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Age not guaranteed---Some I hcw toH lor 20 vur"--Some Les

Where Else Would They Drop lt?

The group of old men .r rere sitting and spitting around the stove in the middle of the main corner grocery in a mountain town in a backwoods county seat in Tennessee. They were, of course, talking politics. Then they got arourid to the subject of all prime subjects-the atom bomb.

"We're plumb lucky to be livin'this far from all the sea coasts," suggested one old he-coon, his tobacco juice sput-

Sawmilling

(Continued from Page 40) no saw blade as we know it today. The general use of circular saws for rnanufacturing lumber is supposed to have originated in a patent granted March 16, l8n, to Robert Eastman and J. Januith of Brunswick, Maine.

Steam Causes Trouble

The introduction of steam brought trouble, both here and abroad. In 1663 a power mill was established in London, causing riots by the pit sawyers who feared the expansion of such mills would drive them from their job. A similar thing happened in this country with the introduction of steam power applied to sawmills. In New Orleans the first steam mill in this country was built in 1803, but it was destroyed by workers r,vho were afraid it would decrease the need for their labor. In 1830 another steam sawmill made its appearan,ce near Pontiac, Michigan. Another of the earliest mills on record is that of the R. F. Learned & Sons, cutting cypress, poplar and rvillow at Natchez, Mississippi, and according to reports it is still in operation. Steam created so much more productivity that it gradually crowded out the water-driven type of sawmill. By 1869, according to the Ninth Census, steam power was used in about 50 per cent of the sawmills, the remainder being driven by water Dower. Steam continued to gain in popularity and by 1904 the Thirteenth Census reported that 90 per cent of the sawmills were driven by steam power.

The trend of leadership in lumber production is an interesting one. Starting in the Northwestern and Southern Colonies, lumber increased in magnitude as the country expanded. From these points of origin the industry, as Greeley advised youth later, moved west. first intcl the Central states and then into the Lake states. This shift in lumber production followed a line easily traced by the records of leading lumber producing states for the years gone by. Between 1830 and 184O Maine led the nation in volume of lumber produced. From 1840 to 1850, New york was out front. From 1850 to 1860, Pennsylvania forged tering off the side of the hot stove. "This far inland they're never goin' to reach us."

"You're wrong about that, neighbor," "We're plumb certain to be bombed if the "But why?" persisted the other.

"Why? You know why!" was the HERE'S THE COUNTY SEAT, AIN'T replied another. bombin' starts." answer. rT?" ahead in the production list. The Lake states region sprinted ahead soon after 1870, and held that lead until it shifted to the South in 1899. In 1926 the West forged into the lead by a narrow margin. In that year the South produced 42.2 per cent of the lumber in this country, and the West that year totaled 42.9 per cent, a scant lead of seven-tenths of one per cent. The margin of lead gradually increased and the West has never been overtaken bv anv other region as a lumber producer.