Raw Materials vs. Finished Products
-V_
From the Juneau Empire
-x
Elsewhere in this edition of
The Empire there appears a
communication entitled “A Pro
gressive Movement for the Alas
ka Logging Industry,” signed by
a number of responsible busi
ness men of Ketchikan, includ
ing three men who are actually
engaged in the logging business.
Inasmuch as they plead for a
direct reversal of one of the ma
jor policies of the United States
Forest Service in Alaska, what
they have to say is of vital in
terest not only to the residents
of Southeast Alaska, but, also, to
all Alaskans since revenue deriv
ed from Alaska’s forest resources
is diverted into Territorial as
well as local channels.
The issue which this com
munication raises can be stated
simply and in few words. It is
the long established policy of the
Forest Service to protect local
timbering industries, such as
saw mills, by denying the ex
portation of logs to British Co
lumbia and Puget Sound points.
Certain Ketchikan interests now
demand the abandonment of
this policy and ask in its stead
that a new policy be promulgat
ed which will permit the forest
resources of Alaska to be shipped
in raw form to foreign manu
facturing centers.
This immediately reuses the
question: Which is the more
profitable for Alaska, to manu
facture and market its own for
ests in a finished form, or to per
mit them to be cut and shipped
elsewhere to be manufactured
into the various articles of com
merce and marketed there? Up
on the correct answer to it de
pends a great deal. The proposi
tion is so elementary that it
hardly needs arguing. The For
est Service, in initiating its pre
sent non-exportation policy, con
sidered the query in all of its as
pects. Its decision was that Alas
ka would never have any sub
stantial forest products indus
tries if it permitted the exploit
ticn of the raw resources for the
benefit of already established
industries in other localities. And
this seems to be a logical con
clusion. At least it is in line with
the history of all industrial com
munities, and is borne out by the
development record of other
.ands. That country is most pros
perous and populous whicn
comes nearest to completely
transforming into finished pro
ducts its natural resources, sur
passing by far those which strip
themselves of raw materials to
have them manufactured into
final forms somewhere else.
Seme of the arguments of the
Ketchikan interests, while bas
ed on facts, do not give the whole
picture. For instance, the state
ment, “It is estimated the
standing spruce timber in Alas
ka is equivalent to the entire
standing growth of both the
States of Oregon and Washing
ton,” needs clarifying. It is true
the entire spruce stand in the
Territory probably exceeds that
of the two States mentioned, but
the stands of commercial log
ging chances are something else
again. The spruce trees, scatter
ed containing billions of feet, do
not offer logging chances for
s^w timber. The entire spruce
stand of Southeast Alaska is
estimaten to be 15,800,000,000
feet broad measure. Of that a
mount, about 316,000.000 feet
board measure probably consti
tute the logging chances avail
able today. The effect upon that
supply if it were thrown wide
open to logging operations for
export would be disastrous. In
a decade every stand would melt
under the axes and saws and
'‘splitting machines” of the
woods gangs and the only source
of supply left for Alaska sawmills
would be the spruce mixed in the
hemlock growths which could be
logged only at a cost so prohibi
tive as to make it impossible for
the local manufacturers to com
pete on open markets with Puget
Sound and British Columbia
mills.
Currently, as in the past and
will continue to be in the coming
few years at least. Southeast
Alaska sawmills rely in large
measure upon their production
of clear spruce to enable them to
operate at a profit. It can be sold
profitably even during slack
times because it is a unique pro
duct which has no real competi
tor for certain uses. Should this
source of revenue be cut off from
local manufacturers their chanc
es for successful operation
would be seriously endangered.
The export of raw spruce would
menace this market in two re
spects—by limiting the source of
the supply for the local mills and
by bringing Puget Sound or
other factories into direct com
petition with them. The latter,
being nearer the markets, na
turally would have a decided
sales advantage over the local
plants.
The timber industry, including
logging, sawmills and box fac
tories, is the source of some $1,
500.000 in annual revenue. Ten
years of unrestricted exporta
tion of spruce legs wculd wipe
out at least a goodly part of that
sum and endanger capital in
vested in the sawmilling branch.
The comparison made by the
Ketchikan interests as to fish
and mining are unfortunate for
themselves. One of the hardest
fights ever waged by the business
men of Ketchikan, unsuccess
fully it is true but in a righteous
cause, was to prevent the ship
ment of American halibut