32 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



entire charge of the new interests he has ac- 

 quired at Dover. He will incidentally install 

 quite a lot of new machinery. 



A special from Hickman, Ky., announces that 

 the MeQgel Box Company is having a large tow- 

 boat built at Marietta, n. - ■ ili i- ir;..ise of 

 towing timber for the Hi' 1 ' "£ the 



Mengel interests. A fleet .ii , _ i . being 



built; also a large gasoline i^w iir, ili.- lat- 

 ter in course of construction in the rcimpany's 

 yards. These facilities are necessary on ac- 

 count of the large increase in the company's 

 business in the past few years. 



While languishing in jail at Murray, Ky., on 

 the charge of having pulled off a crooked timber 

 land transaction in Mississippi and thereby de- 

 frauding F. M. Smith of Tennessee out of some 

 $l,.5O0, .1. M. Burgess still tried to do business 

 with the outsi.ie world. .\ letter from a gentle- 

 man in Nashville written to Burgess at Hotel 

 Latham in Murray, Ky., was ini.r. . ],ir ,i i,y the 

 authorities, and this lettvi ili. b- <l iii- tart 

 that the Nashville man was i.,'.[v i.. i ,n .luwn 

 $7,000 cash and the balnn...- ..< iln iiMiM-hase 

 money in one, two and three years. Burgess is 

 said to have told Jailor Johnson that if per- 

 mitted his liberty two or three days he would 

 have no trouble in getting $10,000 of the Ten- 

 nessee man. 



The large sawmill plant of Buchannan Broth- 

 ers, of Waverly, Tenn., has been totally de- 

 stroyed by fire. The mill was located on Blue 

 creek, about ten miles south of Waverly. The 

 origin is unknown. The loss is several thou- 

 sand dollars, with no insurance. 



The many friends of Hamilton Love, the 

 popular young lumberman of this city, will be 

 glad to learn that his little son, Hamilton, Jr., 

 who was dangerously ill for many weeks with 

 typhoid fever, is now out of danger. 



Two painful injuries are reported in saw- 

 mills during the past week or so. In one Sam 

 Ii. Sells, a prominent Kepublican leader of 

 Johnson City, Tenn., suffered the loss of his 

 hand in a planing mill of which he is proprietor 

 at that place. Mr. Sells was recnlly chosen 



by the K.-imiIi:!. ,,ii-. m .,,,n. i.ih.n :i--' d as 



elector for . ■<■'■■ --■ i^' •- "Oer 

 accident, v, !.• - I \- , , .. ■ .| near 



Nashville, W ...;..iu KUh.ai -r.M- I .. n.Mtured 

 skull. He will recover. 



Quite an exodus of Nashville lumbermen has 

 taken place since the city surrendered to the 

 recent hot spell. John B. Ransom has gone to 

 Canada and other Eastern points for a vacation 

 and fishing trip. Sam Lieberman of I.ieberman, 

 Loveman & O'Brien, is away on a vacation. 



Arthur B. Ransom and Mrs. Ransom have 

 left for a pleasure trip to northern and eastern 

 polntB. M. F. Greene of the Davidson-Benedict 

 Company has gone to New York. A. L. Hayes 

 of the A. L. Hayes Lumber Company has gone 

 to Savannah, Ga. John Love is still In Nova 

 Scotia. 



John S. Denton, secretary of the Southern 

 Lumber & Manufacturing Company, has an- 

 nounced his candidacy for the oflice of state 

 treasurer of Tennessee. This Is a nice fat office, 

 combining with it also the attendant' position 

 of insurance commissioner. The former pays 

 .11.3,500 and the latter $1,500, about $5,000 In 

 all a year, and for four years. 



What Is regarded by many of the lumbermen 

 as the turning point to a period of old times 

 and renewed good times was furnished In the 

 month of July just ended. July is ordinarily 

 not regarded as a very good month by the 

 lumber people, but they report with unanimity 

 that the month of July just ended was unusually 

 good, In fact a genuine surprise. An improve- 

 ment had even characterized the June business, 

 but Its record was not a steady one. With 

 July, however, a steady Increase In business was 

 noted all along the line. Prices have taken an 

 upward tendency and lumbermen are beginning 

 to realize that the worst Is a thing of the past. 

 The hardwood situation remains the same save 

 for the stiffening In prices. Low prices which 



would ha\'e been welcomed a few months back 

 are now being turned down promptly by the 

 lumbermen. The railroads operating out of 

 Nashville report a tonnage which about equals 

 the record this time last year, before the "late 

 unpleasantness." The demand for quartered 

 oak is fine and plain oak shows improvement, 

 although still just a trifle "off." Nashville 

 dealers are positively refusing to dispose of any 

 of their stuff at poor prices and are uniformly 

 holding out for better ones. 





- of the W. M. Ritter L'^mber 

 liiinl.iiv, Ohio, and J. Mortimer, 

 Jr.. the laii.i jihinl -uperintendent of all the 



Ritter oi" I ii ;..ii. ill w , St Virginia, Tennessee 

 and Niuih i .ir.iinia. w.ie in Bristol this week 

 on l)\;sin.'ss aii.l hit lor Hampton. Carter county, 



I'lain., wli.T.- iDi-y yo to look over the company's 

 .xii'iisiv linlilin^s at ihat place. The Ritter 

 Cirnpany ..wns a lari,'e band mill at Hampton, 

 which is running at full capacity. It has about 

 fifteen miles of railroad and a large tract of 

 timber land also. 



Mrs. A. Arnold, wife of A. Arnold, a well- 

 known Inrooerman and manufacturer of Bristol, 

 died suddenly In the Memorial hospital at Rich- 

 mond this week. Mr. Arnold was in North 

 Carolina looking over a tract of timber at the 

 ti.iie of her death, and it was not without great 

 diniiulty that he was located. The burial was 

 in Bristol this week. 



Special Chancellor A. N. Shoun of Greene- 

 vllle this week banded down an important de- 

 cree In the case of Virginia Iron, Coal & Coke 

 Company versus James Strong Lumber Company 

 in the chancery court of Carter county at Ellza- 

 bethton, awardiug the Virginia Iron, Coal & 

 Coke Company judgment against the James 

 Strong Lumber Company In the sum of $40,000. 

 This suit, which has been pending for the past 

 five years, has attracted much attention. The 

 James Strong Lumber Company purchased from 

 the Virginia Iron, Coal & Coke Company a 

 20,000-acre tract of timber In Carter county at 

 $G0,000. After the purchase the late James 

 Strong of Pblladelpbla built a double band mill 

 here and began operations on. a large scale. It 

 was discovered, however, that there was an 

 alarming shortage In acreage and that a large 

 amount contained no timber whatever. When 

 the first of two notes for $20,000 each, given 

 as a part of the purchase money and to secure 

 whi.li a vi'Tiil.iis li.-n was r.taiiiiMl on the prop- 

 .1 ; ; ., : : lefused. An 



in :i.'(l enjoining 



ti from cutting 



Ili ., . :.- ..:----, insult that the 



mills licic were closed aud later dismantled and 

 sold. To a broad charge of fraud In the entire 

 transaction the defendants In a cross-bill filed 

 by the James Strong Lumber Company set up 

 the deed aa a defense, declaring that while the 

 price was arrived at on an acreage basis, there 

 was a clause In the deed which ni.ide II a bulk 

 sale for a lump sum of $11". i < ■ ii t sus- 

 tained this contention, thoir_ i i ily a 

 close point, and the case ii ! ;i id to 

 the Supreme court of Tenn. s . . tn nnii adjudi- 

 cation. 



Paul W. Fleck of the Paul W. Fleck Lumber 

 Company of this city, who now lives In Phila- 

 delphia, and was formerly treasurer of the 

 James Strong Lumber Company, was here this 

 week In connection with the suit and looking 

 over his company's business. "Things are pick- 

 ing up In the East and there Is now a feeling 

 of optimism pervading the hardwood trade," 

 said Mr. Fleck. "The lumbermen think that 

 business Is being rapidly established on a much 

 better basis and the foundation for even greater 

 prosperity than the country has yet experienced 

 Is being laid. It Is not generally thought that 

 the presidential election will Influence business 

 either way." 



The Spangler-Khea Lumber Company has just 

 been incorporated, with headquarters at Pen- 

 nington Gap, Lee county, Virginia. The capital 

 stock is $25,000. The new company, which will 

 do a general lumber manufacturing and whole- 

 sale business, is headed by H. O. Spangler, J. L. 

 Rhea, E. W. Pennington and others. 



The Buck-Snodgrass Lumber Company of John- 

 son City has established a branch office here and 

 opened yards on the Virginia & Southwestern. 

 Bristol will be the company's principal shipping 

 point. 



NEW YORK 



George F. Montgomery, who was formerly as- 

 soeiateu with lue lUiei uatioual .MahOt;any Com- 

 pany, which failed some months ago, is again 

 in the limelight in the local mahogany trade as 

 president of the America-West Africa Trading 

 Company, headquarters 68 Broad street, against 

 which company a Judgment for $9,946 was en- 

 tered last week in favor of Oliver & Co., on a 

 bill of exchange for 50,000 francs drawn by a 

 Paris bouse and accepted by them November 30, 

 I'.IO". which has not been paid. The summons 

 was served on Montgomery. The America-West 

 Africa Trading Company was incorporated April 

 5. 1900, with a capital of $200,000, which was 

 increased in July last year to $300,000, for the 

 purpose of conducting a mahogany business. 



Secretary E. F. Perry of the National Whole- 

 sale Lumber Dealers' Association returned to 

 the city last week from a trip to Chicago, where 

 he was an interested attendant at the confer- 

 ence of the Illinois Manufacturers' Association 

 for the consideration of the proposed general 

 freight rate Increase matter. 



F. A. Klrby, genial sales manager of the 

 Cherry River Boom & Lumber Company, Scran- 

 Ion, Pa., spent several days in town last week 

 visiting Manager W. W. Welch, of the local 

 office at 1 Madison avenue. The business of the 

 company Is very good, considering all phases 

 of the market, and Mr. Klrby denotes a much 

 better tone to conditions, as well as prices, and 

 looks for a very fair fall trade. 



The Public Service Commission In New York 

 City has Issued an order to the railroads to 

 desist from further use of the requirements of 

 Rule 3 of the Official Classification, which pro- 

 vides for the stenciling of each piece of lumher 

 in less than carload lots, which ruling has been 

 received with much gratification by the local 

 trade. 



A petition in bankruptcy was filed in this 

 city on July 27 against John J. and Harry I. 

 Soble, composing the wholesale hardwoods and 

 manufacturing firm of Soble Bros., headquarters 

 1 Madison avenue, and mill at Uonaker, Va 

 The petition was made by three creditors. Soble 

 Bros, were organized In Philadelphia in January, 

 1905, and removed to this city In April of this 

 year, at which time there were rumors of 

 financial embarrassment. Immediately after lo- 

 cating In this city a proposition was made by 

 the firm to its creditors that they organize a 

 corporation lo he known as the Soble Bros. Lum- 

 ber Company, with a capital of $150,000, on 

 which the creditors were to take stock for the 

 amount of their claims, which totaled $102,000, 

 and that the corporation be conducted In the 

 Interest of the creditors In an effort to pay oui.. 

 This proposition was accepted by quite a per- 

 centage of the creditors, hut this action In bank- 

 ruptcy as taken last week would seem to Indi- 

 cate that It was not agreeable to all. On July 

 31 the court appointed Walter B. Allen receiver 

 with bond of $1,000, and on the same date a 

 second petition in bankruptcy was filed against 

 the firm In Philadelphia and J. B. Wilkinson 

 and Robert A. Beggs, Jr., were appointed receiv- 

 ers in that city. 



Schedules In bankruptcy of S. F. Mlntcr, 

 wholesale hardwoods, 1 Broadway, who recently 

 failed, show liabilities of $03,187 and assets of 

 $2(i.<i6."i. The receiver has Issued a notice that, 

 the first meeting of the creditors for the flllng 

 of claims will he held at the office of J. J. 



