lu;esl fishmeasured oVlI>r elcbleen lnehe, and welKhed2}i pounds (not In plclllre. account or Gras.ser and companion Wilbur 8Umka consun,ednme o'n Spot).

Uelo"'-Lumber from lhe Le"'1s "'1ll1 coesaboard nu ear. aI Bovlll. Don West (PoL­I:nr.h Unll employee) Is operalor or Uft truck.P1<:ture was snapped In early Aucust. Carsof lumber we.re. consicned to NOnhwesl PaperCompan)', Cloquet. Mlnnesola.

The first loadu. used 10~rairs mounted on old wn"'IUt a ltin boom. Se... loacan lrot.el hom otle lvull",bile. 1uI,-e .... lnC1n, boo..neichborhood or t ...enl:J-fh"1

OPERATIONAL PROBLDIS IA logging truck_ no less Ihau

equipment, imposes problems of 0other than maintenance. trainingsonnel. etc. Looming large and in_are two of the most troublesome ..and tires_

Tires cost money ... a devil of'it. So mueh in fact that no opera!afford to run trucks over I-oads(]jct unnecessary damage. For thtlteason he must guard against 0\"'1lest he cut the roads to piec~g. .droad. biting back, ruins his tire:;. -I

Ever present in the picture, too.'need for hauling a pay size load.owner finds himself on the red sideledger. It follows that a fine balanbe struck as between pay loads andmum size loads that road and titolerate without injury to either 0How to strike a balance of this sort

Well ... the truck manu.factur~\"ide bunks. low loads ... the truckagrees __ . likewise the road main ,

1kt .e~ 1'Wck"Big - TGugh - Depel

"_ ~..s.~ In 1904 lhe.e was jusl one U"uclt In all Amerl~~ • axles. four wheels ... loeb)' lhere a.e over n"e rnI~ - , lroekli' workJul: in u-ery field of American enlerprbt.

• ~ -I~ ":J Forest roads that follow a corkSCj

~5;'~~:: -I - ~-:.' "-':" tern up steep grades. wind up theof steep canyons and rocky strea

the development of hea\"y dut)· log- hang along the sides of precipilou:­ging trucks. Off to a slow start. are routes of tra'-e] for the 10gginFthis instrument to better manage- rsolated patches of timber that fment of forest lands, has sprinted reason or another were left unha:tto a position which now paces road when logging crews cut adjacent Iconstruction_ There will be further can be brought to market at a proand fast impro\-emenl of logging truck_ ~o gathering of logger~trucks although the job of perfect. bermen to exchange ideas anding trucks which can carry pay- experience negl~ts to allot time!size load'!:: without mechanical fail. cussion of trucking problems.ure and can be relied upon to op­erate e\-ery day of the week. e\'eryhour of the dar (gi\'ell sensiblemaintenance) has been met.

MORE PRODUCTIOX PossmLE

With ob,'rjous correctness compe­tent authorities contend that whatthe world in its present conditionneeds most is greatly increasedproduction. In the USA this in­cludes more production of lumberno less than a thousand other pro,ducts. each in \"arying degree de.pendent upon lumber. And, if thehigh level of lumbel' product.ion sonecessu;r to whip a tough nationalhousing problem plus meeting thecountry's need for other forest pro­ducts is to be maintained, it will bepossible iu the main because heavyduty logging trucks are sufficient­ly economical of operation to per­mit the opening up of remote tim.bel' stands where loggers havenever before dared to venture.

A eareiul look at the cold, hardfacts incident to getting increased

lumber production well indicatesthe importance of the loggingtruck. Easily reached stands oftimber have been logged to pro­duce the America we ha"e todayand more recentl;r to equip it towin an expensi\-e war. It is nownecessary to go back be;yond theeas)" going and to bring to mar­ket logs from stands of timberpreviously considered inaccessi­ble. The logging truck, with thef1e.xibility of operation it offers.is generally the cheapest trans­porting agency.

1l\'lo.."-S,,Il alllCuck. are e'lulppd "'IUl .dr_10adinJ lraller hitCh. lIHe, .. Cle:arwatH JOEunloadln. dGC'k. trailer 1. holsled aboard\ruck. The connf!ClInl IlmbH ... ltIch hook.trailer 10 IrUeII II called a .."Inle.:·

M-'" 'r"'HAPS it will ne,-er be con·c!usi\-el)' e.::tablished that man

reached his present imperfect statethrough a process of e"olution_ butthe last few rear3 of a certaintyspeak a startling e,-olution in hisaptitude for the mechanical. Lessilian a half centurr removed. themotor truck was an unheard ofthing. Less than half that period oftime past. the logging truck was acontraption of uncertain tempera­ment and e.xtremely doubtful \"alue_

Not so today_ The original truckof two axles and four wheels hasbecome an engineering triumph. - - the fruit of painstaking re­fearch. In no field of truckuse, in a countrr that has found agreat many use;; for trucks. hasthere been greater progress scoredby truck manufacturers than in

the hunter, fisherman and reerea·tionist. I

The livelihood of a sizable por­tion of Idaho's population comeseither directly or indirectly fromthe forests of the state. To this seg­ment of people the logging truckhas a particular and importantmeaning. To a nation that uses for­Est products so extensively it like·wise holds important meaning inthe aid it lends intensh'e plans offorest land management.

Above--Self-loadlnc tn..ller hal hitch wblehfolds and holsl$ lnoller aboard Iruck for Tt!.turn JVUTnU' and anotller load of locs. n Isealled the "Paul 8un)·• .n LOader."

agement plans can become oper­ative in such areas.

An indirect gain accruing to allforest ownership as the result oftruck logging is beter fire protec­tion in that logging roads open acountry to fast travel by fire fight­ing crews in the event of emer­gency, Similarly the route of thelogging truck offers advantage to,

tember or u.ri,Y OClober. A hard raJn llt a.nytime will In:lke roads so slippery truckS can.no~ b.ul. lHa.n~· da)"s are 10~1 10 tblll ea.u~edurlnl each haullnl season. Gra,'el applied In,,,me. ent qlU..ntJt)" will produce a road lbattruck' tan In.\·e! mOil of each year III .reu01 IIlht 'nOWfllU and occusloDall)' Is warrllnl_ed, but mOil lorli.nl road. for reasons ~ret(lllomy must remalll UlIlmpro\'ed and pas.,._ble ~nl,.a non lbree montbs ncb SlImmer.

7I....2121'

SEPTEMBER - 1947rue wed tbu Irl .t

1947 2 3 4 '5 6<hu frl.' 9 10 II 12 13

~ 2 16 17 18 19 201'5 ~ V 24 .,~ -22 7"

l 5 6I 12 138 19 205 26 27

-AUGUST -_........,

able ad\·antages. among them bet­ter roads. larger timber, and gent­ler climate, he encounters a batchof e.xcuses or receh'es a promise ofaction and then one e.xcuse afteranother to justify inexcusable de­lays.

As a last resort the operator cancut the bunks back to eight feet inwidth, but there still remains acompeUing need for hauling a max­imum size load, else those hard,round objects which bring suchgreat comfort to his creditors andon which appear the words "InGod We Trust" will not come toline his pockets, Net result _.. thelogs that could ha\~e laid within theten foot bunks go on top of theeight foot wide bunk, producing aload of greater height and one morelikely to give trouble to roads andmotorists.

A.lIro' AID TO LAND MANAGEMENTThere is another, and by no

means minor, thing which the log­ging truck can be expected to helpaccomplish.

To attain the potential of forestland use there is need to put allforest land to work. Old growthstands of trees are producing con­siderably less timber than they arecapable of producing) In some in­stances they have reached the stagewhere a net loss of merchantablematerial can be shown. Like anyother crop grown in the soil. trees

should be harvested when ripe. Economically,trees become ripe for the saw when their growthrate starts to decline. 1f the trees are allowed toremain in the forest beyond this point. the intereston the wood investment becomes progressiYely lesseach year. If they remain until they die of old ageor insect and disease attack, the inYestment be­comes a total loss. A forest. if it is to produce themaximum of wood and return the greatest possi­ble number of dollars to its ownership needs har­\-esting e.xactly as it needs protection from fireand disease. Each are a part of proper forest landmanagement plans. The logging truck makes pos~

sible the harvesting of stands not otherwise prof­itable and will speed the date intensive land man~

JULY - 1947_

.... frl

- - .. 5- I ~ 1 ,.,.6 1 8 9 10 II 1213 t4 15 16 11· 18 19]0 21 11 U 14 25 'l-'D 18 19 ~orest 'hels are too "''''1 to permit t~"ldDC

bdore Jul,)" "Lh :u a rule, and ,emaln dl}" lOll(enouCh only to allow haullnC uut.ll mlct-Sep-

••

Il1Ick were re!:nh'e!y erude aJ­and $150(1 and were equippedlIelo .... aTe Ireat Impro\·ement.rlole of SPftd, aTe hllhly mo·

ty-fh'e toIlS and cost In Ihe

eer who ree·es a low load

,Ji\;ng bettert distribu-and less

· The safety engineer also goes alongan endorsement since be thinks pub­'en.- better guaranteed by a low, wide'held within stakes as compared to aof less width and greater height.

the operator purchases trucks withfoot bunks. figuring he can obtain ait to operate his oversize equipmentthe short stretch of public highway

separates his logging operations fromhead or mill, in that his equipment is

• hazardous to others who use the s,ameway and better distributes the weight· load.

m ... the roof falls in! The high­department is distressed because, ac­'ng to a strict interpretation of thegoverning issuance of permits, theyCloubtful of their authority to grantits for more than an occasional andric movement of oversize equipment,ugh such has been the practi:::e for a

ber of years., the last session of the legislatured House Bi1l1! which gives the Ida­

Highway Department authority to post· os of highway at their discretion

, which oversize equipment may op­. This would seem to offer reason8­olution to the problem, although toin 1947 the department has displayedreluctance to e.xercise the authoritythem as to make it of little value.d of sympathetic treatment which

Idaho logger needs badly- if he is tote with west coast operators who

fa\'ored with many natural and valua-

,

DURABLE GOODS: _ Those ",bleblast lOoKer than the time payment5-

which the State can expect toget_ The State EndowmentFunds are thus benefited.

2_ Hundreds of miles of highstandard truck roads have beenbuilt by log and pole operatoninto remote areas in Idaho. Hun_dreds of miles of this same typeof road will be built in the fu­ture at absolutely no cost to thepublic. The public has a1wanbeen privileged to use theseroads ex~pt in times of "crit·ical fire danger," when the area;.into which the roads lead anclosed, These same roads are be­ing utilized by public forest fireprotection agencies oJ the State.thereby reducing to a markeddegree the cost of forest fireprotection to the public.

There is surely no single indu~·try, lmd perhaps no group of in­dustries, whic.h contributes a.'much "free" road to Idaho's roadsystem as do log and pole opera·tor'S, rt would seem, therefore, thatany administrative or legislativegroup whose duty or privilege itmight be to draft or impose loadregulations on Idaho's public high­ways might, with good reason, pur·sue a policy of liberal applicationof such regulations on log and poletrucks.

GI TRUCKS - GI DRIVERSAmolle" PFl's lon-Ins- trucks are 31

Inu~rnatlona1s - GJ vinUjl:e, the weDknowlI 6 x 6. Eve:n a his-her pe.rcentatfor the company's truck dri\'ers are GI.Ioes, many of whom learned to drlntrucks durin,. the war. They're a rtChirine bunch of guys, and ptenty rood :althe job.

AmOIle" the GI drh"en Is Tufty Jor­don, Camp 53, who merits a sepanitstory at a later date, The sacrirlce or sler to his country's service, plus a batikinjury to an arm which look nesh aMsome mUS(:le, and a hip injury lhalmakes It necessary to sit on a pili",doesn't interfe~ ,,;th Jordon's drhi..,a trUck. At any rate he won't let lbtinjuries Interfere with lhe job of lIBchoosin,., There are few fellows In "'b_the spark of life burns any brirhter_

Lipstick and fly paper have one thint:in common. They catcb the carelts1creatures who pause to in\'estigate.

7ZAT nHEr:T5 D/~FA~ .tWP «~YAJtE .-Jao~,,;;;;ES;'Fl:V1F$T$ /$ MOII~'" ey iN~~ 1l)u nJfl. 71I~ •.• ....e'J'T1MA7S' tOSS CY 1./0,000 000 At4' OHnwc-TION~Z.OOO 000.000 ClI8K qn 01' Il.t:Q!) I~ ANA~ )510~T o.r 7HIS /0$1 R~~5E"'"S % Ot'F'?·Rd'P TJlttB.$ 1]

SI'OUL& "liVE BEEN lJ/11<>vESTEP.

oudit themseh'es with modernequipment capable of hauling 12,·000 Or more board feet of logs, andto have construeted the nece3Ssrymileage of logging road betweenhis timber supply and the publichighway, to be limited in the useof his hauling equipment by loadregulations on the State highways,

The prinCipal difticuJty encoun­tered by log and pole haulers on thepublic highway is the 8-foot maxi­mum width limit. This limit fre­quentl)T results in "top heavy"loads which are more difficult tocontrol while mo\-ing and whichare, due to their intensive rockingmotion, quite likely to cause "sur­face breaks" in hard surfacedroads when the majority of theload is thrust upon the wheels onone side of the truck. To o\'ercomethis difficulty it would seem thatwider and lower loads fire indi·cated. On this connection it doesnot appear that a maximum widthof ]0 feet would be unreasonableor objectionable, Wide stable loadswithin reason are less hazardousto the traveling public than arehigh loads that ha\'e a tendency tosway and swel'\'e while in motion,

Any written discussion in whichlog and pole haulel'S and Statehighways are simultaneously men­tioned would not complete withoutattention of the reader being di­rected to two factors of great eco­nomic importance to the generalpublic in Idaho. These factors, inorder of their importance, are;1. The State of Idaho owns out­

right some 830,000 acres of for·est land. A substantial part ofthis land is located in mountain­ous areas, far removed fromany railroad and too steep to belogged in any way other thanby motor trucks. The State high.ways. in a great many instances,are the natural outlets overwhich the State timber can mosteconomically be transported,The presence of a highway ad­jacent to State-owned timber in·variably e.'\':erts a fa\'orable in­fluence on the stumpage price

THE FAMlLY TREEPage 6

B.r Stanton Ready, State Forester

It ha3 been nearly fifty years since logging and 1>oIeoperations in Idaho developed into a "full grown indus­try:' :'Itany changes in the handling of "raw forest pro­ducts have e\'oh'ed since that time.

Paul Bunyon's big blue ox, af~

fectionately referred to as "Babe"among the old time lumberjacks,has long since given way to hismore agile and powerful secondcousins old "Baldy" and ''Buck''and "Xig" of the horse family.Th~ stalwart old Clydes and Per·cherons and Shires have in turnbeen almost wholly replaced in thel~t fifteen or twenty years by\'arious types of power skidders,induded among which are variousmakes of "Cab" and "Jammers"(not of funny paper fame).

The cross haul team and thedecking line ha\'e given way tomodern power loaders. The spoolcarts, the high wheels and the horsedrawn trucks, which were usuallyo\'erlosded with les,; than one thou~

sand feet of logs, ha\'e likewisebeen replaced by modern motortrucks. Thege modern trucks, rang·ing in si7.e from one and one-halfto ten or more lons of rated ca­j)llcity, lire currently benig used totap stan(L~ of old growth timber,that were, dUl'ing the "horse log­ging" enl, considered to be per­manently inRccessible. Log gin groads having It gradient up to 25(';are being successfully tra\'eled bytrucks as lurge as a good sized raiJ­road locomotive, and hauling loadsof logs up to 12,000 feet, boardmeaSUI'e,

The loggers ha\'e licked theequipment and transportationproblems that they ha\-e encoun­tered in the woods. In the vernacu­lar of the lumberjack they are "outof the woods" on that score, QuitefrequenUy nowadays when a log­ger or pole operator emerges fromthe wood:; with a load of choiceIdaho logs or poles, he finds him­self separated from his plant orrailhead by a section of State high.way upon which a more or lessstrict load regulation is imposed_These regulations prescribe themaximum width, length, height.and weight of any load that rna)"be transported over a State high­way. It is of small comfort indeed,to the log and pole operators to

New Equipment at PotlatchMachines to make possible a further

refinement of lumber manufactured atthe Potlatch Unit are now on hand, withinstallation partially completed. Underthe main floor of the sawmill a shook:ilicing plant, similar to the plant atClearwater. has been installed. As com­pared to the Clearwater plant a numberof impro\'ements in plant layout ha\'ebeen effected. New equipment also of­fers some impro\'ernent in design.

Already in place within the new de­partment is a Saranac stapler (leftabove) capable of turning out somefifty tOps per minute.

Steam ,'ats ha\'e been completed(center above). A system of conveyorchains, rollers and ball top tables willmake possible easy and fast mo,'ementof pallets bearing blocks to slicing ma­chine. Blocks to be sliced, of 2%" thick­ness and up to 26" long, require aboutthree hours of steaming to suitably soft~

en the wood for slicing. Depending onthickness, more or less time is requiredfor other blocks. Pallets carrying blocksinto one end of vat. emerge from otherend near slicing machine.

At right above is shook dryer- whichhas been constructed just outside thesawmill building, Here the finished:;titched co\'er \....m be dried, Baffles intop of dryer are used to regulate circu­lation of air.

WIDE-BOARD GLUE PLANT~ot all new equipment has been in­

stalled at sawmill site, Upper right cen­ter is new wide-board glue plant. viewed[rom input side, Boards to be glued intowide panels come into plant at floor le\'-

Steaming vats have been completed

hoist installed under floor. Center belowis close-up of glue machine which re­quires about two minutes for completeglueing process per panel. The mll.chineis identical to the odginal glue machinedeveloped at Lewiston by PFr engineerBowling except that it wiU manufacturea 54" panel as compared to a maximumwidth pane) of 50" on the Lewiston ma­chine, Either machine will handleboards up to twenty feet in length. Athird machine has gone to the RutledgeUnit at Coeur d·Alene.

BOX FACTORYLower right center. , ' three resaws.

Turner twin bands in tandem, in an­other new department at Potlatch-abox factory. Up to 21 pieces can be cutfrom a single block of wood as it goesthrough these ma('hines. Blocks are fedinto first machine with an automaticfeeding device and are carried along byrollers.

A fan (lower right), six feet in di­ameter and powered with a 150 hp mo­tor. is u<;ed to carry away sawdust andchips from box factory. glue depart­ment and laminated arch manufactUl'·ing department which is located in oneend of long building that houses gluedepartment.

THE FUTUREThe new equipment will enable Pot­

latch to handle orders for specialtyitems. California type shoQk. covers forall kinds of boxes and crates, wide pan­els for a multitude of uses. grain doors.pallets. laminated arches, etc.

~fore important ... its installation isunmistakeable proof of management'sbelief that a good future lies ahead forthis oldest of PFI's three plants-nowforty-one year.::; young,

CONTRACT LOGGING

Durinlf lhe past ten years the averare of loU contracted aud pur-chased b)' PFl from Iot;dn( eontractors has been as foltowlO.

RuHedre Uolt .. ._.._._, 8,000.000 ft. per yearPotlatch Unit _, _._.. n,SOO.OOO ft. PeT yearClearwater Unit 21,000,000 ft. per year

THE FAMILY TREE

the Kendrick area with at least threeyears of logging ahead of him in thatregion. Headquarters for Porter's outfitis a small grass co\'ered dearmg along­side the road that parallels PotlatchCreek. There aren't many buildings atcampsite, but among them is a smallshop. equipped to take cal'e of all im­mediate repair needs te equipment ...Porter considers careful maintenance tobe among the most important items tosuccessful operation . , . tenDS roadbuilding and plenl)' of leg-work in theselection of road route 10 be others.

Porter first began contract loggingin 1943 in partnership with Wayne Pip­penger over in the Clarkia country. In1914 the partnership moved to Orofino.In 19~5 Porter bought out Plppingerand continued from that time on ....tithbis own venture on ' ....ello Bench nearOrofino, This operation was finished inlate 1946 and the outfit movl::d Into theKendrick area in the .spring or- 1947, atruck loggiog chance in timber that runsmostly to Ponderosa pine. Logs are haul­ed 10 a siding at Kendrkk, are thereloaded aboard railroad cars for ship­ment to Lewiston, The Kendrick jobwill harvest fi1teen to twenty millionfeet o[ state and private timber. It willprobably take three years o[ logging.Roads and improvements have alreadybeen built by Porter to handle aboul athird of the job. The country is ex­tremely rough with alternating highridges and deep canyons to make log­ging diHicult. The road over whkh thelogs must be hauled ascends J-rom Pot­latch Creek up the face o[ a precipi­tous slope. follows the contour o[ thecanyon wall up aDd up through scat­tered patches of timber until it finallydisappears into a hea\'i1y wooded sectionwhere logging is underway. The Ken­drkk job isn't an easy logging chancebut a healthy appetite for work, a dis­pOsitien aUowing calm treatment o[ op­erating problems, and a "never sayQuits" spirit (qualities which Porterpossesses in good measure) should seeit through in good style.

At left above is lhe clearing in whic.hPorter's buildings have beeo placed ...his crew varies frem eight to twenty­rive men. At right. beginning with thetop picture ... PFl log buyer JackBaggs, about to ascend steps for coffeeand a piece o( pie. Mrs. Porter at top ofsteps, boss man Porter at right (Baggsprofesses admiration for Porter as anoperator but rates l.Irs. PortiOr'S pies asmore important) ... an old jammer, ingood repair and still operating, swingslogs aboard a truck (another jammerhas been partiaUy built and will be com­pleled for use next year-the old onecan then be held for Emergency use ifnecessary) ... the mad follows the con­tour of the canyon wall and far belowcan be seen Potlatch Creek ... logs aredumped at rail siding in Kendrick forloading on railroad cars.

price per thousand feet loggedwhic.h is to be paid the contractor.

The sum total of individual con­tractor logging has been good tri­bute to their resourcefulness. en­terprise and managing abilities.They build their own roads, main­tain their own equipment, financetheir own payrolls and in all re­spects are pri\'ate enterprise at itstough. rugged, healthy best. Manyim!>To\'ements in logging methodsowe their origin to the individualsmall outfits of this character wherea super-sharp attention to operat­ing e.x:pense~ is the key to low log­ing coats and a profit for the op­erator.

Few of the contractors ha\'e theabsolute latest and best in equip·ment. and. putting it mildly, theroads o\,er which their trucks mU3toperate are generally somethingless than boule\'ards. An abilityto improvise must be often exer­cised and there is daily need foremploying to thli' fullest possiblead\'antage tools and equipment athand.

PORTER - NEAR KENDRICKOne of the most successful of the log­

ging contractors from whom PFI obtainslogs is L. N. P0l1er, now operating in

By no means all of PFT's logscome to mill from company op­erated logging camps. O\·er thepast few years a Quite respectable\'olume has been obtained by pur­chase or contract from individuallogging contractors who operateentirely apart of the company.There is a connecting link only inthe contract which COYers purchaseof logs, or. where the timber to becut is PFI owned, specifies a flat

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