wm 



vTTnv 



yp 



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

 Mill and Wood- Working Machinery, on the 10th and 25lh of each Month, by 



THE HARDWOOD COMPANY 



Henry H. Gibson 

 Edwin W. Meeker 

 Hu Maxwell 



Editor and Manager 

 >-Associate Editors 



Entire Sev nth Floor Ellsworth Building 

 537 So. Dearborn Street, CHICAGO 

 Telephon. »• Harrison 8086-8087-8088 



NEW > 

 60TAM 



Oakoi 



Vol. XXXVI 



CHICAGO, JUNE 10, 1913 



No. 4 



'i'ty8m:asc>a<i;'.TO'ji"CK^;x;ii:<tiyAyi^^ 



Review and Outlook 



General Market Conditions 



THE GENERAL CONDITIOX of the lumber business was pretty 

 clearly pointed out at the recent meeting of the National Lum- 

 ber Manufacturers' Association at Kansas City, where oue ses- 

 sion was devoted to the reports of the various affiliated associa- 

 tions representing the lumber trade of the entire country and 

 making up the membership of that organization. Considerable 

 satisfaction can be derived from reports of the representatives of 

 the various associations, no one of which was in any way pessi- 

 mistic. It is true that representatives of southern pine manu- 

 facturers did not hesitate in stating that yellow pine prices are 

 not holding uniformly — in fact that yellow pine values are more 

 or less uncertain. But this condition has been noted so fre- 

 quently the last few years that it should cause no anxiety. The 

 yellow pine business, made up as it is of large operators, a great 

 many of whom are heavily bonded, does not offer a criterion from 

 which to judge of conditions in other branches of the lumber 

 business. The necessity for meeting current obligations in the 

 form of interest on bonds makes it imperative that yellow pine 

 stocks be moved quickly at all times. 



There was, however, an easily noticeable undercurrent indi- 

 cating that business is not active in any part of the countr}', 

 although this inactivity was in practically every case attributed 

 to temporary causes in addition to the fact that this slump is 

 usually noted at this season of the year. It is not at all im 

 probable that, as regards the hardwood situation, demand has been 

 somewhat held up pending the adjustment of the grading question 

 which has commanded the attention of producing and consuming 

 elements of the hardwood business for a couple of months back. 

 The conclusion of this question should undoubtedly result in some 

 little stimulation of business. The biggest factor in the hardwood 

 business as well as in all other branches of the lumber business 

 and various other industries of the country which tends to a laxity 

 of trade is, as has been the case for some months, the proceedings 

 of Congress at Washington. In addition, there is an unques- 

 tioned tightness of money, although this feature is not so serious 

 as it has been. On the whole, business in general could hardly 

 expect any general resumption of activity until the various na- 

 tional questions of importance have been satisfactorily adjusted. 



Speaking intimately of hardwood conditions, the various con- 

 suming elements are about on a par as far as activity of inquiry 

 is concerned. Railroads are in many cases planning extensive 

 improvements and additions to rolling stock. Building opera- 

 tions are in satisfactory shape in most of the large centers of 

 the country. The automobile trade is exhibiting quite a little 

 activity, but inasmuch as a number of the large auto manufac- 



turers ha\c ailoptcil tlie metal bodies, tliis factor is not of so much 

 importance as it was several years ago. 



The same relative condition is manifest regarding the various 

 species and grades of wood offered by hardwood producers. 



Logging with Motor Truck 



"THE PICTURE ON THE FRONT COVER of this issue of Hard- 

 *■ WOOD Record represents the latest evolution in log haul- 

 ing. The truck made its appearance in the hardwood region of 

 northern Ohio about a year ago and has made good. It is built ^ 

 by the White Company' of Cleveland. No claim is made for it 

 that it will or can take the place of the logging locomotive and 

 railroad, but its particular field of usefulness lies in the woodlot 

 regions where there is not enough timber in any one locality to 

 justify the building of a railroad. It is equipped to do more than 

 simply carry loads. It is a skidder, and can take the place of 

 a donkey engine in dragging logs, by means of a drum, out of 

 ravines and swamps. It loads and unloads by its own power, and 

 does the work quickly. It transfers its load to the steam cars 

 when it reaches the railroad station. The rear wheels have a 

 twenty-two inch tread and are equipped with corrugated surfaces 

 like the wheels of a traction engine. The speed is irhui seven 

 to ten miles an hour, and the normal load is fivis tons, or about 

 -,000 feet of logs; but it occasionally carries six tons. It keeps 

 the road at all seasons of the year, and is not put out of commission 

 by an ordinary depth of snow or a moderate amount of mud. 

 While it may be taken over rough roads, it is not designed to 

 displace logging wheels among stumps, ruts, and logs. The most 

 efficient work is obtained where roads are fairly good; but it can 

 successfully drag logs out of ravines several hundred feet deep. 



The Conventions 



THE TWO GREAT CONVENTIONS which occurred last week, 

 that of the National Lumber Manufacturers' Association at 

 Kansas City, on June 3 and 4, and of the National Hardwood 

 Lumber Association at- Chicago, on June 5 and 6, marked a new 

 era in association benefit as realized from the convention floor. 

 While an association might be highly efficient in the administra- 

 tion of its duties from the secretary's office, it is essential to ulti- 

 mate success that a program of sufficient interest be developed 

 at each annual convention to command the close attention of the 

 membership meeting at this time. The two conventions referred 

 to come very well within these specifications. 



The convention at Kansas City was a veritable whirlwind of 

 interest. These meetings are always characterized by the high- 

 est type of addresses, and under the able leadership of Secretary 



