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flSMwoM RecoM 



Copyright, The Hardwood CoiiPANX, 1917 



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

 Mill and Woodworking Machinery, on the 10th and 25lh of each Month, by 



THE HARDWOOD COMPANY 



Edgar H. Defebaugh, President 

 Edwin \V. Meeker, Managing Editor 

 Hu Maxwell, Technical Editor' 



Entire Seventh Floor Ellsworth Building 

 537 So. Dearborn Street, CHICAGO 

 Telephones: Harrison 8086-8087-8088 



Vol. XLII CHICAGO, APRIL 10, 1917 



No. 12 



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Review and Outlook 



General Market Conditions 



IT IS SAI'E TO SAY that the germ of absolute confidence in the 

 present and immediate future of the hardwood trade has been 

 planted so deeply and so well that it has secured a permanent footing. 

 It is rare that one finds a representative member of the hardwood 

 trade who, even though he might be a natural pessimist, is not 

 thoroughly convinced that no matter what the trend of events, no 

 matter what the developments, nothing short of a total calamity can 

 work adversely to the hardwood markets. 



Even our entrance into the war has failed to cause more than a 

 sligbt ripple, as the basic conditions were too solid and the country 

 at large too inured to excitement and too proof against hysteria to 

 permit of anything even remotely suggestive of panic. So the most 

 critical point as far as its immediate effect upon business is con- 

 cerned, that is, the actual declaration of a state of war, has passed 

 without substantial harm and there is no likelihood that developments 

 in the immediate future will cause further derangement. 



And what is the fundamental reason for this strength? Merely 

 that hardwood operators in all sections are working in closer harmony 

 than they ever have before, that there is a more general appreciation 

 of the precise conditions of the markets due to the dissemination of 

 market information, that the extremely broken stocks north, south, 

 east and west and the meager promise of replenishment is everywhere 

 recognized as is also the necessity for getting more for lumber to meet 

 advancing manufacturing costs. 



Briefly the situation is this: In the North the season began with 

 considerably less than normal stocks. On top of that the production 

 of logs and lumber has been less than needed and, possibly, even less 

 than normal, due as much to labor difficulties and shortages as to any- 

 thing else. The situation there has been constantly aggravated, and 

 as far as stocks are concerned the lumber available to the call of the 

 user is rapidly vanishing and prices, which have been climbing steadily, 

 will unquestionably get to a point where in spite of increased costs the 

 millman begins to make some money. 



In the southern sections the same conditions held through the 

 winter. Now, as a matter of fact, advancing water and overwhelming 

 rains have so soaked the logging districts, which in the main lie in the 

 low grounds, that many mUls are threatened' with the prospect of 

 immediate shutdown because they simply can not get the logs in. 



In the Southeast, through the moxmtain country, an absolute dearth 

 of shipping stocks prevails. Many mOl people have as a matter of fact 

 shipped beyond the quantities shown on their stock Usts, and here, as 

 practically everywhere else, many sales are being made prac- 

 tieally from the saw. Also, all sections continue to be oppressed by 

 aggravated shipping conditions and in several cases (and the tendency 



is growing) salesmen have been called in or have received orders to 

 report in in the near future, as it is impossible to accept more business. 

 There is scarcely an item that is not moving briskly. In the higher 

 priced cabinet woods mahogany is practically shut off from Cuba on 

 account of the revolutionary conditions, as it is from Mexico, while the 

 African supply is more nearly approaching the status of Circassian 

 imports month by month. Walnut has seen strong price advances and 

 while there is ample supply for all needs, walnut producers are faced 

 with the same general difficidties as manufacturers of other lines. Oak 

 seems to have gotten itself back in a strong way, although it is re- 

 ported not quite so brisk in some quarters as it was some time ago. 

 Eight on down the line, gum, birch, ash, poplar, Cottonwood, and all of 

 them are doing well with every promise of doing even better. There 

 is not a tangible indication on any horizon of the possibility of real 

 mishap to the hardwood situation, and if there remains a buyer who is 

 not now thoroughly convinced that he should buy when he has the 

 opportunity, that man must have an overwhelmingly good supply of 

 raw materials and an extraordinary vision and ample confidence in his 

 own judgment. 



The Cover Picture 



STUDY THE SUEFACE AND BENEATH THE SITEFACE, 

 and the cover picture which illustrates this issue of Hardwood 

 Eecord becomes an interesting theme. It might appropriately be 

 given the title: "A Mountain Tragedy." At first sight the reason 

 for such a title may not appear. It is a log cabin with a mixed hard- 

 wood and softwood forest as a background, and in front a yard, run 

 riot with planted reeds, shrubs and flowers, with a woman, a dog, 

 and three small children gathered in a group for the evident purpose 

 of facing the photographer's camera. The picture was taken by a 

 representative of Haedwood Eecord high among the mountains of 

 Swain county. North Carolina. 



The tragedy is suggested by the situation. The flowers and shrubs 

 in a place as remote and wild as th&t reveal a taste for refinement 

 and a pitiful attempt to satisfy that taste amid insurmountable dis- 

 couragements. The woman who lives there deserves a better fate. 

 While she may grace a cabin in the woods, there is no question that 

 she would have graced a better home and more refining conditions, 

 had the opportunity come to her. It did not come, and she has made 

 the best of the situation by surroim^ing the mountain shack with 

 flowers in an attempt to realize in some degree her desire for beau- 

 tiful things. 



The first settlers in the mountains of western North CaroUna were 

 of the best English stock, with an intermixture of Scotch. A cen- 

 tury and a half of isolation from the rest of the world placed their 



