12 



THE HARDWOOD RECORD. 



THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE PRICE. 



It is a fallacy to suppose that in the 

 lumber trade the supply governs the price, 

 It does to a certain point, but beyond that 

 i1 fails. When the supply of any partic- 

 ular kind of lumber becomes less than the 

 demand prices may be advanced to a cer- 

 tain point, but beyond that they cannot 

 be forced. People will use something else. 



If, for instance, the output of cotton- 

 wood lumber could be absolutely con- 

 trolled, those in conti-ol could not, by re- 

 ducing the supply below the demand, com- 

 pel the users of Cottonwood to pay much 

 beyond a reasonable price, for the reason 

 that people are not compelled to use Cot- 

 tonwood. They will use it so long as it 

 offers inducements in the matter of util- 

 ity and price in excess of those offered by 

 other woods. 



In tliese times, when the various sec- 

 tions of the hardwood trade are organiz- 

 ing, it is well to bear the foregoing facts 

 in mind. There is a certain stage of sup- 

 ply at which the highest possible price 

 may be obtained without seriously inter- 

 fering with the consumption, and it should 

 be the policy of an organization to de- 

 termine what that stage is and keep the 

 supply as near to it as possible. The idea 

 that by limiting production prices may be 

 forced to any point desired by the pro- 

 ducers is entirely faUacious. 



It is better for any lumber that it be 

 kept before the trade at all times in suffi- 

 cient supply to meet legitimate demands 

 at reasonable prices. Once a lumber be- 

 comes unduly scarce, or unduly liiS'li in 

 price, people begin to hunt tor a substi- 

 tute—and generally find it. Consumers of 

 lumber are like all other classes of people 

 in this coimtry in their ability to adapt 

 themselves to circumstances. Tbere is no 

 kind of lumber now on the market but 

 they could learn to do without; and a mac- 

 ket once lost is hard to regain. 



Tlie truth of the statements above made 

 have been amply demonstrated in the mat- 

 ter of oak, in this market, during the past 

 six months. During that time the offer- 

 ings of oak have been much below the 

 normal, and that fact, taken in connec- 

 tion with the enormous consumption of 

 hardwood lumber here, as great as ever in 

 the history of Chicago, would seem to in- 

 dicate that those having oak to sell would 

 be able to carry matters with a high hand; 

 but anyone who has canvassed the market 

 for orders will assure you that it isn't so. 



There is probably more building going 

 forward in Chicago this season than ever 

 in its history, with the possible exception 

 of World's Fair year, and if plain oak was 

 in good supply and easy to obtain im- 

 mense quantities of it would be consumed. 

 But plain oak is in scant supply, prices are 

 pretty stiff and grades poor, so people are 

 .(u«ing something else. Of a dozen con- 

 tracts for interior finish at a Chicago plan- 

 ving mill only one specified oak. Birch, cy- 

 IpJftViS. iredwood, mahogany, yellow pine. 



etc. People don't have to use oak finish. 



From all of which it seems that a lum- 

 ber association should give careful con- 

 sideration to the matter of advancin;? 

 prices. Even where such an association 

 controls the supply to a considerable es.- 

 tent it should proceed with gi-eat caution 

 and be careful not to advance prices to an 

 extent that will check consumption, for 

 when stock begins to pile up on the hands' 

 of the producers and orders quit coming 

 in, the situation very soon becomes tick- 

 lish. When a saw mill man sees his lum- 

 ber piles going higher and higher, and his 

 bank account lower and lower, and knows 

 that his neighbor is in the same condition, 

 he is apt to get into a highly nervous state 

 in which "trifles light as air are as con- 

 firmation strong as proof of Holy Writ" 

 And first thing you know he dumps his 

 load and the association vanishes into 

 nothingness like a pricked bubble. 



Before an association attempts to ad- 

 vance prices it should give the matter very 

 careful consideration and be certain it has 

 a strong grip on the situation. When the 

 advance is made it should be made grad- 

 ually and its effect watched very closel.y. 



INDIANA IN THE LEAD. 



The twelfth census of the United States 

 shows some interesting statistics on the 

 lumber industry. The total product of the 

 United States for the year ISO!) was 34.- 

 787,084,000 feet, valued at .$381,298,304. 



Of the total product nearly one-fourth, 

 or 8,0^4,024,000, was hardwoods, and of 

 tJie total value the hardwoods represent 

 nearly one-third, or $110,817,102. 



Indiana, which has been reported as 

 practically cut out for the past ten years, 

 stands at the head of the list of states as 

 a producer of hardwood lumber, with a 

 production of 975,779,000 feet, of a total 

 value of $15,613,203, leading both in 

 amount of production and value. Ohio is 

 a close second, Tennessee third and Michi- 

 gan fourth. Indiana leads in the produc- 

 tion of oak, with Ohio. Tennessee, Ken- 

 tucky and West Virginia following, in the 

 order named. Indiana also leads in the 

 production of hickory, black walnut and 

 sycamore. 



Jlichigan leads in tlie production of 

 maple, with 398,165,000 feet, or .nearly 

 two-thirds the entire product and over two- 

 thirds of the hard maple product. Michi- 

 gan also leads in the production of elm 

 and ash. 



Kentucky leads in the production of pop- 

 lar, with Tennessee, West Virginia and 

 Ohio following. 



Arkansas leads in the production of Cot- 

 tonwood, with Missouri and Tennessee 

 next. Arkansas' also leads in the produc- 

 tion of gum. 



Wisconsin leads in the production of 

 birch and basswood. 



Of the entire product of hardwood a lit- 

 tle over one-half, or 4,438.027,000 feet, is 

 oak, valued at .$61,174,129, or over one- 

 half the total value of the hardwoods. 



Following is a table of the hardwood 

 protluct of the various states and terri- 

 tories for the year 1899: 



States and Total 



Territories. quantity, ft. Total value. 

 United States ...8,6.34,021,000 $116,817,192 



Indiana 975,779,000 15,613,293 



Ohio 918.2.31,000 14.290,120 



Tennes'see 861,874,000 10,874,275 



Michigan 811.649,000 9,615,721 



Kentucky 734,386,000 9,535,830 



West Virginia . . 570.208.000 7,207,623 



Penns.vlvania . . . .520,162,0<J0 7,398,.582 



Wisconsin 5r.»,(i31,rKJ0 6,737,.581 



Arkansas 444,102,000 4,841,633 



Missouri 442,236,<KK) 5,274,634 



Illinois 250,361,000 3,050,506 



Virginia 239.860,000 2,742,934 



Mississippi 207,322,000 2,6.39,582 



New York 207.226,000 4,316,415 



North Carolina . . 145.657,000 1,520,514 



Alabama 105,491.0<X) 1,340,107 



Connecticut .... 77,.504,000 1,211,122 



Maryland 77,581,000 1,058,033 



Louisiana 72.198,000 1.183,418 



Minnesota 61,956,000 7(53,251 



Iowa 61,028,000 970,576 



Vermont 50,423,000 657,142 



Georgia 42,799,000 4.50,021 



MassiaChusetts . . 42,147,000 763,419 



Texas 38,056,000 441,736 



New Jersey 31,871.000 603,097 



Maine ...'. 28,730,000 3.54,105 



New Hampshire. 23.468,000 387,558 



South Carolina . . 17,483,000 196,941 



Kansas 10,645,000 145,795 



Indian Territory. 9,378.000 105.210 



Delaware 6,319,000 115.247 



Oklahoma 6,0<>5,00O 68,414 



Washington .... 5.70.3,000 92,1.36 



Rhode Island . . . 3.988,(X)0 64,995 



Nebraska 3,7&3,000 43,701 



Oregon 2..529,000 39,378 



Florida 2.200.000 36.920 



North Dakota . . . 2,030,000 22,060 



Montana 1,.300,000 21,.500 



South Dakota . . . 558.000 5,980 



California 539.000 8,.587 



Colorado 75,000 900 



GETTING BUSINESS. 



There w-as a very warm and angry out- 

 of-town lumberman in the Record office 

 last week. He had had a traveling sales- 

 man working through the Chicago dis- 

 trict, including Chicago, Grand Rapids, 

 Rockford and other places, for several 

 months. At first the salesman did. fairly 

 well, but for the past three months had 

 sent in scarcely any orders. There was 

 nothing doing, the man said. Buyers were 

 reducing stock preparatory to the semi- 

 annual stock-taking, or for the dull sea- 

 son. Their prices were too high, he said, 

 and he had some wonderful tales to lell 

 of how cheaply stock was being sold, etc. 

 His excuses were fairly plausible, but the 

 fact that he was getting no orders was 

 painfully apparent. 



Finally the lumberman thought he 

 would quietly take a little run himself 

 and see what the matter was. And he 

 found what it was without much difficulty. 

 Their salesman hadn't been calling on the 

 trade. 



The weather had been hot, orders scarce 

 and hard to get, and the man had flinched. 

 He would get into town, call on a few 

 people who were within easy reach, or 

 with whom he was well acquainted, and 



