HARDWOOD RECORD 



47 



Valley linp ot tbc Illiuois Central railroad and officials of tliat company 

 say that this not only represents a large increase over last year but 

 that the amount of logs loaded since the first of March also shows a 

 decided gain. The company is doing everything it can to get timber 

 loaded for its clients but is meeting with much difficulty on account of 

 the shortage ot equipment. It says that it is impossible to secure 

 enough cars or motive power with which to handle shipments promptly. 

 The amount of timber being received over the other lines entering 

 Memphis is also quite full. There are also some logs reaching Memphis 

 by water. The recent stage of the Mississippi river has been quite satis- 

 factory for handling timber and those who had logs scattered by the 

 high water have, wherever possible, collected these and brought them to 

 the mills at Memphis or at other points along <his stream. Practically 

 all of the mills here are well supplied with timber for the immediate fu- 

 ture and the openness of the weather makes the outlook reasonably good 

 for an adequate stock of logs. 



Conditions in this respect are in very striking contrast with last year 

 when the unprecedented rise in the Jlississippi and its tributaries began. 

 Readers of the Hardwood Record are familiar with the fact that the 

 stage went practically ten feet above the danger lino here and that it 

 was out of the question to operate many of the mills in the Mississippi 

 valley and that there was so much water in the low lands that logging 

 was impossible. In fact nearly all the plants at Memphis found it neces- 

 sary to close down, and the same was true of the majority of those at 

 the principal points in the valley south of Memphis. This year they are 

 all running on full time and there is a plentiful supply of timber. It 

 is officially predicted today that the Mississippi will go to a stage of 

 thirty-feet within the next fortnight but this is not causing any alarm 

 as a stage of thirty feet is still five feet below the danger line and some 

 fifteen feet below the record stage of 1912. There will be no overflow 

 with such a volume of water and the outlook from the standpoint of 

 hardwood lumber manufacturers is regarded as quite favorable. 



The capacity of the plant of .T. W. Wheeler & Co., Madison, Ark., has 

 been materially increased through the installation of a resaw. The daily 

 cut now is about 55,000 feet. The resaw has just been placed in opera- 

 tion. The company has also increased its boiler power and otherwise 

 improved its plant. C. L. Wheeler, general manager of the company, 

 was in Memphis this week and said that he considered the outlook ex- 

 ceptionally good. The firm has a ph^ntiful supply of timber on hand. 



The Memphis Band Mill Company has made application for a charter 

 under the laws of this state. The capital stock is $100,000. The new 

 company has taken over the plant of the Memphis Saw Mill Company and 

 is in effect a successor to that corporation. The principal incorporators 

 are : J. F. McSweyn, O. A. Filger, George McSweyn, K. L. Emmons and 

 A. B. Baker. J. F. McSweyn has been in charge of operations for the 

 Memphis Saw Mill Company here for some years. W. O. Hughart and 

 George T. Kendall of Grand Rapids were the principal owners of the 

 Memphis Saw Mill Company. 



S. B. Anderson, president of the Anderson-Tully Company, W. A. May 

 of May Brothers, W. A. Ransom of the Gayoso Lumber Company, and Mark 

 H. Brown of the Mark H. Brown Lumber Company have returned from 

 the tour of Central America and Panama which was made in conjunction 

 with the party from the Business Men's Club. They report that the 

 trip was one of the most enjoyable they have ever made and they were 

 quite enthusiastic over the splendid treatment accorded them by the man- 

 agement of the excursion. They arc also of the opinion that the Panama 

 canal will open up a very large business between Memphis and points 

 which will be more easily reached by virtue of the canal. They think 

 that there is a splendid chance to build up profitable trade relations with 

 the people of Central America, and some of them are disposed to take 

 time by the forelock and begin preliminary preparations for the enjoy- 

 ment of such business. 



The Columbia Land & Timber Company has been organized at Stephens, 

 Ark. The capital stock is $200,000. J. F, Halton is president and L, L. 

 Tidwell, cashier of the bank of Stephens, is secretary and treasurer. 

 The company has recently purchased extensive timber land holdings in 

 Louisiana and will establish a mill and other facilities for the develop- 

 ment thereof. 



F. B. Robertson, sales manager of the lumber department of the An- 

 derson-Tully Company, and C. B. Dudley of the Dudley Lumber Company, 

 have returned from the annual of the National Wholesale Lumber Deal- 

 ers' Association, at Atlantic City. Mr. Robertson was signally honored 

 by his election as trustee. The Memphis delegation carried an invitation 

 to the association to hold its next annual in Memphis. This will be 

 decided by the trustees at a later date. 



J. \V. Dickson, president of the Valley Log Loading Company, is able 

 to be out again. His ankle, which was broken some weeks ago, is not en- 

 tirely well but his many friends are congratulating him upon the fact that 

 be is able to be at his office. 



Among the recent visitors to Memphis has been Earl Palmer of the 

 Palmer-Ferguson Company, Paducah, Ky. He was en route to New 

 Houlka, Miss., to look after plans for the installation of a mill at that 

 point for the development of the timber on 10,000 acres of timberiand 

 owned by his firm. New Houlka is on the New Orleans, Mobile & Chi- 

 cago but it will be necessary for the company to build about ten miles of 

 railroad to facilitate the handling of the timber to be developed, A large 

 band mill is to be established. The site for this has already been se- 



lected and the machinery has been ordered. It is expected that it will 

 be in o|)eration within the next three months. The company considered 

 the proposition of carrying this timber to Paducah but decided that it 

 would be more profitable to establish a mill closer to the base of supply. 



F. E. Gary, general manager of the Baker Lumber Company, Turrell, 

 Ark., has returned from a trip to Panama and Central American points. 

 He was accompanied by his wife and friends from the North. 



James E. Stark of James E. Stark & Co., is back from a visit to points 

 in Florida. He was accompanied by his mother and one of his chil- 

 dren. He is looking remarkably well. He was quite busy before he left 

 with the problem of securing lower rates on insurance for the lumber 

 companies and, on his return yesterday, he held a conference with Com- 

 missioner Dies on this subject and promises to be quite active in this 

 matter. 



The -\nderson-Tully Company lias resumed operation of its box factory 

 at Vicksburg after a suspension covering some time. The company found 

 it impossible to secure enough dry cottonwood to keep its box factory in 

 steady operation and it closed t'ne latter down until it liad a large enough 

 supply of dry stock to enable it to continue without interruption. The 

 company, however, is operating its box factory here on full time and the 

 allied plant at Madison, Ark., owned by the Morgan-West Company is also 

 being run steadily. 



=-< NASHVILLE '>.- 



The local furniture industry has showed a decided growth for some 

 months past. The Standard Furniture Company, one of the largest con- 

 cerns of the kind here, has prepared for a twenty-five per cent increase 

 in its production and has installed the necessary machinery. The com- 

 pany is making about three carloads of furniture daily. 



Forest flres, fanned by hard winds, have done considerable damage re- 

 cently in the vicinity of Clarksville, Tenn. It is suspected they were 

 started by some lawless person or persons. Fencing, timber and other 

 property was destroyed but no buildings are reported to have been burned. 



D. B. Clayton is forming a company which will bear his name to 

 operate an extensive lumber plant at Lewisburg, Tenn. 



For a consideration of about $6,000, the Beaver Dam Manufacturing 

 Company of Damascus, Va., has purchased the plant of the Wllkerson- 

 Mat thews Lumber Company at a bankrupt sale. The estimated value of 

 the plant is placed at $30,000. The new o«-ncrs will operate the plant 

 just bought. 



=■< BRISTOL y- 



The sale of the plant of the J. A. Wilkinson Lumber Company, Inc.. 

 of this city to .Stone-Huling Lumber Company, at $16,'200, was this week 

 confirmed by the creditors at a meeting before H. H. Shelton. referee 

 in bankruptcy. The price is a very low one, but the creditors decided 

 to accept it. The new company will install new machinery and operate 

 the plant on a larger scale. The yard site is included in the purchase. 

 The creditors confirmed the sale of other real estate and personal prop- 

 erty, but declined to accept a bid of the Ellis & Myers Lumber Company, 

 of Salem, Va.. for the dismantled band mill. 



The creditors are ready to declare a dividend as soon as the referee 

 passes on the contested claim of Price & Price, Ltd,, of London, the 

 amount of which is $43,000. It is contended that this is a personal 

 obligation of J, A, Wilkinson and that the corporation wrongfully under- 

 took to assume it. A $5,000 claim of a Bristol bank is being fought on 

 the same ground. 



George M. Speigle was here last week from Philadelphia to bid on the 

 Wilkinson plant. 



George II. Mell of Kane, Pa., who operates in western North Carolina, 

 was a visitor this week on the Bristol market. 



Price & Pierce, Ltd., of London, are preparing to open an office in 

 Bristol, in charge of J, A. Wilkinson, who is looking after the firm's 

 extensive business in this territory. 



The work of extending the Virginia-Carolina railroad to Wilkesboro, 

 N, C, is now under way and is being pushed. The extension will result 

 in the installation of several new mills. 



The Bristol Planing Mill has established a mill in the Ilolston moun- 

 tains east of Bristol and is cutting a good sized area of timber. 



I,. D. Gasteiger, manager ot the Pittsburgh Lumber Company, was a 

 visitor here this week. The company has a large mill at Hampton, 

 Tenn.. thirty miles south of Bristol. Senator "Bill" Flynn, the well- 

 known political leader, is at the head of the company. 



The Tug Fork Lumber Company is preparing to install a new mill 

 near Wekli. W. Va. ITie company was formed only a few weeks ago. 



The band mill of the Peter-McCain Lumber Company in this city is 

 closed for a short time in order to permit the installation ot new 

 machinery. The planing mill is running. 



=-< LOUISVILLE y- 



Lumbermen will be Interested in the hearing to be held in this city in 

 the near future, when the Interstate Commerce Commission takes evi- 

 dence on the switching case In which the Louisville & Nashville is trfe 

 defendant and the Board of Trade the complainant. The Louisville !-. 



