From early in the nineteenth century, logging was one of the primary economic activities of the Saranac Lake region.

Malone Palladium, March 21, 1872

Business in the “South Woods."
A Winter’s Work.

BRIGHTON, March 6th, 1872. MESSRS. EDITORS :-— When I was in Malone the other day I was asked what we busied ourselves about up in the south woods during the winter ? and when I replied that we found enough to do, my interlocutor expressed much surprise, and said that he supposed that we denned up like bears, and did not come out until spring.- Now I propose to give a brief history of what has been done in this immediate vicinity this winter in the lumbering business. First—as it is the nearest—is L. Nokes, who, by the way, knows how to run a job. On this job there is now at the water over 10,000 logs by count, which number will be increased to 12,000 or 14,000 before the job breaks; PHILMAN KING, 6,000; M. HALL, 5,000; RICKETSON, 3,500; RAND, 3,000; ROBAR, 1,500; MERRILL'S, 1,000; besides WHITMAN, MUZZY, GREEN, WELLER & JENKINS.  I have but little idea of the number got in by these. All the above logs are landed on a little stream called "[Negro Brook],” which is a tributary of Sumner Brook, the stream running through Bloomingdale and thence into the Saranac river. It is estimated that there will be over 40,000 logs landed on this Brook, which is not more than eight or ten feet wide and very crooked. There are also several jobs, running in the vicinity of Vermontville, but I do not know the number of logs got in by each, though I know that BRYANT, PIERCE, TITUS, J. SKIFF, A. SKIFF, NORMAN, MCCARTY, DERBY, LEAVITT, and several others, are running jobs in that region. These logs are landed on Lyon Brook (which is another tributary to the stream running through Bloomingdale) and Cold Brook, which empties into the Saranac river 1 1/2 miles below. There will probably 65,000 or 70,000 logs pass though Bloomingdale this spring on their way to the Saranac river and so, to Plattsburgh. Nearly or quite all the logs that I have spoken of are owned by C. F. NORTON & Co., and this is but a tithe of their immense business. This is entirely exclusive of the vast business carried on about the Saranac lakes and their tributaries. So you can see, Messrs. Editors, that we have not slept all winter, as my friend supposed.

..Hoping for a thaw, I remain, Yours respectfully,
J. M. WARDNER.

Essex County Republican, May 7, 1896

The Log Drive

A Reminder of a Former Annual Event at Saranac Lake.

For years it was the custom of at least one of the lumber kings of the Adirondacks to float down the Saranac river every spring a drive of logs consisting of 40 to 80,000 pieces, and the progress of the drive as it passed the village was always viewed by pretty nearly the whole population. Indeed the log drive was one of the events of the Saranac Lake season.

For three years there has been no drive down the Saranac, last year because of a lack of water and the two years previous because there were no logs to float. The drive of this spring which began here last Sunday morning attracted an unusual amount of attention because of the comparative rarity of such sights in this village within recent years. It consists of 40,000 pieces, which are handled by thirteen men. These logs are doomed to an ignominious end. They are to be ground into pulp. They were cut, it is understood, during the winter of 1894-95, and belonged to Benton Turner, the well-known lumberman, who sold them to the Fredenburg Falls Pulp and Paper Co.--Adirondack Enterprise

Long PondPlattsburgh Daily Press, January 25, 1898

MODERN LUMBERING.

As It Is Now Carried On In The Adirondacks.

Scenes of Waste and Desolation Are No More—The Work Now Done In a Scientific Manner.

Drowned Horse Shanty, Long Pond, Township 20, Franklin Co., Jan. 24-- The lumbering business in the Adirondacks is conducted in several different ways. Years ago is was the almost universal custom to chop down every merchantable stick of timber, so that when the lumbering was over, nothing but a barren waste of land was left, on which it was not worth paying the taxes.  In this way, thousands of acres have reverted to the State.  Nearly all of this property has since become valuable.  The timber has again grown to marketable size, vastly increased facilities are now furnished for getting the logs to the mills, and, what is of still greater importance, the Adirondacks have become famous throughout the land as a health and pleasure resort.  There are nearly 1,800 very beautiful lakes and ponds within this domain, and many of their shores are now of great value as hotel, cottage or camping sites.

This destructive method of getting out pulp of timber is still practiced in many parts of the wilderness. Occasionally I have run across big wood jobs, where all the hard wood, splendid beech, maple and birch trees, was being slashed down and converted into fire wood.  Sometimes a thin forest of tamarack, hemlock, and a few scattering spruce and balsam are permitted to remain, but more often do they become "back fallows," where are raised buckwheat and potatoes.

There are other lumbermen, I am glad to record, who get out their timber judiciously, and more in accordance with improved forestry laws.  These men have learned by experience that lumbering on one's own lands cannot be carried on with profit without the regard to the preservation of the forests.

The Upper Saranac Association has been lumbering for a number of years on Township 20, which it owned. It has always been and now is the policy of this association to protect the forests. It is to its particular interest to do so. This company claims that it does not pay to cut down a tree less than ten inches in diameter, three feet above the ground for its lumber, because it does not yield enough after passing through the mill to repay the cost of felling, hauling and sawing it. The result of this policy being carried out is that it is difficult for an inexperienced woodsman, in passing through the forest in Township, to point out where the lumbering has been done and where it has not. It is an acknowledged fact that no finer hunting and fishing country can be found in all the "North Woods" than on this same township.

Mr. D. W. Riddle, manager of the Saranac Inn, usually has cut and sawed between 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 feet of lumber annually. He has a saw mill and lumberyard located on a 150-acre lot in the adjoining township (21).  He sells considerable lumber, lathe, shingles, novelty siding etc., to Branch & Callanan and other local builders, while many thousand feet go into summer camps and cottages on the shore of the lake each year.

This season but a small amount of timber is being cut by the association, perhaps not more than 500,000 feet mostly long pieces, for the reason that they have a large quantity on hand. But a small number of men and teams are engaged in this work, the most of which are employed all through the year by the association.

But here, as elsewhere in this region may be found the pulp wood men. The township is covered with a splendid and valuable forest containing spruce, birch beach, maple, hemlock, cedar, balsam, tamarack, pine and cherry. Much of this territory was cut over by Mr. Christopher F. Norton some thirty years ago but no small trees have been allowed to be cut (except spruce down to five inches in diameter at the tip, this season), since the property came into the hands of the association, and now much of the forest is again matured. Lumbering has been profitably conducted here for several years,  It would thus seem that in this township, after the matured spruce and pine have been removed, it requires from 20 to 25 years for enough young trees to mature to make it pay to lumber the same territory again.

Only a small proportion of the original contract for pulp wood from this township is likely to be cut, however, as the property has but recently passed into the hands of the State. I am informed that the Upper Saranac Association entered into an agreement with Mr. Benton Turner, of Plattsburgh, last summer, whereby the former agreed to deliver 40,000 cords of spruce on the shore of Long Pond, 5,000 cords of which were to be delivered each year for eight consecutive years.  The territory having since become State property, and no promise having been made whereby the former owners were allowed to remove any of the standing spruce, the association was obliged to annul their contract with Mr. Turner, and to pay damages for failure to fulfill agreement.

Between 5,000 and 6,000 cords, equal to about 3,000,000 feet of lumber, were, however, cut at the time of the sale and this is now in process of delivery. This wood was cut previous to December last on lots 29, 31, 32, 33, 40, 41 and 42. Mr. Peter Kantle has the contract for delivering the logs. Mr. Kantle originally came from Plattsburgh, lived at Floodwood last year but now has his entire family in the little log shanties at Mountain Pond. Besides the Mountain Pond camps, there is one at Slang Pond in charge of a Frenchman by the name of Seguin and one in Spring Bay, Long Pond, bossed by Mr. Peter Abare.

There has been about twenty-two inches of snow in the woods here, but the recent thaws and rains have caused it to settle to about a foot. Eighteen teams are employed in the drawing which began about the tenth of January and which is likely to require [illegible] about the middle of March.

There are two ways by which these logs may be transferred to market.  Had the [illegible] not been as [illegible] the logs would be floated down from Long Pond into Floodwood, then into Little Square Pond, Fish Creek, Upper Saranac Lake, Round Lake, Lower Lake, Saranac river and thence to Plattsburgh.  But this would involve considerable expense in preparing and building dams, etc., and for so small an amount as 5,000 or 6,000 cords, it doubtless will be subject to transport then by rail to Floodwood.

I tramped considerably over a number of lots in this township, and was greatly impressed with the beauty of the country. The lumbering has in no way apparently damaged the forest, and I found abundant proof that the place is well inhabited by deer and other game. It was nearly dark when I arrived at "Drowned Horse Shanty," on the shore of Long Pond. The place is perhaps better known as Dr. Ward's summer camp, and I will tell you later how it came by the former, somewhat suggestive cognomen. I found here four men just preparing to gather 'round their festive board. They were J. Ben Hart, the well-known and popular assistant manager of the Saranac Inn, Willard Boyce; who is general superintendent of all the outside work at the hotel, and who lays out the work for the "bosses;" M. McClusky, foreman for Ben Turner, and J. Wesley Wood, who superintends the culinary department for these gentlemen at this particular camp.  This is the headquarters for general information for the men in the woods, and these men are getting the measurement of the logs, Mr. Hart for the association, and Mr. McClusky for Mr. Turner.

The spruce cut ranges from 5 inches to 30 inches in diameter, is 12 feet long and is worth about $3.50 per cord at Floodwood. Nothing but spruce has ever been taken except some big hemlock which were cut for the bark. These hemlock are still lying as they fell, are perfectly sound, and Mr. Hart tells me they would be hauled to the mill and sawed into lumber.

Long Pond Mountain looms up nearly 900 feet above the pond, and it is on this mountain that much of the 5,000 cords of spruce has been cut. It is a sight to see the logs being hauled down the steep toboggan-chute-like track.  Of course the men are obliged to load light on the mountain, but when the better grade is reached, from 50 to 60 logs are drawn to a load.  The ice is not very good on Long Pond; and Mr. Kantle had the misfortune to lose a team through the ice a few days ago.   It was the day before Christmas, and some of the women and children belonging to his family were suffering with hard colds down at the Floodwood camps, when he decided to bring them all over to the shanties at Mountain Pond, where they might receive better care.  Mr. Kantle is a kindhearted, generous man, and was very good to me, and willing to answer all my questions.   He told me there were eight children and three women in the load when the ice gave way and every one was in the water. Assistance was near, and all were hauled out of the icy deep and walked to the camp, nearly a mile away, their garments frozen stiff before reaching the cabins. Mr. Kantle said to me: "I thought for sure I have three, four corpse; it seem almost too wonderful to believe, but the next morning they all feel just like one peacocks". The sleighs were afterward drawn out, but the horses went to the bottom, right in front of Hart's camp, hence the new christening. The carcasses will be towed ashore and buried as soon as the ice goes out.

In walking over to the Mountain Pond camps from Long Pond, I met a kindly disposed Frenchman, who gave me considerable valuable information. After a little conversation regarding the ice in the ponds, the wood roads, the lumber on the mountain., etc., he suddenly turned to me and asked: "You go to shanties?" "Yes." "Wall, you keep right along on dis road you be drowned." I told him I preferred not to be drowned, and he directed me as follows : "You go up dis roads little way, turn lef' han' go up tudder, way top little ridge, you see one little footpaths. Those go right down my shanty." It is, perhaps, needless to say that I obeyed his instructions implicitly.

There, are about forty handsome camping and fishing lakes and ponds in the  township, the shores of nearly all of which are lined with splendid forest. The view from Long Pond Mountain, is particularly fine. At no point did I observe that the lumbering had been a detriment to the forest, and as a sporting resort I should say that it compares favorably with any section of the Adirondacks.

In a few days I will tell you something of the transfer of this magnificent property to the state.

SEAVER ASBURY MILLER.

Plattsburgh Daily Press, March 22, 1937

DAM CONSTRUCTION RECALLS HUGE SARANAC LOG DRIVES

Captain Pliny Miller's Activities 125 Years Ago, Later Dwarfed by Succeeding Operators, Presaged the Legislative Drive to Halt Devastation of the Adirondacks.

SARANAC LAKE — The construction of the new $10,000 dam across the Saranac river at the Paul Smith's building on Main street, replacing the 125-year-old structure built by pioneer lumberman Captain Pliny Miller, recalls to the memory of many old time residents of the village the time when the annual spring log drive was the most important event in the village's calendar.

Although Captain Miller erected the dam and a sawmill at the site in 1822, shortly after his arrival in the "settlement-on-the-river," the Saranac river was not declared a public highway until 1846, 40 years after the Salmon river in the upper part of the county was thrown open for use by the state. Nevertheless the Saranac river was a highway for the lumbermen of the region long before the state took official notice of its use.

Cutting of the towering mountain trees took place in the winter. Crews of lumberjacks, mostly French-Canadians, entered the forests in the late fall and set up rough camps preparatory to cutting. The scene of operations usually was on a hillside so that the logs could be rolled into the river. Skidways were built to the water's edge, where the logs, in 13 foot lengths, were marked with the owner's sign.

The lumberjacks were experts, able not only to negotiate swift rivers but the sluggish lakes as well. On the lakes, with no currents, it was frequently necessary to rig a crude sail on the logs, which had been "boomed." Night driving was a common practice. The drivers were men of steel, able to open a jam or ride logs through rapids. The dexterity of the men in riding logs is still a topic of conversation in the communities of the region.

The day the ice went out was usually a period of celebration in all the lumbering camps of the region. Many of the lumberjacks could tell within a day or two when the ice would give way. Bets would be made and pools formed on the ability of the men to predict the crackup. Frequently these pools would run into several thousand dollars. The winner would treat the whole camp as soon as they reached town and there would be a "jamboree" which on occasion took all of the, winnings.

Every lake, river, and stream large enough to flow a log could tell part of the historic story of the lumber era of the Adirondacks if they could but speak. The big operations, however, centered around the longest rivers—the Hudson, the Racket [sic] and the Saranac. Lumbering on the upper reaches of the Hudson began in 1810 and 1811, and for three quarters of a century the maws of the great lumbermills in Glens Falls, Fort Edwards, and Sandy Hill absorbed millions of feet of virgin Adirondack forests.

The Racket also was the scene of lumbering activity shortly after the beginning of the 19th century. Extensive cutting on the Racket, however, did not extend back into the mountains until 1850 or thereabouts. From 1850 until the beginning of the 20th century the Racket boomed with the sound of rolling logs and big sawmills. During that period a total of 102 trade marks, each indication of a different company, were registered in Albany.

The Saranac river [was] used even earlier than the other two streams. In 1787 an English sawmill was built at the mouth of the river at Plattsburgh. Penetration into the mountains was gradual and it was nearly half a century before the headwaters of the river in the Saranac lakes were reached.

Captain Miller, the militiaman of the War of 1812, erected his sawmill and dam near the bend of the river where the Paul Smiths company later erected its power plant. The dam built by the captain formed the present Lake Flower, and has been in continual use since then, though his sawmill was torn down at the time the company took over the property.

The captain's operations were on a small scale, however, compared to what was still to come. Orson Richards, in 1887, purchased the area around Lower Saranac lake. His foreman, Almon Thomas, who later was to become a large operator in his own right, had charge of the first drive down the Saranac. The first great drive consisted of 50,000 "markets" or 10,000,000 feet of wood. This first big drive was to be repeated year after year for nearly 50 more years until the state, after many bitter legislative struggles, passed laws setting off the great Adirondack park, which put a stop to the devastation of the forests.

Among the many firms and men who operated along the Saranac river a few of the better known were the H. O. A. Tefft, Loren Ellis, J. H. & E. C. Baker, The Maine company, Thomas and Hammond, and the lumber king, Christopher F. Norton. Norton reigned over the area for the 20 year period from 1860 to 1880 and at one time controlled practically every mill along the river. He is still recalled by old time residents of the village as a man of great vigor and energy. He died, broke, in 1890.

Today the only scene of intense activity in the lumbering industry is to be found in Tupper Lake where several industries still use thousands of feet annually. The manner of lumbering has changed however, and the great drives are a thing of the past in the Adirondacks. Today most cutting is done deep in the woods and sleds or trucks are used to haul the wood out.

The drive for legislation to control the ruthless devastation of the forests, coupled with the number of sportsmen who sensed that a great natural park was rapidly vanishing, brought a halt to the intense activity. The Adirondack League club bought up thousands of acres of land and leased thousands more. The appeal of fishermen and sportsmen also brought results from the state government.

In 1872 the first legislation towards preservation of the forests was passed when a commission to survey the region was established. In 1883 a law was passed forbidding the sale of state land in Franklin, Essex, Clinton, St. Lawrence, Fulton, Hamilton, Lewis, Herkimer, Saratoga and Warren counties. This was the first effective step toward control. In the same year an appropriation of $10,000 was made for purchase of lands. In 1892, after a struggle of 20 years on the part of proponents, the Adirondack park was created.

Since that date lumbering as a large scale industry in the mountains has been steadily on a decline. The state has bought more timberland each year until in 1937 more than 50 per cent of all timberland within the Adirondack park is owned by the people of the state, a heritage for future generations.

Tupper Lake Free Press and Herald, August 13, 1970

Business Crisis Which Brought Dodge And Meigs Interests to Parting of the Ways Recalled in Lumber Co. History

(Ed. note— After digressing briefly to recall the story of the ill-fated Cornell College forestry experiment in the Cross Clearing Axton area, we resume the late Ferris J. Meigs' account of the history of the Santa Clara Lumber company herewith):

"It was in the winter of 1898-99 that an event was shaping which ended in a real tragedy for all the members of that grand old firm of Dodge, Meigs & Co., composed of George E. Dodge, Titus B. Meigs and Ferris J. Meigs.

"Two paper manufacturers of Watertown, —George C. Sherman and David Anderson, of the Taggert Paper Co. had purchased a couple of water-powers on the Black River, near Deferiet, N. Y., and wished to secure a supply of raw material, pulpwood on the stump, and build a pulp and paper mill. The Santa Clara Lumber Co. had long been anxious to sell its pulpwood lands on the St. Regis River and concentrate its operations on the Raquette River water shed. So, long negotiations were entered into between Dodge, Meigs & Co. and Sherman and Anderson, comprising the Taggert Paper Co., which finally culminated in the formation of the St. Regis Paper Co., combining the water powers on the Black River, and some 58,000 acres of pulpwood lands on the St. Regis River. The purchase sale was consummated.

"The Santa Clara Lumber Co. accepted in payment approximately $360,000.00 in the preferred stock of the St. Regis Paper Co. The deeds transferring these lands were dated May and June, 1899. Dodge, Meigs & Co. as agents were given a block of common stock.

"One episode in this sale was interesting. The Lumber Co. owned on the St. Regis River about 36,000 acres. Sherman wanted more lands, and wouldn't proceed with the negotiations unless we contracted to sell approximately 60,000 acres. It looked like an impasse. Young Meigs, with all the confidence and assurance of youth, said "We will add 22,000 acres, also on the St. Regis River watershed, at the same price, $6.00 per acre", and the deal was made. Mr. T. B. Meigs said nothing until Sherman and Anderson had gone. Then— "What have you done? —We do not own more than 36,000 acres, and you have agreed to sell 58,000 acres!" Young Meigs answered "I believe I know where I can find that 22,000 acres and not lose money". "William T. O'Neil, who had been in the employ of the Santa Clara Lumber Co., had been appointed receiver of the Everton Lumber Co. sometime before, and had for sale 22,000 acres of valuable pulpwood lands. But no price had been set. . . No talk whatever had been passed between him and anyone connected with the Lumber Co. The contract to sell what was not owned was a risky, almost desperate act. Full of courage, young Meigs took the train that afternoon, and the next day sauntered into Mr. O'Neil's office. Talked about everything but pulpwood lands. Finally Mr. O'Neil said "Meigs— I am anxious to clean up this Everton Lumber Co., and I want to sell these pulpwood lands. Up here (at St. Regis Falls) I have no chance to find a customer. Why can't you sell these lands for me?" -"All right, —what's your price?". "I prefer not to pay a commission, but you can have these lands at $2.00 per acre, and when you sell you may keep anything over that for yourself".

"Trying to control his excitement, young Meigs finally agreed, and an option for thirty days was drawn up and signed, under which Meigs had the right to purchase the 22,000 acres of land at $2.00 per acre. Meigs paid a $10 United States bill for the option, and thus secured a legal agreement to buy at $2.00 a tract of land which he had sold the previous day at $6.00, —a handsome profit for his company, and with this added acreage the St. Regis Paper Company secured an adequate supply of raw material for its new enterprise.

"The Santa Clara Lumber Co. divided the preferred stock it had received among its stockholders, and Dodge, Meigs & Co. divided its shares of the common stock. —one-third each— to the three partners.

"The schemer, Sherman, soon realized that Dodge controlled the firm of Dodge, Meigs & Co. by reason of a slight majority interest, and through this advance controlled the Lumber Company as well as the various other corporations in which the firm was interested. Dodge, —weak, self-indulgent, a high liver, was easy prey to Sherman and his blandishments. This rogue became most intimate with this weakling.- and finally prevailed upon Dodge to attempt to take over the management of Dodge, Meigs & Company, and oust the Messrs. Meigs.

"So it happened that one day, after a bracing lunch. Dodge walked into the office and announced that he and Sherman were taking over the management of all the firm's interests: that the Messrs. Meigs might take away personal belongings from their desks, and that they need not appear again. The shock, the grief, the surprise, the great danger, the heartlessness, the utter lack of consideration, or even decency on the part of Dodge, nearly overpowered that grand, good man, Mr. Titus B. Meigs. After a generation of closest business and social intimacy with Mr. George E. Dodge and his brothers, his father and mother, and their families, after aiding Dodge so constantly, and successfully protecting and sustaining him so many years, to be thrown out, without a word, and with no reason at all. —that was tragic! It was so heartless, —so cruel.

"At first there seemed to be no escape from the calamity. Young Meigs had had so few years association with Dodge that he felt the heartache less, but the financial danger far more, for his all was involved. He would not take it lying down. He would fight.

"Knowing Dodge well, that he had a better, more generous nature than his act indicated, and backed by the sound, conciliatory advice and help of Mr. John P. Badger, he undertook to secure a more favorable settlement. Weeks went by. The Messrs. Meigs went as usual to their office. Mr. Dodge only flitted in occasionally. He knew enough to keep at arm's length. But negotiations were proceeding almost continuously. "Finally Dodge agreed to a division of interests, on a far more just basis. He taking ALL of the stock of each concern that he took over, and the Meigses taking all of the companies that remained. Cash and notes adjusted any balances. So it finally transpired that the Meigses, father and son, became sole stockholders of the Santa Clara Lumber Co. and one or two other concerns, and Dodge took all of the stock of the St. Regis Paper Co. belonging to the Meigses, and other small holdings. The common stock of the St. Regis Paper Co., though having only prospective value, went to Dodge on the basis of $30 per share . . . That helped.

"But then the devil's hand of Sherman appeared. He desired all the pulpwood on the Lumber Company's lands on the Raquette River watershed, and was bound to have it. Dodge, having in sight as owner the large block of preferred and common stock of the St. Regis Paper Co., and pressed by Sherman, stood out for a contract covering all the pulpwood on the lumber company's lands on the Raquette. No persuasion, no fight, no argument moved him, and in order to have a complete divorce, the Meigses, against their judgment and unwillingly, finally agreed, and a contract was made with the St. Regis Paper Co. A complete separation from Dodge was accomplished. That contract provided that Sherman should furnish the cash to finance the operations of the Lumber Co. in the woods. That, he could not, or would not. do. A suit to abrogate the contract was instituted by the Lumber Co., and Mr. Henry W. Jessup of New York. City, a lawyer, was engaged to prosecute the case. Jessup was not equal to this task, and no match for Eton R. Brown and Judge Purcell, his associate, who were fighting for the paper company. The case had its ups and downs, through the lesser and higher courts, until it became evident that it was best to have a settlement.

"Mr. Will Lyford, brother of the son-in-law of Mr. Meigs, and Senator Spooner of Wisconsin were empowered to make a settlement. And a settlement was made which severed all ties with Dodge and Sherman, but at a terrible cost! Over $250,000.00 it took, and again the cash situation of the Lumber Company was acute . . . But kind providence helped again. The debt was paid by placing a mortgage on their timberlands, and by personal loans of the Messrs. Meigs. So the Lumber Company putted through that storm which threatened a shipwreck, and through the gloom there shone a ray of hope, that with courage, thrift, hard work and good seamanship, the haven would be reached. The years that followed proved the wisdom of this course". {Continued in our next issue),

Tupper Lake Free Press and Herald, January l, 1986

Wood shipments cease Jan. 1; mills must pay more

The logging contractors and the truckers who haul their wood to the mills are fed up with the price they are paid for their wood by the mill operators. Saturday night at a special meeting in the uptown firehall here about 70 wood industry workers from the area voted to do something about it.

Effective Wednesday, truckers will stop hauling their wood to the mills around the north country and logging operations here for the most part will cease.

The move comes at a time when pulp mills owned by companies like International Paper Co., Finch and Pruyn, St. Regis Paper, and Georgia Pacific must stockpile pulp in their yards for production this next year.

At Saturday night's meeting, which was called by the Tupper Lake Woodsmen's Association Inc., the group here which annually organizes the very successful Woodsmen's Days each July, loggers and truckers complained they cannot afford to continue to haul wood to the mills at the “per cord” price they are now paid.

“Can we afford to continue to work for nothing?” one logging contractor asked. His question was met with a resounding “no” from the 70 or so in the room that evening.

The lion's share of the financial woes loggers and truckers here now face are caused by new hauling weight restrictions, which go into effect Jan. l. Under the new law truckers must meet lower weight standards or face fines which jump from the current $100 to as much as $3,000. Any trucker who hauls a load more than 80,000 pounds, without a special permit, could face those stiff fines.

Traditionally log trucks have exceeded the legal load limits- and if apprehended loggers accepted the relatively small fines as the cost of doing business. Without the overweight loads hauled to the mill, however loggers and truckers have argued they could not make any money.

Saturday night everyone in the room agreed they would comply with the new weight restrictions, but it was stressed many times that they could only do that if the mills increased wood prices…

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