HARDWOOD RECORD 



order: Yellow poplar, eotton'nood, white oak. birch, tupelo, elm. 

 basswood, and beeeh. Of the high-priced imported woods, mahogauy 

 was used in largest quantity, followed by Spanish eedar, Circassian 

 walnut and Knglish oak, in the order named, with relatively unimpor- 

 tant quantities of other species. 



While the industry of veneer manufacture has become one of 

 relatively wide geographic distribution, operations during the past 

 year having been reported from thirty-four states, more than ninety- 

 five per cent of the total quantity of timber consumed was reported 

 from Arkansas, Missouri and the states east of the Mississippi river. 



Furtliermia-c. ucariy fifty-five )>ci mil ut' tlie total quantity of timber 

 used as veneer material in 191(1 was consumed in ilichigan. Indiana, 

 Illinois, Arkansas. Missouri. Wisconsin, iS'ew York and Tennessee, 

 ranking in the order named. A singular fact in connection with 

 this practical centering of the industry is that, measured by the 

 quantity of material used, the volume of operations in each of these 

 eight leading states was substantially the same. Michigan reported 

 the largest consumption, namely. 3.5.981,000 feet, log scale, and 

 Tennessee, the smallest of the group. l!7,66.'5,000 feet, log scale, the 

 totals for the other six states falling between these limits. 



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Ihe twenty-third annu^d meeting of the .Xortlnvi'strrn Hardwood 

 Lumbermen's Association was held at the Ryan hotel, St. Paul, on 

 the afternoon of Tuesday, December 5, and was followed by a ban- 

 quet in the evening. Aljout twenty five mcndiers of the association 

 and visitors were present. 



In his annual address President \V. 11. Sill paid a fril)ute to the 

 late (ieorge H. Tennant. He recited that since the organization of 

 the National Hardwood Lumber Association, the burdens of the 

 Xorthwesterii Hardwood Lumbermen's Association had been con- 

 siderably lessened. He urged all members who are not members of 

 the parent association that it would be to their interest to become 

 allied with it. President Sill also comi)limented the president and 

 secretary of the national organization for the good work they had 

 done. 



He further said: '"Now that universal inspection is an accom- 

 plished fact, I believe the most important problem confronting us 

 today is the securing of proper and honest railroad weights. ' ' The 

 president reported the additicm of five new members, making a total 

 of twenty, who handle approximately 7:5.000.000 feet of lumber 

 annually. He discussed the market conditions in the section of the 

 country in which the association is interested, and said he believed 

 northern woods had suffered to a considerable extent with the increase 

 of the consumption of southern lumber, notably yellow pine. He said 

 curly birch, one of the choicest of hardwoods, goes liegging while a 

 man building a house, say for three thousand dollars or over, uses 

 softwood for liirch when he could employ birch without any addi- 

 tional cost, and have something worth while. 



Keferring to the inroads that paper containers are iiLakiui; mi the 

 box business, he believed that this line of production had reached 

 its zenith. He further recited that moulding manufacturers had to 

 a large extent substituted gum, cottonwood and even pine for bass- 

 wood, in consequence of which No. 1 common and better basswood 

 is not selling as readily or bringing as high a price as it should. 

 He further said that rock elm, "probably the hardest of all woods," 

 is almost unsaleable, but both woods he insisted were sure to return 

 to favor within a short time. 



He further alleged that the relative consumption of hardwoods for 

 1910 ran, first, oak; second, gum; third, maple; fourth, poplar; fifth, 

 chestnut; Sixth, beech; seventh, birch; eighth, basswood, and ninth, 

 elm, so unless northern .iobbers handled a good projjortion of south- 

 ern woods they were handicapped in volume nf business. He 

 thought the political turmoil of the next year will li;ive a halting 

 effect on buslne.ss. He suggested that one remedy for prosperity 

 for members during the next year would be to exercise more care 

 in buying on the principle that "a thing well bought is half sold," 

 but that some were lame in making purchases; that on the base of 

 recent experience both the millman and the jobber had hamlled 

 'business at too small a jirofit. 



He .itated he believed the losses and failurcB of consumers during 

 the year had been small, but he thought even this small loss coulil 

 be practically eliminated. 



Following, Secretary Hayden read a brief report covering details 

 of the work of the association during the past year. 



The report of the treasurer showed a balance of $30.3'1. 



A. II. Barnard of the memljcrship committee reported apjilicatious 

 for membenship from the Twin City Hardwood Company :iii(l the 

 Eddy Lumber Company, which were accepted. 



The association went on record as being in sympathy with the 

 attitude of the St. Louis lumbermen, based on the recent set of reso- 

 lutions passed by that organization deprecating attacks on the lumber 

 industry. 



After this considerable routine l)usiiH's.s was transacted. 

 The election of officers followed, whii-ii resulted as follows: 



I'KESIDE.NT : \V. H. Sill, Minneapolis. 

 Vice-Pkesioext : F. A. Nuhui. St. I'aul. 

 Secretary : J. F. Haj-den, Minucaijolis. 

 Treasukeb : C. F. Osborne, Minneapolis. 



Board, op Arbitration ; P. If. Mamilton. chairman ; A. S. liliss, \A". 

 C. Stanton, F. M. Bartelme, A. E. Petcu'son. 



At the banquet in the evening, Mayor H. E. Keilar of St. Paul 

 was the guest of honor, and welcomed the members of the associa- 

 tion, expressing his approval of business men in the same line of 

 trade getting together. 



(). O. Agler of Chicago explained the work of the National Hard 

 wood Lumber Association, and Frank F. Fish, secretary of the same 

 organization, went into further details along the same lines, saying 

 that several individual members of the Northwestern association had 

 been particularly valuable to the National organization, and made spe- 

 cial reference to the work of D. F. Clark and A. H. Barnard. 



Carriage and Wagon Materials 



Census Director Durand has issued a iirelimiuary statement 

 based on the last census covering the carriage and wagon in- 

 ilustry. The report involves a comjiarative statement between 

 the business of 1904 and 1909. In this comparison the capital 

 investment shows an increase between the periods named of 

 fifteen per cent; the gross value of products, an increase of three 

 per cent; cost of materials, an increase of six per cent; a twenty- 

 one per cent increase in salaries, ami an increase in jirimarv 

 horsepower of nineteen ]ier cent. 



Thi' number of establishments decreased two per cent; the 

 number of wage earners increased ten ))er cent; amount paid for 

 wages increased two per cent; miscelhmeous expense increased 

 four per cent. 



'I'luTi' were 4,49:i maiiiiractinini; I'shiliiishments in 1909 and 

 .5,.58S in 1901, a decrease of two per cent. The capital invested 

 as reported in 1909 was $17.5,474.000, as comiiared with $1.5l!,:!4.5,- 

 000 invested in 1904. 



The total value of products was .$1.59,89:!,0O0 in 1909, and 

 $1:5:5,869,000 in 19ii4, an increase of three per cent. The cost of 

 materials employed was .$81,9.51,000 in 1909 against $77,258,000 in 

 1904, an increase of six per cent. 



The ri'port indicates a growing ilecreaso in the number of car- 

 riages miiniif;ictured during the jieriOjd under consideration, this 

 business being absorbed by the juitomobile industry. There is also 

 :i decrease in Ihe number ami value of sleighs and sleds h;iving 

 been made since 1909. 



