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Copyright, The Hardwood Company, 1919 



Published in the Interest of the American Hardwood Forests, the Products thereof, and Logging, Saw 

 Mill and Woodworking Machinery, on the 10th and 2Sth of each Month, by 



THE HARDWOOD COMPANY 



Edgar H. Defebaugh, President 

 Edwin W. Meeker, Managing Exlitor 

 Hu Maxwell, Technical Editor 



Seventh Floor Ellsworth Building 

 53 7 So. Dearborn St., CHICAGO 

 Telephones: Harrison 8086-8087 



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Miinimiiiiiii iiiiiiU 



Vol. XLVII. 



Chicago, April 25, 1919 



No. 1 



General Market Conditions 



npHE CONCERTED EECOGNITIOX by furniture men, as shown 

 •*• in the case goods alliance convention last week, of the possi- 

 bility of continuance of present or higher lumber prices, is fortunate 

 particularly if the manufacturers represented follow up the discus- 

 sion with a buying policy. The serious menace of hardwood short- 

 age has not been an imaginary condition, but has constituted a 

 growing threat which if not recognized would very shortly have be- 

 gun to seriously embarrass consuming factories needing hardwood 

 in quantities. The trend of tlie discussion at that convention can 

 justifiably be accepted as a criterion by the hardwood buying trade 

 at large, and the warning carried in that discussion, suggesting 

 even higher prices based on further' cost increases and continued 

 shortages, should be heeded wherever hardwood lumber is consumed. 



The improvement in the building situation has gone far enough 

 so that there remains no doubt of its genuineness. Building work 

 is developing because tlie demand is so overwhelming that it can not 

 longer be denied. There is little question as to the justification for 

 building under present prices for there is so good a chance for maxi- 

 mum returns in the way of rental that the increased investment will 

 be more than offset. The recognition of this condition resulting 

 from the excessive demand and extreme shortage, is rapidly bringing 

 about a condition under which building activity promises to become 

 almost feverisli. 



Chicago is a pretty fair illustration to use as typifying the build- 

 ing situation through the Middle West. This city is short 50,000 

 apartments and the hotel and office accommodations are crowded 

 to the limit. The result is that building permits show a new high 

 record, aggregating an average of about $300,000 a day in permits 

 issued. This is an actual figure representing progress so far made 

 for April. It is a logical result of the application of the old balance 

 of supply and demand. In any line it can not but follow, with sup- 

 ply so extremely short and demand so exceedingly strong, that in- 

 vestors will be attracted to the proposition by a promise of thor- 

 oughly satisfactory returns. Such a development is inevitable in 

 building as is being illustrated every day in almost any city in the 

 country. 



From the hardwood men's standpoint this growth in building 

 activity is especially promising as a very good proportion of the 

 new work will be of a character using large amounts of hardwood 

 materials. It is a fact that looking at the matter from the future 

 standpoint, hardwood occupies a more solid foundation than other 

 branches of lumber. A large part of the demand for hardwoods 

 arises from the fact that this material offers something in the way 



of attractiveness and utility that makes substitution for it impossi- 

 ble. This can not be said of the ordinary building lumbers and as 

 a result while substitution might make serious inroads into build- 

 ing lumber markets it will never seriously affect hardwood markets. 



Following the same line of reason, hardwood men have a distinct 

 advantage in their advertising in that they are able to appeal to the 

 aesthetic sense, and as it is usually the woman who finally decides 

 which wood is to be used in the furniture or finish of the new home, 

 this appeal is the strongest. Therefore, it can be expected that the 

 net result in the way of stimulating markets and holding public at- 

 tention to hardwood lumber products will be productive in the maxi- 

 mum degree. So it may be concluded that so far as substitutes are 

 concerned the threat against the hardwood markets in the future 

 is not particularly serious. 



From everywhere are coming more optimistic reports of demand 

 and this is not at all to be wondered at for consuming factories are 

 frank to admit the increasing volume of their own business. In 

 the furniture lines business is strong, in fact, some factories are 

 not accepting new orders. The automobile trade is maintaining a 

 large volume of production for the most part and with the new 

 tendency toward more decorative and ornate cars, and as consider- 

 able quantities of lumber are used in combined winter and summer 

 bodies, the field here will be big. 



It is generally estimated that to date only about four per cent of 

 the population has purchased phonographs. The potential propor- 

 tions of this field are so tremendous that they are incomprehensible 

 at a glance. The phonograph field has long since established itself 

 as the largest single factor in the hardwood panel business, but the 

 fact must not be lost sight of that there is also a substantial amount 

 of solid wood going into these machines, and just as the growth 

 of the phonograph business has been reflected on the panel busi- 

 ness, so it will be reflected on solid hardwood lumber for the legs, 

 corners, tops and other parts. 



It remains to be seen just what effect the application of the new 

 government taxation on the so-called luxuries is going to have on 

 the demand for certain lines of pleasure giving articles. To illus- 

 trate: There is an excessive tax on small pleasure craft. The result 

 is that manufacturers face such a restricted demand that several 

 of them are either going out of this business entirely and developing 

 other lines, or turning a fair proportion of their manufacturing 

 facilities over to other work. It is problematical whether the tax 

 on musical instruments will materially affect the demand. Prob- 

 ably not, as many of .these articles are sold on the installment basis 

 and it is probable that the selling houses will arrange for the distri- 



