36 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Annual Memphis Lumbermen's 



Club 



James E. Stark of James E. Stark & Co., 

 will serve as president of the Lumbermen's 

 Club of Memphis during 1911, having de- 

 feated John M. Pritchard, opposing candidate 

 for that honor, in the annua! election held 

 Saturday evening, Dec. 17, at the Business 

 Men's Club. The other ofScers and directors 

 elected at the same time were: F. T. Dooley 

 of the Dooley-Stern Lumber Company, first 

 vice president; W. B. Morgan, secretary-treas- 

 urer of the Anderson-TuUy Company, second 

 vice-president; James B. Blair of the L. H. 

 Gage Lumber Company and Crittenden Lum- 

 ber Company, secretary and treasurer; E. E. 

 Taenzer of the Darnell-Taenzer Lumber Com- 

 pany, A. N. Thompson of A. N. Thompson & 

 Co., and E. J. Wiggs of E. J. Darnell, Inc., 

 two-year directors. 



The campaign was brief, but a most spir- 

 ited one, the campaign managers and their 

 friends, as well as the candidates on both 

 tickets, putting in a strenuous time between 

 Dec. 3, the date of the announcements, and 

 Dec. 17, the date of the election itself. The 

 Blues assured the Eeds that it would be un- 

 necessary for them to put forth any efforts to 

 capture votes and they came very near being 

 right in this forecast, as the Blues secured 

 everything in sight with the exception of the 

 presidency and one of the directorships. How- 

 ever, the Eeds are very well satisfied and are 

 much elated over their success in capturing 

 the highest oflSce in the gift of the club for 

 their candidate, James E. Stark. E. E. 

 Taenzer was the other Eed man elected and 

 it is intimated in some quarters that the suc- 

 cess of this gentleman lay not only in his 

 known popularity but also in the fact that his 

 liirsute adornment is of the proper color to 

 make him a most acceptable candidate under 

 the choice of emblems made by the gentlemen 

 on the two tickets. 



The election passed off very smoothly and 

 very pleasantly and, if there was any bad taste 

 left in anybody's mouth or any ill feeling 

 over the result, it certainly was not apparent 

 either in the appearance of the defeated can- 

 didates or in the remarks made by these gen- 

 tlemen when they were called upon for brief 

 explanations of how it all happened. The 

 polls opened promptly at 7 and closed at 10 

 o'clock. It took about av hour for the vote 

 to be canvassed and when the results were 

 announced there were loud bursts of applause. 



This over, James E. Stark was called to the 

 front and warmly thanked the members of 

 the club who had elected him. He also thanked 

 tlie nominating committee which selected him 

 to head the Bed ticket. He said that this was 

 not the first time he had run for the presi- 

 dency and that he had prepared two years ago 

 a lengthy speech of acceptance which he had 

 i.ever had an opportunity to deliver. He fur- 

 ther stated that he liad added materially to 

 this on the present occasion and that it would 

 take him more than an hour to get it out of 



his system; but, to the delight of all, con- 

 tented himself with but a few brief remarks. 

 He asked all of the members to support him 

 and promised that, with their aid, he would 

 put forth every endeavor to promote the wel- 

 fare of the club in every possible way. His 

 only expression of regret was that he had, 

 through the securing of this honor, to defeat 

 such a splendid gentleman and such an able 

 worker in the interest of the club as John M. 

 Pritchard. 



Mr. Pritchard took his defeat as only a 

 loyal member of the club could. He declared 

 that, while the honor would have been highly 

 acceptable to him, he thought the members 

 had done exactly right in electing Mr. Stark, 

 than whom there was not a more earnest 

 worker in the entire organization. He said 

 that his defeat was not altogether unexpected, 

 despite the fact that his campaign managers 

 and his friends had worked so valiantly for 

 hira. He intimated that this might not be his 

 last appearance before the members of the 



JAMES E. STARK, WEMrUIS, NEW PRESI- 

 DENT LUMBERMEN'S CLUB. 



club, stating that the results might be differ- 

 ent the next time. He pledged his earnest sup- 

 port to the new administration and made it 

 fjuite clear that he stood ready to do whatever 

 was asked of him during the coming year, thus 

 proving that his defeat had been accepted in 

 the proper spirit. 



The various other successful as well as un- 

 successful candidates were called upon and all 

 of these responded in happy vein. 



Befreshments were served during the even- 

 ing, which were heartily enjoyed by all. The 

 members mingled in pleasant social intercourse 

 during the voting and the 'only business at- 

 tended to, aside from the election, was the 

 appointment by the president of a committee 

 of five to arrange for the entertainment of the 

 National Lumber Exporters' Association which 



will be held here beginning Jan. 18. This 

 committee is composed of the following gen- 

 tlemen: W. E. Barksdale, chairman; F. E. 

 Stonebraker, S. B. Anderson, George C. Ehe- 

 mann and C. W. Holmes. This is the first 

 time in a number of years the National Lum- 

 ber Exporters' Association has held its annual 

 meeting here and the club is anxious to show 

 its members special attention.' 



At the next regular meeting the installa- 

 tion of the newly elected otficers and di- 

 rectors will take place. All standing com- 

 mittees will then be named and the or- 

 ganization for the new year completed. 



Among the prominent ■visitors present were: 

 "W. A. Eansom of Nasliville, Tenn., and E. D. 

 Walker of John M. Woods & Co., Boston, 

 Mass. 



Poles Purchased in 1909 



The total number of poles reported to the 

 IJureau of the Census at Washington, D. C, 

 as purchased during the calendar year 1909 by 

 the telegraph and telephone companies, steam 

 aud electric railroads, and electric light and 

 power companies of the United States was 

 ;;. 739,000, as against 3,249,000 In 1908 and 

 .';.283,000 in 1907. There were purchased in 

 1909 by the same class of users 3.509,000 cross- 

 arms, 6,168,000 brackets, and 18,463,000 insula- 

 tor pins. Cross-arms, brackets, and insulator 

 pins were not included ~in the annual census 

 of lumber and timber products prior to 1909. 



Telephone and telegraph companies reported 

 purchases during 1009 of 2,916,000 poles, or 78 

 per cent of the total. This was an increase 

 over 1908 in the number reported as bought by 

 this class of users of 354,000 poles, or 14 per 

 cent, and over 1907 of 604,000 poles, or 26 per 

 cent. Steam railroads reported the purchase of 

 26 per cent more poles in 1909 than in 1908, 

 though 34 per cent less than in 1907, while 

 the reported purchases by electric railroads and 

 electric light and power companies were 18 

 per cent greater than In 1908 and 7 per cent 

 loss than in 1907, 



There was little change in the average cost 

 per pole of all lengths and from all species of 

 wood ip 1909, as compared with 190S. it being 

 $1.89 in the later and $1.82 in the earlier year. 

 The average cost per pole, ,?2.4G, in 1907, was 

 substantially larger than in either of the later 

 years, mainly for the reason that a class of 

 pole consumers in the United States which 

 uses chiefly short poles was not included in 

 (he census for 1907. 



Cedar continues to be the principal pole 

 limber, contributing 65 per cent of the total pur- 

 chases in 1909, C8 per cent in 1908. and 64 

 per cent in 1907. Chestnut, after cedar, was 

 used in greatest quantity in all three years, 

 forming 16 per cent of the total in 1909, 16 per 

 cent in 1908, and 19 fcr cent in 1907. Among 

 the remaining species, the increase in the num- 

 ber of oal; poles reported as purchased during 

 the last three years is noteworthy ; more than 

 three times as many poles from this species 

 having been reported as purchased during 1909 

 as was the case in 1907. 



Substantial progress in the practice of treat- 

 ing poles with chemicals to preserve them 

 from decay is disclosed by the returns for 1909, 

 uearly one-sixth of the total purchases during 

 that year having been given some preservative 

 treatment, as against about one-tenth In 1908 

 and one-eighth in 1907. 



Of the total outlay during 1909, $1,621,000, 

 for cross-arms, brackets, and insulator pins, 

 the telegraph and telephone companies contrib- 

 uted 63 per cent, electric railroads and electric 

 light and power companies 32 per cent, and 

 steam railroads 4 per cent. 



