36 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



March 25, lOlT" 



P. G. Booker 



Extreme regret was expressed on every siile relative to the death in 

 ludianapolis on March 20 of V. G. Booker of Louisville, former head of 

 the Boolier-Cecil Lumber Company and member of the LoulsvUle Hard- 

 wood Club. Mr. Boolier was twenty-ei^ht years old and died of pneu- 

 monia after an illness of ten days. He is survived by his wife, two chil- 

 dren and a number of relatives in Louisville, including two brothers, 

 Bodley Bool^cr and S. E. Booker, of the Booker Box Compan.v, and Preston 

 Joyes, a brother-in-law, connected with the W. P. Brown & Sons Lumber 

 Company. At the time of his death Mr. Booker was visiting his father- 

 in-law, H. H. Bingham. 



Kentucky Mill About to Start 



TIic Vestal Lumber & Manufacturing Company, Knoxville, Tenn., has 

 purchased a band sawmill and logging road at Fonde, Ky., and will op- 

 erate it in the near future, in addition to its mills at Knoxville. The Fonde 

 mill has several thousand acres of white oak and poplar timber behind it, 

 and is thereby assured a steady run for a number of years. 

 A Change in Location 



The Austin Veneer and Lumber Company has announced a change of 

 location of offices after April 1, from 14 East .Tackson boulevard, Chicago, 

 to 1844-46 Carroll avenue. The stock hitherto stored at 444 West Grand 

 avenue will be moved to the new location. The company handles veneers 

 of both domestic and foreign woods, but specializes in mahogany and wal- 

 nut, and the advantage of the new location consists in its accessibility. 



Will Erect a Sawmill 



It is announced from Houston, Mich., that a sawmill with a capacity of 

 20,000 feet a day is to be built about three miles from L'Anse by Wick 

 O'Connell and associates to cut a body of timber recently purchased on 

 Buddo's creek, a tributary of Fall river. The tract is heavily timbered, 

 and when the cutting is done, the land will be disposed of for farming 

 purposes. 



Chair Plant to Enlarge 



Arrangements have been made by the Marietta Chair Company of Cincin- 

 nati, O., to double its plant. It has added 47,000 feet of floor space, for- 

 merly occupied by the United stales Paper Goods Company. The. prop- 

 erty which has just been taken is on a ten-year lease, and will be used as 

 a warehouse. The location of the company is at Second and Plum streets. 



Will Erect Veneer Plant 



A veneer plant that will give employment to about thirty-five men, and 

 which will manufacture boxes as a side line, will soon locate in Meridan, 

 Miss., according to announcement made in the press of that town. It will 

 be owned by Martin & Son, who have been in business in Tennessee. They 

 have purchased four acres on which to locate the mill. Boxes will be 

 shipped in a knocked-down condition. 



Capt. William O'Neil 



Capt. William O'Neil, enterpri.sing citizen, soldier, and lumbering super- 

 intendent, died recently at his home in Cass Lake, Minn., at the age of 

 sixty-nine years. He was buried in S'baron, Wis. 



At the age of thirteen young O'Xeil enlisted in the l?.th U. S. infantry, 

 with which he served until discharged for disability. On his recovery he 

 enlisted in the 20th regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry and served 

 until the close of the Civil War. In response to the call of President Mc- 

 Kinley in 1808 Capt. O'Neil organized a compauy of militia at Washburn. 

 Wis., where he then resided, which was mustered into service as company 

 K. His commission was that of captain. 



-■Vs a civilian he held offices of trust and responsibility. In 1892 and 

 again in 1894 he was elected to the state assembly of Wisconsin and in 

 1900 he was elected state senator on the Republican ticket. 



On his retirement from active politics, his lumber career of prominence 

 began. He was appointed by President Roosevelt as superintendent of log- 

 ging on the Cass Lake Indian reservation in .Minnesota and served the 

 government in that position up to the time of bis death. During his admin- 

 istration he collected over $9,000,000 on the federal loggiug contracts. 



John Donald Ross 



John Donald Ross, president and principal owner of the Brooks & Ross 

 Lumber Company, Schofleld, Wis., died recently in Pasadena, Cal., following 

 an acute attack of gastritis, at the age of seventy-six years. Mr. Ross 

 had been spending the winter months of each year in the warm and sunny 

 West. It was while he was playing golf at his winter resort in Pasadena 

 tliat he was seized with the malady which proved fatal. 



Mr. Ross was born in Canada, where he began work in the lumber indus- 

 try at the age of fourteen years. When be became twenty-one, he locateil 

 at Ford River, Mich. With A. W. Brooks he bought the Hazeltine Lumber 

 Company at Schofleld in 1883. In 1910 he purchased the interest of bis 

 partner, who died three years ago. Mr. Ross had been for many years a 

 director in the National German American Bank of Hliiuelander, the 

 Avenue State Bank of Chicago, and of the Harlem State Bank of Harlem, 

 111. He was a member of the Wausau i'oimtry Clul>. A widow, three 

 daughters and a son survive him. 



Tariffs Suspended 



Tile rate tariffs which were to have been effective March 15 and April 1 

 on diversions and reconsignmeuts have beeu suspended until July 1.',, 

 jjending a bearing which will be held before the Interstate Commerce Com- 

 mission. 



I Pertinent Infor mation \ 



The River Situation at Memphis 



The Mississippi river at Memphis continues to rise. The stage today 

 is approximately thirty-four feet and it is officially predicted that within 

 the next week or ten days it will reach thirty-eight to thirty-nine feet on 

 the local gauge. Thirty-five feet is flood stage here, with the result that 

 something like three to four feet above this level is anticipated by the 

 local weather bureau. Some unofficial predictions point to a stage of forty 

 or fort.v-two feet. It all depends on the amount of rain that falls within 

 the next few days in the upper valleys of the Mississippi and its tribu- 

 taries. The predictions, official and unofficial, are based on the water now 

 actually in sight and do not take into consideration any further rainfall. 



Tbei-e is already some slight interference with woodworking enterprises 

 along Wolf river in North Memphis and at least two plants in that region 

 will have to suspend operations before the official maximum is reached. 

 There are several plants in New South Memphis, too, which will be ad- 

 versely affected by a stage of thirty-nine feet. There is some threatened 

 loss of logs along Wolf river and likewise threatened overflow of some 

 lumber in New South Memphis. But every precaution is being taken not 

 only to prevent the breaking loose of rafts of logs but also to prevent 

 damage to lumber. The latter is being moved to higher ground where 

 necessary and protecting embankments will be thrown up if these become 

 essential. 



Practically no \uieasiness is felt regarding the levees on cither side of 

 the Mississippi. Officials of the various levee boards report that the em- 

 bankments under their control will successfully withstand a much higher 

 stage than is now indicated and Intimate that a stage of 43 to 44 feet 

 may be cared for without particular trouble. Lumber interests are there- 

 fore feeling rather encouraged over the outlook so far as breaks in the 

 levees are concerned, but they are prepared to co-operate promptly with 

 the levee authorities in the event it becomes necessary to rush men or 

 material to any point that develoi)s weakness or shows signs of yielding 

 to the pressure of the waters. 



The rise in the Mississippi is adding to the difficulties of getting out 

 logs in the valley territory. The high water in this stream means back- 

 water in the tributaries thereof on both sides and this in turn means the 

 overflow of nuich of the lowlands where a large percentage of the limber 

 lies. Furthermore, there have been exceptionally heavy rains through- 

 out the valley states during the past fortnight and the ground is so thor- 

 oughly soaked with water that only those Hrms with unusual facilities 

 and with indomitalile courage are able to make much headway witli lirlng- 

 ing out logs. Logging conditions have been liighly unfavorai)le since the 

 beginning of the year and the outlook for an adequate supply of timber 

 for the mills in this section is regarded as far from encouraging. There 

 is no doubt that every log that can be cut or hauled is being given this 

 treatment because of the recognition of the prospective shortage in supply, 

 but only limited progress is reported. 



Car Shortage Situation 



Statistics reaching the office of the National Lumber Manuf.icturers' As- 

 sociation. Chicago, show that the car shortage has proljably reached its 

 peak as regards lumber shipments. The situation could hardly be worse. 

 The last weekly report of the West Coast Lumbermen's Association shows 

 that one hundred and thirty mills loaded out only 1,270 cars for trans- 

 continental markets for the week ending March 8. this constituting a new 

 low record, and being 1,000 cars short of requirements. .\s a result, a new 

 policy of restricted order acceptances went into effect. Plenty of business 

 was offered, but refxised liecauso of inability 1o make shipments, ifany of 

 the largest mills are said to have ordered their salesAien off the road, espe- 

 cially in eastern and middle western territory. 



The Southern Pine Association reports also show the effect of the car 

 shortage. With orders at nearly normal, shipments, owing to car short- 

 age, have been more than 20 per cent below normal, and the mills liave in 

 consequence partially curtailed production, to a little over 10 per cent less 

 than new orders. 



In Detroit there are reports of a lumber fainine, with stocks from MO 

 to 40 per cent lower (ban they should be. The lumber dealers blame 

 poor shipping facilities and railway inefficiency for the situation, not so 

 much car shortage, as failure of the roads to switch cars so they can be 

 unloaded. 



Baltimore Exports Still Falling Off 



If any expectations bad been eutertaiuod that the foreign trade in lum- 

 ber and logs would show an improvement, such expectations must be 

 abandoned in the face of the showing made by this port for February, 

 which only tends to emphasize the fact that tlie forwardings are under- 

 going a steady shrinkage, without any prospect that a change for the bet- 

 ter will take place at least as long as the war lasts. Some of the principal 

 items on the list of earlier months are entirely absent and olhers cut a 

 mudi less important figure than has been the case in the past, .\mong 

 Ibe former are to be nu'Utioned hickory and walnut logs, oak, sliorlleaf 

 pine and poplar lumber, and it is also mentioned that no box shooks went 

 forward. The total declared value of all the exports during the month is 

 only $07,332, against $71,607 for the same month last year, allhougli the 



