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H A R D W O O D RECORD 



The Old Swimming Hole 



HE COVEE PICTUKE illustrating this issue of Hardwood 

 Record will remind the reader that the clock of change is strik- 

 ing the hours in this country. :in the distance the furnace for burn- 

 ing slabs and sawdust betrays the presence of an up-to-date sawmill 

 in the immediate vicinity, and in the foreground the line of tim- 

 bers bolted and chained together shows that the old swimming hole 

 is now put to uses /unknown in its early days. A log boom is 

 anchored there, but the pond's depleted condition indicates that the 

 sawmill has had a good run of business and has cut and sold lumber 

 faster than the river could bring the logs down. Scenes such as 

 this are common today on most rivers with forested areas near the 

 sources of their tributaries. Log drives may not be as immense 

 and as spectacular as they once were, but they are far from being 

 things of the past. The "driving flood" is still waited for along 

 the courses of scores of rivers, and some of them flow through 

 thickly-settled regions. The picture shows part of the plant of the 

 Kentucky Lumber Company at Williamsburg, Ky., on the Cumber- 

 land river. 



With the Currency Bill 



THE CURRENCY BILL, advocated and insisted upon by Presi- 

 dent Wilson, passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 

 286 to 84 on September 18. The action followed insertion in the 

 measure of a declaration for the maintenance of the gold standard 

 by an overwhelming vote and the refusal to amend so as to forbid 

 interlocking directorates by a vote of 266 to 100., Aside from this 

 change the bill was practically unamended in its essential pro- 

 visions. 



The measure now goes to the Senate where a long consideration 

 before the banking committee awaits it. 



The threatened revolt of the Democrats as a protest against the 

 caucus methods through which the bill was forced upon them, failed 

 to materialize as only three members of the Democratic party voted 

 against it. These votes, however, were more than offset by the sup- 

 port received from Republicans and Progressives. 



The measure as it passed will eliminate the present American 

 bank note system, under which banks issue currency against govern- 

 ment bonds, and establish a currency to be issued by twelve federal 

 reserve banks based on sound commercial paper, which the government 

 assumes the responsibility of redeeming in gold or other lawful 

 money. 



The bill, if it becomes a law, will give control of practically every 

 phase of banking to a federal reserve board of seven members to be 

 appointed by the president, and a council of bankers, which will have 

 only advisory powers. Twelve reserve banks would administer the 

 system, these banks to be situated in twelve geographical divisions 

 of the country. They would be capitalized at $5,000,000 each, which 

 capital would be subscribed by the various individual banks in each 

 district. 



Senator Owen, chairman of the Senate currency and banking com- 

 mittee, stated a few days ago that he expects his committee to report 

 the house bill within two weeks. The president intends to help Mr. 

 Owen to force the committee to reach an early decision. 



Senator T. E. Burton of Ohio attacked the administration cur- 

 rency bill vigorously before the American Institute of Bankers in 

 annual session at Bristol, Va., last week. He condemned the regional 

 reserve bank plan proposed in the bill, but his criticism was aimed 

 chiefly at the provision authorizing the federal reserve board to con- 

 trol the issuance of currency. "It is based on an erroneous idea," 

 he said, "namely that a government or political organization may 

 properly assume the providing of a supply of paper currency, directly 

 or indirectly." It is proposed that the government shall assume in the 

 first instance the redemption of all circulating notes. These, accord- 

 ing to Mr. Burton, should be left to the bauks exclusively. He said 

 that it might be necessary for the treasury itself to maintain a gold 

 reserve as is now held for the redetmption of greenbacks. He said 

 that while the proposed plan would cause no derangement in times 

 of fair weather, it would create a serious obligation for the govern- 

 ment to redeem circulating notes in times of panic and might in fact 

 seriously impair the government 's credit. 



Discussing the plan to put the reserve bank system under the 

 control of a federal reserve board, Mr. Burton said that such an 

 organization might at first seem an ideal solution, but that it is the 

 bane of the national life that politics enter all administrative duties. 

 The competition between opposing parties is so keen • that those 

 engaged in enterprises do not feel sure that the authority of a 

 political board will not be used for partisan advantages. 



Export Conditions Promising 



EVEN MORE SIGNAL EVIDENCE than any yet supplied that 

 the congestion and low prices abroad are causing a great eon- 

 traction in the exports of lumber and logs from the port of Baltimore 

 is furnished by the statement of shipments to foreign countries for 

 the month of August, which statement was completed about Septem- 

 ber 8. This shows by comparison with the corresponding month for 

 1912 that the woods principally affected by excessive forwardings 

 earlier in the year have undergone a most significant shrinkage iu 

 exports, the total for the month being less than a third of the value 

 of exports for .August, 1912. So pronounced was the check upon the 

 movement that there can be no doubt as to the cause, oak, poplar and 

 other woods being among the principal items concerned. If the 

 shrinkage went on in the same proportion at other ports of the United 

 States, the inference is permissible that it will not be long before 

 the stocks abroad are reduced to such proportions that the foreign 

 buyers will be glad to pay the prices asked by the exporters in order 

 to secure an adequate supply of lumber, for this country remains the 

 principal source of supply, a position from which it is not at all 

 likely to be ousted for many years to come. 



The exports of hickory logs feU from 15,000 to 10,000 feet, those 

 of walnut logs from 106,000 to 25,000 feet, those of oak lumber 

 from 3,982,000 to a mere 1,172,000 feet, those of poplar from 275,000 

 to 167,000 feet, those of "all other woods" from 437,000 to 296,000 

 feet, those of staves from 105,448 to 9,175, while similarly heavy re- 

 ductions are to be noted in nearly every additional item on the list. 

 The total declared value of all the exports of lumber, logs and manu- 

 factures of wood for last August were only $99,079 against not less 

 than $331,954 for the corresponding month of 1912. 



Evidently, there cannot be the slightest doubt that the warnings 

 of leading foreign brokers as to the state of the market abroad and 

 the unwisdom of shipping on consignment are being extensively 

 heeded, and this also suggests that under the circumstances a material 

 improvement in the situation may be expected to make itself felt 

 before long. 



A Change of Front 



SEVERAL YEARS AGO Hardwood Record came to a realization 

 of the harmful effect to the lumber industry that was certain to 

 result from a continuance of the propagandists' work carried on by 

 the advocates of the steel car if their work were allowed to progress 

 without opposition from the lumber trade. Recognizing at the same 

 time the practical helplessness of the task of trying to combat the 

 work of the steel interests in furthering the elimination of the wooden 

 railroad coach single handed, Hardwood Record nevertheless under- 

 took to do its best to at least awaken a sentiment among the lum- 

 bermen themselves, which would result in their instigating some move 

 that would have the effect at least of giving the wooden car a fair 

 trial before the court of public opinion. 



These efforts were carried on by Hardwood Record through numer- 

 ous editorials and special articles that have been run at frequent 

 intervals since their first appearance. All these articles were supide- 

 mented by thousands and thousands of reprints, which have been 

 sent broadcast throughout the country to various individuals and 

 concerns who are in a position to affect the situation one way or 

 another. In addition, various personal letters were addressed to dif- 

 ferent individuals, such as the presidents of the big railway systems 

 of the country, all for the purpose of securing for the wooden railroad 

 coach the advantage of a fair consideration on the part of those in 

 charge of the installation or changes of equipment. 



For a long time this work was carried on without attracting any 

 particular attention even. Hardwood Record is loath to admit, from 

 the lumbermen themselves, who are necessarily most vitally interested 



