42 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



May 23, 1111!) 



Wistar, Underbill & Nixon 



PHILADELPHIA. PENNSYLVANIA 



Manufacturers of CYPRESS and GUM 



WE MANUFACTURE bandxawed, plain and quarter (awed 



WHITE and RED OAK and YELLOW POPLAR 



We make a specialty of Oak and Hickory Imple- 

 ment, Wagon and Vehicle Stock in the rough 

 Your Inquiries Solicited 



ARUNGTON LUMBER CO., Arlington, Kentucky 



Walnut 



Of Character and Color 



Manufactured at Kansas City, U. S. A. 



Large Stock of All Grades and Thickness 



Thirty-five years' experience 



IN WALNUT ONLY 



Prompt Shipment, and 

 Guaranteed Inspection 



FRANK PURCELL 



515 Dwight Building, KANSAS CITY, MO. 



Rates on Vehicle Material 



111 till- ruliny on classitication of Inmlicr by the Interstate Commerce 

 Commission recently the commission decidod that agricultural implement 

 and vehicle material, both in the muKh and in the white, should be 

 accorded rates no higher than on lumber. Higher rates would be unduly 

 preferential to agricultural implement and vehicle material, since, even 

 under the carriers' proposals, other articles, which do not load heavier, 

 are not less subject to damage in transportation, and are not materially 

 less in value, will move in large volume at lumber rates. The articles 

 affected follow : When sawed, planed, turned, bent, mitered, tenoned, 

 bored, but not primed, painted nor ironed; apron slats; axles; blocks, hub 

 and spoke; bolsters; bows; doubletrees; fellow material; felloes; hounds; 

 hulls; neckyokes ; pole*;; reaches; rims; rim strips; sandboards; shafts; 

 siugleti'ees ; spokes ; spoke-timber ; stakes ; sway bars ; tongues ; wagon- 

 box, side-boards and bottoms ; whiffletrees. 



Must Ship Lumber to Germany 



"The United States must aliandon the thought ef not shipping lumber 

 to Germany, for only by supplying the industrial establishments of Ger- 

 many with raw materials can the Allied governments hope to receive 

 indemnities." 



The foregoing statement was recently made by James E. Stark, head 

 of James E. Stark & Co.. Inc., Memphis, and president of the Southern 

 Hardwood Traffic Association, who continued: 



"The United States will soon control, to a large degree, the lumber 

 market of the world, and lumber will go to Germany from this country, 

 whether it goes directly or whether it has to be sent over there indirectly. 



"While there is not enough iumber on hand to justify rapid exporting 

 at the moment, there is not the slightest doubt that southern lumber 

 manufacturers could soon produce enough stock to take care of domestic 

 requirements and fill every ship that is allotted to us for overseas trade. 

 Production is rather small at the moment because of lack of logs, but, 

 as soon as weather conditions are again favorable, timber will come out 

 rapidly and there will undoubtedly be a big increase in the quality pro- 

 duced." 



Investigation of Fires 



In a three years' record of fire losses in Canada, totalling more than 

 .1135,000,000, 2% per cent of the loss was from fires in residence districts 

 and 97% per cent from fires in congested business districts — public build- 

 ings, churches, manufacturing and storage plants, grain elevators and 

 l)Uildings other than dwellings. This emphasizes the fact that fires in resi- 

 dence districts are very infrequent and of small loss eompared to the busi- 

 ness sections, which are poorly fire-guarded, especially at night. Agitation 

 is growing to hold legally responsible those who are to blame through care- 

 lessness for any fire which causes destruction of property and particularly 

 loss of life. 



Many fires go on record as "cause undetermined," whereas a careful 

 investigation should be authoritatively made in every case to find out the 

 cause, and publicity should be given to the result of such an investigation. 

 This elimination of fire waste is being agitated more and more in this 

 country as well as in Canada, and should be of especial interest to the 

 lumberman. 



Not only would a thorough investigation show that the shingle roof 

 in residence districts is responsible for only a very small percentage of 

 fires, but fires would not so often be thoughtlessly and unjustly attributed 

 to properly constructed wood buildings as is now the case. 



The Stability of Prices 



Statistics on commodity prices, as published in Dun's Review, show 

 that the number of price increases in commodities in April has been in 

 excess of the decreases, the first week in the month showing 34 increases 

 to 29 decreases and the last week 28 increases to 19 decreases. The 

 advances are mainly in foodstuffs and the declines in drugs and chemicals. 

 iUdlding material prices which, according to the Department of Labor's 

 statistics, did not advance as much as other commodities during the wa,r, 

 remained unchanged practically throughout the month. According to these 

 statistics instead of there having been a general recession of the price 

 level in March and April there has been an advance, with prices of 

 building material remaining fairly constant. It is to be concluded that the 

 popular expectation of price recessions will not soon be realized. 



The committee recently a|)pointed by the Illinois legislature to investi- 

 gate prices of building materials has made a report advising the public 

 not to delay projects with the hope that any material fall in prices wlU 

 occur. It is the committee's belief that prices have about reached a 

 permanent level, or at least that no reason exists for expecting any sub- 

 st^intial decline in the near future. 



The central stabilization committee at Washington reported this week 

 to the commissioners of the District of Columbia that it may be accepted 

 that the present level of prices of both material and labor represents a 

 stable basis from which to figure construction work fur the year 1919, 

 and nothing can be gained by further postponing building operations. 

 This committee was appointed in April to investigate the building situa- 

 tion with a view to stabilizing construction and further said that lumber 

 prices today are firm with an upward tendency in the better grades. Indi- 

 cations are that the increase In prices will be felt the remainder of the 

 year on better grades, while others will remain stationary. 



