HARDWOOD RECORD 



faeturer, and at the same time give the pur- 

 chaser all he purchased, and is able to explain 

 to the purchaser when on such visits the meth- 

 ods of grading, and that he at all times follows 



rule books which I would be glad to distribute 

 to those present, and to answer any questions 

 which may arise as to the details of grading. 



Now, to malse this a success, every manufac- 

 turer of hardwood lumber should join this asso- 

 ciation and become a beneficiary, having his in- 

 terests protected in the future. As this is the 

 day of organizations, and industries organize to 

 compete in a commercial way the interests they 

 represent, our part of the industry — the timber 

 end of the business — must organize and stand 

 always for the support of the same. We want 

 and should have every sawmill man who is ready 

 to ship lumber to the marliet, in our association 

 for the benefits of this one bureau. However, 

 there are other benefits which I will take up, 

 subject by subject, all of which a member of 

 this association becomes privileged to receive. 

 Commercial Reports. 

 In line with the method of grading, I will 

 take up the subject of our Commercial Report 

 Department. 



We know too well, from our last year s ex- 

 perience, that the manufacturers of lumber have 

 not been treated fairly and squarely by some of 

 the trade in the details of negotiations, and so 

 many unfair methods have arisen, that the saw- 

 mill man finds that although It was hard to sell 

 lumber, when the opportunity did present itself, 

 he was almost afraid to allow his lumber to go 

 into the market for fear of heavy deductions 

 which took away his legitimate profits and more 

 besides, owing to the small margins on which 

 lumber was handled. 



We have in existence a system by which all of 

 our members can obtain the information regard- 

 ing the treatment accorded by the purchaser of 

 lumber. This is more of a moral report and 

 treats largely of the methods of settlement. 

 When a member asks for a report on a certain 

 purchaser, or prospective purchaser, we send that 

 inquiry out to all members of the association 

 with a list of questions asked, as to their man- 

 ner of settlement, whether their complaints have 

 been Just, whether discounts and time of pay- 

 ment have been in accordance with the contract, 

 whether orders are canceled or not, and various 

 other inquiries, all of which being answered and 

 returned to this office, are compiled and sent to 

 the members of the association. This plan is 

 one of the main features of the association, fol- 

 lowing in line with the first subject discussed, 

 and allows the members to obtain information 

 from among the largest operators in a legitimate 

 and legal manner. 



Book of Buyers. 

 Last year we compiled after orpnsidprable ex- 

 pense and put into look l''>rni -i ■■••pv "f wbich 

 I have with me for ym p.in-.ii, ^^ll^h -liuvs 

 divided — the difTereni -.1 mhv; 



the purchasers of luml" 1 h I 1 ^ i, 1 In 



kinds of wood, stat.-s hmI iim^ hmum,^ ih.> 

 class of articles manuia. mu-.i ,-> lIhui . Uie 

 grades of lumber being used h.v ibem, and the 

 number of cars purchased per mouth. This book 

 is printed from direct information received from 

 the consumer written and signed by him. The 

 hook is for sale only to the members of the a«so- 

 elation at a set price, and has been of great help 

 to those who desire to sell their lumber direct 

 from their office. It is a help to salesmen who 

 travel on thr' road \vl»-n visiting the cities, being 

 made In cmv. i,i nt '1:. •• r such use. 



]■.(,. I. I I -,.; Members. 

 W' III \' ar to compile a 

 book Ml !ii:i:' IS cif ihe associa- 

 tion, ;,li,j«in_ ■ ' r m;iir.fa.- 



ture ; their : it,. Ilmij 



office, with 1 1 ln" 



duced and :iii nl lo 



place this 1 1 1 : . n nuiin i i.i i;iv- 



ing a desk f;iii.i.- ... n.i |...s^,.l,l,.- |..ii. i...>. 1 s of 

 hardwood lumber iu ilie variuus markets uT lun- 

 sumption. Duly the manufacturing members of 

 Ihe association will be published In this book. 



sked regarding its 

 lion in the difTcr- 

 It Is a large sub- 



inirinrtnnrr. to the 



"shipper 

 no lun 



of 1 



have rates lowered. . 



Coal, iron and food products are not as high 

 as lumber rates, and I believe that the railroad 

 companies, who are controlled by men of sound 

 commercial instincts, would listen to sectional 

 ideas as to lower rates if taken up in a business- 

 like manner. 



Mjsceli-aseocs. 



There are different departments in our asso- 

 ciation which are used by the members in differ- 

 ent localities, such as the lists sent out to all 

 members semi-monthly, showing stocks being 

 offered for sale, and stocks needed to be pur- 

 chased. Our consuming membership is very 

 much helped by this action, the manufacturers 

 are also helped. They can learn by studying 

 this list the class of material which is In ex- 

 cess and moving lower, both in the thicknesses, 

 grades and kinds of wood. They learn the kind 

 of material which is scarce and In demand, and 

 gage their operations in accordance. 

 ilARKET Condition Reports ok Price Lists. 



In the past I personally have given a great 

 deal of attention to grading. My latter work, 

 with all of its details, has been the subject of 

 market conditions, with various conditions sur- 

 rounding the classes of product, and have pub- 

 lished now a list that we consider of beneficial 

 importance and interest to the producing trade. 

 I quote from tills as follows : 



••This list is published for the purpose of 

 showing to the members of this association, as 

 well as to the Industry at large, the prices now 

 being obtained from the manufacturing consum- 

 ing trade, being an average of the reports sub- 

 mitted to us, and is not Intended as an absolute 

 and positive list, nor is it officially adopted by 

 this association, but is merely a publication of 

 the values that are now actually being obtained. 



"This list is issued for selling the rough prod- 

 uct, as well as giving an opportunity to the con- 

 sumer to figure his future contracts accord- 



■'Thls list supersedes nil former Issues." 

 I quote this to show that the intention and 

 desire in issuing this list is to overcome various 

 difficultlis whicii we have met in the past. I 

 want ii. si ,1. iii;lii now that this list has been 

 critlil/r.l 1 1. s,,,ii. . \tent by people who could 

 not un,l T-iuM «li^ ..rtain prices would be pub- 

 lished Alii ii .III !"■ obtained In one section, 

 but 11. It in .ni.ih.r Vou will find In going over 

 past history that this subject has been always 

 before the "trade and never before brought out 

 as plainly until this publication was started and 



'"•"T"Srsn*s\'-.K.s n „uMis,,,,, montblv until 



s^l^^^JSTbusu' .":'n';";.;";^i^-x 



marked chan- 



ilned before, 



list from tini. .1.1 



to all members ui ili.- ass.n 



sent broadcast to all outside of the 



ship who desire them, and many of whom have 



no further kn 1 •» 



once that i s . I . 



placing the n 



comes necessm \ 1.. n i 



mate manner Im in 1 ' ■■ 



association which 1 



and covers In its nn :: 



to eighteen states. 



west of the Mlsslssii 1 



of the Ohio (refeniiii; 1.. .. in 



Association), the Trunk iin. Ml^- 



ghanles, and In the section .. i. 1 i 'Huo 



river east to the const, and ' .n mi S.mih 



Carolina territory. The poll, v iii.iii..r. has 



ijeen to handle questions for tl].- 1.. n.ni ..f niem- 



1>erB. which in a Nntlonol way, will assist them 



In fluv general position. 



I/Umher rates are entirely too excessive and If 



been 

 iile In this 

 lately sent 



They are 



standlTi 

 vitb 



to be supplied 



■ cnever new 



ci by pur- 



by producers 



by the consumers. 



To produce this lisl ii is ui-.'.ss;iry mv nu- In 

 travel over 1 

 try, and wl. 

 sometimes in 

 territory r. 1 i 

 the second n 



In the preci'lM ; 



of valuable in ' ' 



gardlng the . ■ : 1 ' 1 ' 



them write ii-. • . - ■■ - 1-. ' ■" ' 



every condition «•■ i^.i'.. '" ""i ..i,^:iiii/.ii i-n 

 the secretary's nttice nsks lor open anil iiank 

 correspondence so that we can keep in closest 

 touch with our members to discover any weak 

 spots and to become familiar with subjects which 

 may not have l>een presented to us before and 

 which when acted upon would he for the Iwnefit 

 of the Industry. , ,,^, , ., 



You may desire to hear of conditions existing 

 iu the hai<1wood markets and which have already 

 noon n..rn-iv.'d in ..nv nn'irket rninlltion reports 



touched upni 

 tlon it at :i 



I will take 

 say that at 

 business has 



conditions were only covering a small point 

 wherein the list prices were being obtained in 

 any volume, every section I have visited lately 

 is now receiving prices in this high grade of 

 lumber, higher than ever before. It is not only 

 scarce but very much in demand by the con- 

 sumer. Furniture factories are reported as mak- 

 ing some excellent purchases, but oak being a 

 standard wood, it will always be in demand. 

 Another reason why plain oak, white and red. 

 has been so good lately, which is hardly neces- 

 sary for me to refer to, is the situation in quar- 

 tered oak. In the face of the darkest part of 

 our financial situation the past year, this mate- 

 rial advanced in value. It was a very scarce 

 article and being standard in demand, the result 

 was that it advanced $3 to $4 per M. Other 

 classes of lumber not being in demand, operators 

 were quartering their oak and plain stock was 

 neglected until it became very scarce. Of course, 

 this condition has always existed In the past in 

 regard to plain and quartered oak — when one is 

 sought for, the other Is neglected, and the values 

 of this material vary up and down, but plain 

 never gets back to its old basis, but keeps 

 gradually gaining a higher general average. 



Gum : -V wood coming Into close competition 

 with the pine industry, but gaining In strength 

 in the last month to a degree of dollars per M. 

 I have had reports from the Mississippi valley 

 lately showing a gain of $2 to $3 per M over 

 prices obtainable the past thirty days. Firsts 

 and seconds sap gum has been a standard used 

 in this country to such a degree that purchasers 

 liave lately found it not so easy to obtain ; offers 

 being made for -siiie are subject to delivery and 

 not l)ona-fide si'l. - 



Cottonwood ii' 1 ir I ...'inds has had some 

 excellent sab- > .1 i iin heretofore it ha. 



been a slow ~ . m^' sought after by 



the trade in n.i- .ninM, and which will no 

 doubt show up In better advantage as the fall 

 trade Increases. 



Other woods, such as hickory, ash and elm. 

 which are produced in this section, are gradually 

 strengthening, and this applies to other woods 

 of the hardwood section. , ,,, 



Poplar is a leader In other sections, and will 

 get very strong next spring. 



Going Into the details of production, we find 



that it has decreased ; logs have twen used up, 



mills have been shut down, and quoting from 



figures that we have been able to obtain : 



First canvass : 



MO.NTIILY BASIS OF MANUFACTURE. 



Production. 

 No. of Mills. Feet. 



output reported 142 60,440,000 



Reduction reported 107% 40,705,000 



Percentage of mills shut down — 76%. 

 Percentage of output curtailed — 66%. 

 Average length of time, 60 days ; including 

 those who reported Indefinitely, 50%. 

 Second canvass : 



MONTHLY BASIS OF MANUFACTUKi:. 

 Number of mills. 343 ; normal production. 

 159.390,000 feet: reduction, 107,832,000 feet; 

 now produced. .'^2. 058, 000 feet. 



I'n, nni.j.. ..1 tnllls shut down, 66%. 



1', 1. . nil. 1 . iiri.iiiment of output, 67<^i. 

 \,. . I _ I lime, including those report- 



hif; ml I \\n estimate that 75% of the 



iniiN I - d down will not l)egln oper- 



;iiii:j were unfavorable 



I t logs was olitalned 



11 ill. i.il stringency and the 

 ijii\ liiins to finance pos- 

 1 ai'id incessant high water 

 a great deal of manufac- 

 vere lying and spoiling for 

 rradcs have been running 



1 . . i.mmoii yiadus will be a little higher 

 and the consumers of lumber who 

 Ii. ir inability to purchase the higher 

 III - \\\\\ rush for the common grades of lum- 

 iiii, wliiib will become more in demand, there- 

 ture, than iu the past year, also owing to the 

 cnmpetltion with the soft woods as they have 

 stiffened up prices very much the latter part of 

 the year. 



I'EltOEATIOX. 



Fveu now at this time. It Is becoming ap- 

 parent that the sellers of lumber are not so 

 anxious to sell as they have been In the past 

 and at such low prices, and a strengthening all 

 along the line Is shown on all classes of hard- 



" The month of August Is naturally a dull 



II I of oak first, and will 



u 111 Ihe history of the oak 

 en found where plain, both 



