Published In the Interest of Ha..rd\vood Lumber, Anr\erlca.n HaL.rd\vood Forests, Wood Veneer Intlustxy. H&rdwood Flooring, 

 HaLrdvf ood Interior Finish, Wood ChemlcBLls, Sa^w Mill a^nd Woodworking MevcKlnery. 



a/. 



Vol. XXXI. 



CHICAGO, OCTOBER 25, 1910. 



No. 1. 



Published on ihe lOlh and 25lh of each month by 



THE HARDWOOD COMPANY 



HENRY H. GIBSON. President LOUIS L. JACQUES. Sec'y and Treas. 



Sixth Floor, Ellsworth Bldg., 355 Dearborn Street. Chicago, 111. 

 Telephones Harrison 8086-8087-8088 



REPRESENTATIVES 

 Eastern Territory - - Jacob HoUzman, 5254 Larchwood Ave,, Philadelphia, Pa. 



Northern Territory - - - E. VV. Meeker, 355 Dearborn St., Chicaeo, III. 



Southern Territory - - - - H. C. Haner, 173 High St.. Memphis, Tenn. 



TERMS OF ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION 



In the United Slates, Canada, Philippine Islands and Mexico , $2.00 

 In all other countries in Universal Postal Union .... 3.00 



Subscriptions are payable in advance, and in default of written orders to 

 the contrary are continued at our option. 



Entered as second-class matter May 26, 1902, at the Postoflice at Chi- 

 cago, III., under act of March 3, 1879. 



Advertising copy must be received five days in advance of 

 publication date. Advertising rates on application. 



General Market Conditions 



In the aggregate the volume of hardwood business throughout the 

 chief commercial centers of the United States is large at the present 

 writing. However, there is an absolute paucity of big orders, the 

 aggregate being made up of a multitude of small orders. There are 

 absolutely no speculative purchases being made, but only buying to 

 take care of immediate actual requirements. Buyers seem to be 

 inclined to let manufacturers and jobbers do most of the capitalizing 

 on lumber stocks. This situation does not hinge on a belief that 

 prices will be lower, but on the fact that the average remanufacturer 

 of hardvroods prefers to hold his obligations down to the minimum. 



Generally speaking, desirable stocks in first hands are very short, 

 and very few manufacturers or jobbers have a surplus of any desir- 

 able items. Values stand up to high range except in a few instances. 

 There is a little shading in some quarters on plain oak. Prices, for 

 instance, on firsts and seconds plain oak in the Chicago market range 

 from $46 to $.50 per thousand. 



Eeeently there have been some concessions made in the price of 

 quartered white oak. Tliere has been some little shading made in 

 basswood prices also. Firsts and seconds red and sap gum seem to 

 be showing an accretion in price, and there is a manifest shortage, 

 especially in firsts and seconds red. There is a good deal of substitu- 

 tion going on in many lines of remanufacture, and red gum and tupelo 

 gum seem to be increasing in demand. 



Flooring factories seem to be fairly busy, and the prospects indicate 

 a good volume of business throughout the fall and winter. 



Interior finish and door people are enjoying a good trade, and there 

 is an especially strong demand for oak, gum and birch doors and 

 finish. 



The veneer factories are fairly well equipped with orders, but there 

 is a considerable range of prices in standard material. 



The hickory handle business is perhaps in better shape than it has 

 been for several years. A good many of the smaller plants have been 



driven out of business on account of the paucity of profits, but right 

 now there is a very fair demand at reasonably satisfactory prices. 



There seems to be an increased call for mahogany and other foreign 

 woods used in furniture making, and an excellent demand for figured 

 veneers. However, prices are not showing any particular advance. 

 As a matter of fact, plain mahogany is now being sold at as low a 

 price as has ever been reached in the history of the trade. 



On the whole, the general hardwood situation looks very well indeed, 

 and there is no indication that there will be any accumulation of 

 stocks or diminution of values in lumber or veneers in the immediate 

 future. 



A Lumber Traffic Meeting 



The Southern Cypress Manufacturers' Association, through its sec- 

 retary, George E. Watson, has issued a call for a meeting of those 

 interested in lumber traffic affairs, to be held at the Grunewald Hotel, 

 New Orleans, at eleven o'clock on Thursday, November 17. 



In connection with this call the secretary notes that the greatest 

 problems confronting lumbermen today have to do in one way or 

 another with transportation. While questions of rate predominate, 

 they are by no means the whole trouble, nor do they present the 

 greatest difSculties. Eate matters are invariably local and can be 

 handled satisfactorily only by those who are affected by them, whereas 

 there are other problems of a national character, concerning which the 

 whole shipping public is today at sea. 



The secretary notes that lumber, being a commodity based upon 

 sales made by the thousand feet and the transportation charges paid 

 by the hundred pounds, contends with more difficulties than any other 

 product manufactured, and heretofore there has been little concerted 

 effort made to bring things to an equitable adjustment. Lumber 

 claims are admittedly the hardest to handle, and the hardest of these 

 are those pertaining to weights. 



It is believed that the meeting called can outline a policy of rates 

 with methods of weighing lumber, so that all can fight for the same 

 thing and ultimately bring some order out of the present chaos. 



It is also proposed to take up the question of simplification of 

 tarifiis, and to discuss methods of filing claims and many other prob- 

 lems which are almost daily before the lumbermen. 



The delegates to this meeting are confined to those connected with 

 lumber associations or companies who have the handling of claims and 

 traffic matters in general. They should come prepared to exchange 

 infoi-mation so as to give the best there is in them for the common 

 good. Already there are indications of a large and enthusiastic 

 meeting which will probably last for two days. 



Secretary Watson requests that he shall be promptly notified as to 

 the prospective attendance by each individual interested. 



The Veneer and Panel Situation 



Veneer makers are still a good ways apart in the matter of prices. 

 It seems to be impossible to establish anything like a logical cost 

 basis for veneers. As an example of this situation it may be noted 

 that, on a recent order for railroad panel stock out of one-eighth 

 poplar, a large size, the following range of estimates was submitted 

 to the prospective buyers: $29, $26, $24, $22..50 and $18. Beyond 

 question, there is no reason for any such fluctuation as between the 



