CONTROL YOU' INVENTOR'ES

By, Buying TRUCK IOAD IOTS of

Bellinghcm, Wcshington, Bocsts Worlds Lcrrgest Christmcs Tree

When reports came from many parts of the r-ration of the raising of extra large and spectacular Christmas trees, the Junior Chamber of Commerce, of Bellingham, Washington, decided that it would take a hand. As is well knorvn, Bellingham has for two generations been a large timber ar.rd lumber center, and so, the young Jacees figured, they should erect a larger Fir tree for Christmas than other cities less favored by location for such a project.

So they enlisted the aid of some logging firms of the vicinity, r'r'ho loaned their best timber experts to conduct the operation. They selected a perfectly shapecl Christmas tree of Douglas Fir ten miles from town, and proceeded to fall it, haul it, and erect it, brilliantly lighted in the heart of downtown Bellingham. The tree is 134 feet tall, and therefore the biggest Christmas tree on record. It was not felled like a tree to be made into lumber, but rvas eased to the ground by the scientific loggers, so as not to smash the branches and thus spoil the shape of the tree. The tree rings shorved it to be one hundred years old.

When erected it had an 8 foot brilliantly lighted star on top, and 800 bright lights illumined its branches. It rvas a beautiful and imposing sight, and made the good lumber town oT Bellingham very proud. Experts for the Corning Logging Company were the key men u'ho handled the entire operation.

Year-End Review of Fir Plywood Industry

New York, Dec. 31-The plywood industry enters thc New Year shorving signs of "vigorous future progress," Owen R. Cheatham, president of Georgia-Pacific Plyrvood and Lumber Co., said today in a year-end statement.

I\tr. Cheatham said the record of the plyrvood industry since its start in this country in 1925 demonstrates the fact tltat "new frontiers of U. S. inclustry are lty no means behind us."

"Whereas plyrvoocl u'as originally made in a somewhat crude form by the ancient Chinese, it rvas not until 1925 that tl-re fir plywood industry really got its start in the United States," he declared.

"In that year, total output of the industry only itmounted to 153 million square feet of all types of soft.w'ood plyr.vood, but this figure grew steadily right through the depression to a pre-war peak production of 1.8 billion feet irr t942.

"The critical post-rvar shortage lvhich existcd recentl,r' rvas gradually alleviated during 1948, and the output of the industry should approach 2 billion sq. ft. of Douglas Fir Plywood for the year. This improvement in the supplydemand situation should have already helped the plvu'oorl consumer since it has eliminated the "Grey Market" arr<l confined supplies to the legitimate channels of distriltutiorr.

"\Mith the return of the industry to a more norr.nal corrdition in its supply-demand ratio, it is anticipated that thc steady gror'vth rvl-rich distinguished the industry from 1925 to 1912 can be resumed and the development of the nen' markets rvhich have been discovered for the uro<luct fullv exploitecl.

"The export markets for plyu'oocl have hardlr,' bceu scratched and in 1948 only 0.8 per cer-rt of Douglas Fir Plyrvood production found its rvay into exl)()rt markcts. It is knorvn that overseas requirements for plyrvood :rrc substantial and it is fully expected tl-rat tl-re developmcnt of the Marshall Plan u,ill see a substantial volume of foreign recluirements for plywood translated into shipmcnts. Undoubtedly the reactivated defense program also rvill result in continued heavy demancls from the Naval and N'Iilitary establishments.

"Georgia-Pacific is looking forlvard to an incrcase<l voltrme of business in 1949. Thc policy of the company has been to distribute allout one-third of its production in tl.rc housing construction industry, one-third to industrial corrsumers and one-third for industrial construction and for export. If, as some anticipate, demand for l.rig-hcr pricerl houses slackens in 1949, the company does not expect this to affect its volume as plyu'oocl is lvidely used in lorv cost house construction. Other tvpes of constmction combincd with export are cxpected to more than makc up for arrv slon'ing dorvn in housing corrstruction.

"Arry material decreases in prices at mill lcvel mrrst a'r'r'ait decreased labor and log costs, and it is not unticipate<l that these can l;e shrur-rk to anv considerablc dcgree."