32 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



of four-hundred additional carloads, which are in process of ship- and doubtless will never be duplicated in the history of black 



ment to the Chicago plant. These logs have been picked up by 

 his buyers in small quantities in Illinois, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, 

 Oklahoma and Kansas. This is probably the largest assemblage 

 of black walnut logs that has been seen for the past ten years. 



walnut veneer and lumber production. On the present basis of 

 production, Mr. Willey is manufacturing into veneer and lumber 

 ten per cent of the annual output of American walnut logs, ex- 

 clusive ot those which are shipped abroad for foreign consumption. 



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The Flood Situation 



The effect pf the unprecedented flood throughout the Middle 

 West will be felt particularly by the lumber business. Its effect 

 has already been seen in some sections in the matter of stock 

 flooded and washed away and of tying up transportation so that 

 delivery has been very nearly impossible. It is impractical to 

 attempt to give a graphic description of flood conditions without 

 being actually on the ground. Hence Hardwood Record has ar- 

 ranged to secure reports from various important sections showing 

 what has already been done to the lumber business by the floods, 

 and also telling the possible future effects which will be felt. These 

 reports are shown in connection with this article. 



At Cairo, the Ohio river rose to its highest stage and strenuous 

 efforts were made to prevent any breaking or overflow of the 

 levees. Every able-bodied man within reach was drafted into 

 service by the troopers in charge, and they worked like demons 

 piling up sandbags and dumping rock ballast in order to build the 

 levees as high and substantially as possible. At the time of this 

 writing it is believed that the danger mark has been passed, and 

 that nothing need be anticipated, although the high water mark 

 passed any previous records and the resulting pressure on the 

 levees was terrific. Still as a result of the efforts to strengthen 

 them they were equal to the task. 



A large amount of lumber was shipped out of Cairo and Mound 

 City immediately before the floods, and for this reason and be- 

 cause of the adequacy of the levees to perform their duty in most 

 cases, the loss to the lumber trade was nowhere near what had 

 been anticipated. 



At Louisville, Ky., as at other points, the highest water since 

 1884 was experienced. The usual ill effects were felt by the lumber 

 trade, which was completely tied up, both because of suspension of 

 transportation, and because of stock being submerged. At this 

 writing, the railroad companies are resuming normal operations. 



At Evansville, Ind., the lumber trade experienced considerable 

 loss due directly to the floods. The height reached was the greatest 

 ever recorded at Evansville, and because of the fact that most of 

 the mills are on high land or well away from the river, the princi- 

 pal damage was done to woodworking factories and yards rather 

 than to the mills. However, considerable quantities of logs and 

 lumber were swept away, and the aggregate damage was consider- 

 able. Evansville was practically cut off as far as railroad trans- 

 portation was concerned for several days. Kailroads operating out 

 of Evansville have, however, up to this time gotten back to pretty 

 nearly a normal condition. 



Fi'om the mountainous regions in eastern Tennessee and western 

 North Carolina come reports that the damage in those sections 

 was very considerable. Enormous rainfall resulted in devastation, 

 which washed out bridges and railroad tracks and caused con- 

 siderable damage to buildings, and held up logging and sawmUl 

 operations. Of course, in this section the actual damage to lum- 

 ber is nothing. The chief loss resulted from the suspension of 

 operations and the washing away of structures of various kinds. 



A report from Memphis' dated April 6 says: 



"The crest of the rise in the Mississippi river is rapidly ap- 

 proaching Memphis and will arrive the latter part of this week. 

 S. C. Emery, local forecaster, still insists that the river will go to 

 a stage of between 45 and 46 feet as against the highest previous 

 stage reached in April last year, 45.3. The reading of the gauge 

 this morning showed a stage of 43.7, or within 1.6 feet of the 

 maximum for this city. The river is now rising, but it is said 



that the rise, which has been at the rate of about IY2 feet per 

 day for the past few days, will be less rapid during the next few 

 days. The height to which the river will go will be determined 

 in large measure by the resistance shown by the levees. A higher 

 stage would have been recorded last year at Memphis but for the 

 numerous breaks which occurred in the levee system at points in 

 Tennessee and Arkansas, which allowed the waters to spread over 

 a much larger area. 



"There have been no breaks so far in the levees in either state. 

 The situation was described as very threatening a couple of days 

 ago at Eeelfoot Lake, west Tennessee, where one of the bad breaks 

 occurred last year, but the crest is already at that point and the 

 embankment is still holding, with prospects of continuing to do 

 so. At Wilson, Modoc, Wyanoke and other points in Arkansas 

 where breaks were experienced in 1912, there is a considerable 

 margin, even with a stage of 46 feet at Memphis, and there is a 

 note of optimism in the reports given out by the levee authori- 

 ties regarding their holding. Major Markham of the United 

 States Army, with headquarters at Memphis, oflicials of the St. 

 Francis Levee Board and Major Dabney, who has charge of im- 

 portant levees south of Memphis, say that conditions are quite- 

 favorable. They emphasize the important part played in the fight 

 by the excellent weather which has prevailed since it became 

 known that the river would go so high. Conditions this year have 

 been in striking contrast with last year in this respect. Then it 

 rained almost every day, making it almost impossible to strengthen 

 the levees and at the same time preventing the embankments, 

 owing to their soggy condition, from having anything like normal 

 resisting power. There has been only one rain in this section dur- 

 ing the past few days. Much will depend upon the weather during 

 the next few days, but levee men seem to be of the opinion that 

 the fight has already been won and that there will be no 

 serious crevasses. 



"The present high water has already put a number of lumber 

 manufacturing plants in Memphis out of commission and they 

 will have to remain closed down for some days. In North Memphis 

 Moore & McFerren, the Memphis Stave Manufacturing Company, 

 the Tennessee Hoop Company and the Anchor mills have already 

 had to suspend, and in New South Memphis the following are out 

 of commission for the time being: Columbia Package Company, 

 Gillette Brothers, May Brothers, Memphis Baud Mill Company 

 and the McLean Hardwood Lumber Company. Private protecting^ 

 levees were built in New South Memphis, but they were not able 

 to withstand the strain, and lumber interests are suffering to the 

 extent indicated. Other plants will likely be affected before the 

 high water is a thing of the past. May Brothers and others, when 

 they saw that they would be unable to protect their yards, moved 

 their lumber to high ground and thus saved themselves the trouble 

 of having to market a great deal of overflowed stock, as was the 

 case last year. There are some other plants here that will pos- 

 sibly be affected by the decrease in log receipts, but that will 

 depend largely upon how the railroads get through the flood. Last 

 year they suffered heavily and it was impossible , even for the 

 mills not affected by the high water to bring in their timber, with 

 the result that the hardwood lumber industry suffered almost com- 

 plete paralysis for a time. At this writing the Illinois Central, 

 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley, the Bock Island System, the Frisco Sys- 

 tem and other roads entering Memphis from the West are still 

 intact and are handling lumber, logs and other traflSc though on 



