16 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



support of every forward-looking man imbued with a spirit of patriot- 

 ism and there is no excuse for any honest citizen withholding such 

 co-operation to the extent to which he has the power to give it, 

 whether it be in the matter of mere moral support or through the 

 medium of more powerful political influence. We have a democratic 

 president and in spite of all dire forebodings he "looks good." 



Front Cover Picture, — Mount Hood 



THE ILLUSTRATION ON THE I'EONT COVEE of this issue of 

 Hardwood Record presents a. scene familiar to most readers. 

 Those who have not seen Mt. Hood itself are acquainted with it 

 through pictures. It had a prominent place in the geographies which 

 most of us thumbed in the public schools; and in later years rail- 

 roads, land companies, and promoters of northwestern resources 

 have been liberal in their use of the conspicuous mountain as a 

 center piece for some of their finest representations of scenery. 



The great mountain is set for show-. Rising to a height variously 

 estimated at from 11,225 to 12,000 feet, it looms vast on the horizon 

 when seen from the Willamette valley forty or fifty miles west. It 

 stands head and shoulders above all the peaks and ridges of the 

 region within a radius of fifty miles, and has no rival or competitor 

 between Mt. Ranier, far north of the Columbia river, and Mt. Shasta 

 which marks the termination of the Sierra Nevadas in northern Cali- 

 fornia. The peak is an extinct volcano, and occupies a prominent 

 place in a volcanic region of vast extent and formerly of great 

 activity. The last glow of subterranean fire died out ages ago, and 

 fields of lava now mark the course and direction of the flows which 

 once inundated immense areas. 



When seen from a distance, the shape of Mt. Hood betrays its 

 volcanic origin. The long, gentle slopes lead to the peak from all 

 sides. Ravines have formed low down the slopes, and these measure 

 the amount of erosion which has taken place since the mountain- 

 building process ended. The time since then cannot be measured in 

 years, for human history is silent ; but the work of weather and of 

 running water shows that ages have passed since erosion began and 

 the fires ceased their activity. 



Though vast periods of time are recorded on the peak 's face, 

 yet Mt. Hood is young, as the ages of mountains are measured. 

 Compared with some of the mountains of the eastern part of the 

 continent — the Blue Ridge, for instance — it is an infant beside a 

 Methuselah. Erosion has as yet had time only to scratch the surface 

 of the western peak, but it has worn the Blue Ridge to the roots; 

 has taken enough from its summit to overtop Mt. Hood. 



A visit to Mt. Hood adds greatly to one's appreciation of its 

 vastness and solitude when it is afterwards viewed from a distance. 

 Most eastern people who have made its acquaintance have not been 

 much nearer than Portland or the Willamette valley. From that dis- 

 tance in clear weather it shows grandly, particularly late in the 

 afternoon when the sunshine is at the proper angle to give color to the 

 snow and rocks. 



Quashed at the Last Moment 



/^NE OF THE LAST ACTS of ex-President Taft before handing 

 ^^ over the reins of government to President Wilson was his 

 veto of the Sundry Civil Appropriation bill, which contained two 

 amendments that would have resulted in rank class legislation. These 

 amendments were introduced by representatives and each passed the 

 House with a good majority. The first provided that no part of the 

 appropriation should be expended in the prosecution of any organiza- 

 tion or individual for entering into any combination or agreement 

 having in view an increase of wages, shortening of hours, or bettering 

 the conditions of labor, or for any act done in furtherance thereof, 

 not in itself unlawful. The second provided that no part of the 

 appropriation should be expended for the prosecution of producers of 

 farm products or associations of farmers who cooperate or organize 

 in an effort to obtain and maintain a fair and reasonable price for 

 their products. These two amendments are so flagrantly in the 

 interests of classes that it is difficult to conceive what influenced the 

 House of Representatives to let them get by. The only reasonable 

 excuse is that the labor and farmers ' vote looked too good to them 



to sacrifice. At the same time, an unpleasant spectacle is offered in 

 in the efforts of our national House of Representatives to pass such 

 legislation while its courts are actively engaged in an effort to secure 

 some evidence that would tend to prove that members of the lumber 

 trade should pay excessive fines or go to jail because they have merely 

 been trying to insure themselves a fair living out of the sale of their 

 products. 



Government Price List Discontinued 



THE rXITED STATES FOREST SERVICE has receutly an- 

 nounced that henceforth it will not publish the quarterly list of 

 lumber prices which it has issued for five years. These lists 

 were started in 190S and originally were issued monthly. While in 

 some instances they have not conformed to the ideas of all as to 

 exact values, they have for the most part been an accurate guide 

 to lumber prices throughout the country. They have been based on a 

 vast amount of information obtained not from a limited number 

 of concerns, but from representative mills in each lumber producing 

 territory. The work has unquestionably been of material benefit 

 to everybody connected with the manufacture, sale or consumption of 

 forest products. At the same time, the Government has repeatedly 

 announced that returns were not coming in as satisfactorily as it 

 desired and that if the lumber trade would co-operate to a greater 

 extent, tlie price lists could be made much more authentic than 

 heretofore. 



The reason given for the discontinuance of their publication is 

 that various individuals and associations have undertaken the work 

 of securing the survey of market values and that with these organiza 

 tions in the field, there is no real use for the Government 's continuing 

 the work. It may be that the efforts to make a substantial cut in the 

 the service. The Forest Service is undoubtedly better equipped 

 than any association or individual could be to secure this informa- 

 tion and it is surely to be regretted that it has felt it necessary to 

 discontinue the work. It may be that the efforts to make a substan- 

 tial cut in the appropriation for forestry work has had some effect 

 in infiuencing the minds of those in charge of this matter. 



An Insight Into Foreign Credits 



THE AilERICAX EXPORTER is admittedly weak in hi? knowledge 

 of the credit of prospective foreign customers. With charac- 

 teristic American egotism it is considered that American business 

 methods and American ingenuity of manufacture would successfully 

 take care of the sale of his products, and for this reason he has not 

 given his foreign sales department or his foreign credit department 

 the attention which it justly merits. 



In contrast to the policy of the American exporter, the painstak- 

 ing efforts on the part of the British Government to closely analyze 

 foreign markets is distinctly brought out, particularly in South 

 America. These efforts have resulted in the acquisition of a vast 

 trade to South American countries both from England and from 

 Germany, while on the other hand American exporters, although they 

 ship considerable quantities to the countries in South America, are not 

 assured of a continuous and steady market there. This is merely 

 an instance illustrating the lack of attention given to foreign market 

 conditions and credits. 



Exporters should be interested then in a publication of very 

 practical value, which has just been issued by the Bureau of Foreign 

 and Domestic Commerce at Washington. It deals with the much 

 discussed credit problem, but presents it in a new way. 



A part of the book is devoted to an exposition, by Commercial 

 Agent Archibald J. Wolf, of credit methods and facilities in Ger- 

 many, England and France, in which he shows how and by whom 

 long terms of credit are granted in the export markets, what facili- 

 ties make these extended credits possible, and the advantages and 

 disadvantages of the system. 



There is also inehided a review of present methods of financing 

 foreign shipments from the United States, and an analysis of numerous 

 letters from American manufacturers with regard to their credit 

 practice in the export traae. 



Furthermore, an important series of consular reports from all 



