50 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



September 10, 1919 



The CHICAGO 



APPROVED PORTABLE 



Watchman's 

 Clock 



with its special Waltham movement, its lock 

 stations and its superior quality throughout, is 

 especially desirable for mills and factories and 

 for either in-door or out-door patrol. 



Write ior booklet 



CHICAGO WATCHMAN'S CLOCK WORKS 



No. 9 Church Street, NEW YORK 

 1526 So. Wabash Ave., CHICAGO 



Your request on your 

 letterhead brings you a 

 complete set of Bulle- 

 tins — gratis, of course. 



you make up your 

 mind about the trend 

 of COMMODITY 

 PRICES get our 

 opinions — opinions 

 that are based on eco- 

 nomic facts. 



Brookmire Economic Service, Inc. 



56 Pine Street, NEW YORK 



VESTAL LUMBER 

 & MFG. COMPANY 



INCORPORATED 



Soft Textured Oak 



Poplar 



Black Walnut 



Tenn. Red Cedar 



KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE 



BAND MILLS AT VESTAL 



A SUBURB OF KNOXVILLE 



FONDE, KY. 



$125,000, about 500,000 teet of hardwood lumber being included in the loss. 

 The dry kilns and office buildings were saved. The mill employes, who 

 number about 145, probably will be shifted to Newberry until it is decided 

 whether to rebuild at Reed City. 



Attempts were made early in the morning of September 5 to destroy 

 three lumber yards and a quantity of lumber at the plant of the Luce 

 Furniture Company, the fire loss amounting to $75,000 and including the 

 loss of about ,$2,500 in hardwood lumber at the furniture plant. The 

 Marquette Lumber Company suffered to the extent of $50,000, the Stiles 

 Bros. Lumber Company, to the extent of more than $15,000, and the Speara 

 Lumber Company to a slight amount, the fire at the latter place being 

 extinguished before it had gained headway. Police are seeking the fire- 

 bugs. 



The Grand Kapids Seating Company has let a contract for a two-story 

 addition, 100 by 150 feet, to its plant. 



The Hardwood Market 



CHICAGO 



The Chicago trade is on its toes In expectation of an early settlement 

 of the disastrous carpenters' strike and building trades lockout, which 

 has tied up the building situation completely here during the past couple 

 of months. Every day seems to l>riug the situation near to a settlement 

 not so much because of conce-ssion on the part of the strikers but because 

 of their rapidly losing out in popular favor and also losing favor In the 

 ranks of other union men affected. It seems that pressure will gradually 

 be increased until settlement is forced probably on the basis of 92 Vi cents 

 as offered by the contractors. 



With the opening up of the building business again there will be added 

 a vast consuming influence, which will tend to still further strengthen 

 local conditions, as even in the absence of building construction the local 

 situation seems to be strong. 



The tendency in the last few months has been to reach a greater and 

 greater stabilization, and while this has been accomplished with slight 

 easing off in prices in some items, the rule in general has been merely 

 to stabilize on a basis of prices already established. 



BUFFALO 



The hardwood trade continues good, with a strong range of prices pre- 

 vailing. The difficulty of getting stock Is still pronounced and while some 

 mills may have caught up with their orders to a large extent they are 

 being much hampered in shipment by the lack of cars. The demand is well 

 distributed over numerous woods. Quartered oak and ash are about the 

 scarcest woods. Consumers regard the present prices of stock as too high, 

 though they are unable to find anybody who wants to cut to get bu.siness. 

 If a cut were made to agree with the ideas of purchasers it would be an 

 easy matter to sell everything in the yards within a short time. 



A falling off in the export demand for hardwoods is reported and this 

 line is expected to be subject to disarrangement until the foreign exchange 

 situation is cleared up. It is said that the market has been pretty well 

 supplied recently with export lumber, and It may take a little while for a 

 recovery to occur in the demand. Buyers are desirous of the lumber, but 

 do not want to pay the extra amount required in order to get it. A good 

 many purchases are being held back for a time. 



BALTIMORE 



In a general way it is to be said that conditions in the hardwood trade 

 remain about as they have been for some time, with the quotations from 

 different sellers often differing widely, at times as much as $15 or $20, 

 and with the tendency in some of the divisions still upward. But there 

 is also a modification in the prevailing state of affairs, this modification 

 being in the nature of something of a halt to the Inclination of intending 

 purchasers to follow the rise in the figures. At least some of the buyers 

 have begun to manifest a disposition to set limits and to declare that 

 they will not go beyond a certain price. This tendency is perhaps to be 

 regarded as growing out of the situation created by the foreign ship- 

 ments. Stocks of hardwoods have been going forward in such volume 

 that a large accumulation on the other side has resulted. Many exporters 

 took the view that the moment the bars were down a great rush to get 

 stocks of American woods would ensue, and they wanted to be prepared 

 to take care of the rush. Consequently they made use of every oppor- 

 tunity to forward shipments, ignoring the passibility that the buyers 

 abroad might not be in a position to absorb such stcoks. It has become 

 quite clear of late that the readiness of the foreign trade to take up 

 American lumber has been, to say the least, very much overestimated. 

 Of course, the labor troubles on the other side have helped ; but the fact 

 remains that the foreign ports, especially those of Great Britain, have 

 become congested, with no room on the docks and with scores of vessels 

 lying in the harbor unable to unload. This has caused pressure upon the 

 quotations, and a very distinct lowering of prices has been the result. 

 Meanwhile heavy charges are piling up against the shipments sent over 

 on consignment, and the fear i.-* expressed that some of the shippres will 



