Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 71, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 March 1912 — HEWED TIES MOST POPULAR [ARTICLE]

HEWED TIES MOST POPULAR

Their Production Has Become a Ree- . ognlzed and Profitable industry of the South. Statistics prepared by the Forestry Service of the United States skew that of the 125,000,000 crossties bought by the railways last year almost 80 per cent were hewed ties. The sawed tie, while occasionally produced by mills built particularly for this purpose, is more generally a by-product of general lumber operations. The best board cuts are taken from the side of the logs, and the heart is boxed into ties and cut off to standard lengths. Small logs are also cut into ties when the value of the lumber they would make is not more than that of the ties the same stick would produce. The greatest tie producing section in the United States is that portion of the country extending from Vir&inla to Missouri and Arkansas south from the Ohio river to the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to sawmill, logging and tie operations in this section, says the Railway Age Gazette, there are thousands oi farmers producing millions of crossties annually. In seasons of the year when agricultural pursuits do not require attention they cut ties and logs, often putting in crews of men for the winter months. These men are paid by piece work, from 10 to 15 cents apiece for making a tie. An experienced cutter will make from 10 to 15 ties a day and will produce a thousand ties in the four months from November to February,