yie 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Annual Northern Hemlocic and HardWood 

 Manufacturers' dissociation 



The annual meeting of the Northern Hem- 

 lock & Hardwood Manufacturers' Associa- 

 tion -was held at the Pfister hotel, Milwaukee, 

 on Tuesday, January 31, and called out 

 nearly the entire membership of the associa- 

 tion. 



After the roll call, on motion, the reading 

 of the minutes of the last meeting was dis- 

 pensed with. 



President W. C. Landon then read his ad- 

 dress, as follows: 



President's Address 



It is with mucli pleasure to me that we come 

 together today, not as strangers but as one large 

 family, with one common interest, one purpose, 

 and a feeling of goodtellowship one toward the 

 other. One year ago we consolidated the hem- 

 lock and hardwood associations. I regret to 

 say that not all of the members then in these 

 two associations felt inclined to identify them- 

 selves with the new association. We started 

 out, however, with a membership representing 

 about 400,000.000 feet. George H. Chapman, 

 then acting secretary, did much and to him we 

 owe a great deal for the earnest efforts in com- 

 pleting our organization and securing additional 

 members. 



W. C. LANDOX, WAUSAU, PRESIDENT. 



On April 1 R. S. Kellogg took up the work 

 as secretary with his office at Wausau and it 

 has been a personal pleasure to me to be asso- 

 ciated with him. You know something of the 

 good work he has done through the reports and 

 information you have received from his oiHce. 

 But this is not all ; in his office he now has 

 compiled records by which comparisons can be 

 made, the value of which for future use is hard 

 to estimate. 



To the various committees I wish to express 

 the appreciation of this association for the excel- 

 lent work they have done in its behalf. I will 

 not discuss the work of these committees, as they 

 have their own reports and recommendations to 

 make. 



To each and every member I wish to thank 

 you personally for your co-operation, and to 

 compliment you for the prompt response you 

 have made to the various inquiries made by our 

 secretary, and while this response has been good 

 we hope that it may continue and even become 

 bettor, for it is only by your individual co- 

 operation that the best results mav be accom- 

 plished for this association. This is your 

 association, gentlemen, not mine, nor that of 

 the secretary, but yours ; and it depends entirely 

 upon how much you are willing to put into it 

 as to how much you will get out of it. 



The last year has been very disappointing to 

 lumber manufacturers in all parts of the coun- 

 trv, starting as it did with a good demand for 

 lumber with fair prices and indications of an 



earlv advance. We had everv reason to feel 

 hopeful for the year 1910. About May 1 money 

 began to tighten up, interest rates to increase, 

 the iron and steel business became weak and 

 orders scarce, and by July 1 business in nearly 

 every line of trade was in a very unsatisfactory 

 condition. As a result, the price of lumber de- 

 clined and the movement was considerably re- 

 tarded. In spite of this fact I believe there 

 was less lumber in the hands of the manufac- 

 turers throughout the country on .January 1, 

 1911. than there was a year ago. We are now 

 entering upon the new year with business con- 

 ditions improved, money getting easier, with a 

 lower rate of interest, lumber is in better de- 

 mand and at a little better price, so that there 

 is every indication of a fair year's business for 

 1911. I do not look for a boom, but I do 

 believe that we are going to see better days 

 during this year than it has been our privilege 

 to enfoy during the last three years. 



Low-grade stock has been very materially re- 

 duced during the last six months, which I 

 believe will do much to strengthen the market 

 on that class of stock. During the last year 

 there has been manufactured about the same as 

 that consumed. This is encouraging because of 

 the fact that the railroad companies have not 

 been in the market for their usual amount of 

 lumber, retail stocks are light and have good 

 prospects for a good trade, so that with a gen- 

 oral improvement in trade conditions there is 

 bound to be an increased demand for lumber. 



For some time past I have had under con- 

 sideration the advisability of trying to establish 

 uniform grading rules on hemlock with the 

 Michigan association. It seems to me that this 

 could he done to the mutual advantage of both 

 associations. Much of our lumber is being 

 shipped into common territory, and as Michigan 

 and Wisconsin are the only two states in the 

 Northwest producing hemlock there is every 

 reason why we should have uniform grading 

 rules, and I urge that some action be taken 

 whereby the two associations may get together 

 on these rules. The Michigan association has 

 alreadv expressed itself in favor of the adoption 

 of uniform rules for grading hemlock. 



Secretary E. S. Kellogg then read the 

 treasurer's and secretary's reports as fol- 

 lows : 



Secretary's Report 



The association began the year with sixty- 

 eight members and closed with seventy-sovon. 

 two concerns having been dropped in October for 

 non-payment of dues. The membership con- 

 tracts of four concerns were terminated .Tanuary 

 1. and two concerns recently have .ioined. so, 

 while a few concerns have not furnished esti- 

 mates of their sales in 1911, it is probable that 

 we can count upon a membership of seventy-five 

 for the beginning of the new year. Making as 

 close estimates as possible for the concerns 

 whose final reports are lacking we have the fol- 

 lowing statement of sales in 1910 and of net 

 gain to the association from overrun : 

 Hemlock Sales, 1910 



Feet. 



Estimates 391. 325.000 



Actual sales 4.3.5..'i03.797 



Overrun 44.178.297 



Dues on overrun $662.67 



HAKDWOOn Sales, 1010 



Feet. 



Estimates 192.4.';0,nnn 



Actual sales 190,S.'54..'!97 



Underrun 1,595.603 



Credit on underrun $ 47.S.S 



Net overrun 614.79 



Using the preceding estimates the financial 

 condition of the association the first of the year 

 and the probable receipts and expenses in 1911 

 are as follows : 



Resources 



Cash in hands of treasurer $ 277.15 



Expense money held by inspectors and 



secretary 1 32.34 



Unpaid dues and Inspection bills 269.72 



Net dues from overrun on 1910 esti- 

 mates of sales 614.79 



Total $1,294.00 



Liabilities 

 Unpaid bills for stationery, printing 



and office supplies $ 140.50 



Due National Lumber Manufacturers' 



Association 277.50 



Dues on 187,000,000 feet of hardwoods, 



at $30 



Inspection 



Total 



EsiiiiAiED Expenses, 1911 



Salaries 



Traveling expenses 



Office expenses 



Postage, telegraph and telephones,... 



Stationery and printing 



National Lumber Manufacturers' Asso- 

 ciation 



5,610.00- 

 300.00 



$12,336.00 



$ 7,700.00 



3,500.00 



400.00 



400.00 



1,500.00 



1,100.00 



Total $14,600.00 



Apparent deficit January 1. 1912, on 

 basis of present estimated sales, at 



present rate of assessment $ 2,264.00- 



A full statement of cut and shipments in De- 

 cember and during the preceding eight months 

 and also of stock on band January 1, 1911, Is 

 given in circular 83 and so need not be re- 

 peated. 



This is the time for lumber manufacturers 

 to look the situation squarely in the face, to 

 analyze conditions carefully and to base future 

 operations upon a clearly thought out policy. 

 Crops in 1010 were abundant and brought good 

 I>rices. Building was active throughout the en- 

 tire country. There is no panic in sight, but 

 on the other hand there is no reason to expect 

 a business boom in 1911. There are some indi- 

 cations of a lower general price level than has 

 existed the last two years. The consensus of 

 opinion among leading manufacturers of all 



Total $ 41S.0fl 



Net balance 876.00 



Estimated Receipts, 1911 



Present balance $ 876.00 



Dues on 370,000,000 feet of hemlock, 



at $].'") 5,550,00 



R. S. KELLOGG, WAiUSAU, SECRETARY. 



commodities is that it is time to go slow antfi 

 operate conservatively. Statistics show dimin- 

 ished stocks of hemlock as compared with a year 

 .igo, and also that the 1911 cut will be some- 

 what under that of 1910. The maximum hem- 

 lock production was passed in 1906 and a slowly 

 decreasing output of this wood will occur from- 

 year to year. Hardwood stocks are not exces- 

 sive and the general condition of the hardwood 

 trado is such that the somewhat increased cut 

 in Wisconsin and nortliern Michigan, which will 

 probably be made in 1011, should not seriously 

 affect values. 



On the whole, therefore, were local conditions- 

 only concerned, we could predict better prices 

 for our product. However, a survey of the gen- 

 eral field of lumber manul^acture is less encour- 

 aging. By far the most complete census of the 

 lumber industrv ever taken recently has been 

 completed. It shows that in 1909, 48.000 saw- 

 mills in the United States produced 44,500,000.- 

 UOO feet of lumber. Of this 36.5 per cent was 

 .vellow pine, nearly 11 per cent Douglas fir, 10 

 per cent oak, 8.75 per cent white and Norway 

 pine, 6.08 per cent hemlock. 3.9 per cent spruce 

 and 3.4 per cent western pine. Association re- 

 ports make it safe to estimate that the total 

 cut in 1910 was from 5 per cent to 10 per cent 

 greater than in 1900. We can at least say con- 

 fidently that the actual production last year was 

 not less than 47,000,000,000 feet, and we can say 



