HARDWOOD RECORD 



49 



case before the Interstate Commerce Commission. 



It looks as if the railroads in the South which 

 have been talliing about increasing rates on lum- 

 ber in that territory, have about given up the 

 idea, shippers having made it plain that they 

 would protest vigorously. It was made known 

 by tralBc oflicials here, however, that Louisville 

 would not be affected by the proposed increase, 

 so that the local hardwood men were not directly 

 interested. Regarding the case of the Louisville 

 hardwood dealers against southern railroads, in 

 which they have petitioned for lower rates, it is 

 believed that a decision wilt be handed down by 

 the commission in a few weeks. It is conceded 

 even by the railroads that Louisville will get 

 relief of some kind. 



Several lumbermen shipping from the Lexing- 

 ton division of the Chesapeake & Ohio, have been 

 heard in connection with their petition for repa- 

 ration for alleged overcharges by that road re- 

 sulting from a discrimination in favor of the 

 Big Sandy division. Commissioner Prouty of the 

 Interstate Board heard evidence at Cincinnati 

 April 1. The Kentuckians were represented by 

 J. Van Norman of Louisville. 



ST. LOUIS 



A large increase in the number of permits for 

 new buildings and alterations is shown for March 

 over February. During February the total num- 

 ber of permits for new buildings was 481, while 

 March showed 781. The value of the new build- 

 ings authorized in February was $1,058,136 as 

 against $2,137,024 in March. The number of 

 permits for alterations was 103 in February as 

 against 236 in March, and the value of the alter- 

 ations in February was $80,448 as against $159,- 

 574 in March. 



George E. Hibbard, vice-president of the Steele 

 & Hibbard Lumber Company, is back from a 

 visit of several weeks at Hot Springs. Ark. 



C. F. Liebke of the C. F. Liebke Hardwood Mill 

 & Lumber Company is at North Augusta, S. C, 

 where he will remain for some time to recuperate. 



The Coleman Lumber Company's sawmill at 

 Birmingham, .Via., has been purchased by the 

 Thomas & I'roetz Lumber Company of this city. 

 A reorganization of the former company had been 

 made and it is now known as the Birmingham 

 Sawmill Company. The mill will be practically 

 rebuilt and the capacity increased to from 40.000 

 or 50,000 feet daily. The mill yard has been 

 greatly increased by the purchase of new prop- 

 erty and quite a large stock of poplar and oak 

 will be carried and the plant will be devoted to 

 that class of lumber. 



As the result of hard work on the part of 

 Thos. E. Powe, chairman of the TrafBc Commit- 

 tee of the Lumbermen's Exchange of St. Louis 

 and also chairman of the Traffic Committee of 

 the Lumbermen's Club, there will probably be a 

 joint conference of his committee and the freight 

 managers of the southwestern railroads, in St. 

 Louis early in April, probably before this issue 

 goes to press. Mr. Powe has been making an 

 effort to convince the southwestern lines that 

 the advance of one cent in the lumber rates 

 which went into effect January 5, should be can- 

 celled because of discrimination. 



LITTLE ROCK 



The Freeman Lumber Company, whose plant 

 was recently burned near Conway, will rebuild 

 at Menifee. Machinery for the new plant has 

 already been ordered. Kansas City capitalists 

 are interested in the company. 



The Choctaw Lumber Company of Kansas City 

 has named Herbert Diercks of DeQueen as its 

 business representative in this state. The com- 

 pany has large holdings in Little Uiver and ad- 

 joining counties. 



J. II. Allen, president ; W. J. Lockwood, vice- 

 president ; T. Pearce, secretary-treasurer, is the 

 personnel of a new company organized at Pine 

 Bluff for the purpose of a general lumber manu- 

 facturing business. Some stockholders of the 

 new company are interested in a large plant at 

 Minter City, Miss., which the new concern, as 

 J. H. Allen & Co., will operate. Vice-President 

 Pearce is also president of the Pearce Lumber 

 Company, already operating a plant at Kearney, 

 Ark. The new company is capitalized at $20,000. 



Never in the history of the state lias there 

 been such a general building wave as is now re- 

 ported. In this city the records show an unusual 

 activity, with the consequent demand for every 

 class of building material. The latest local prop- 

 osition is the letting of a contract for the con- 

 struction of the Fulk block, to cost $100,000. 

 There is also a large amount of railroad building 

 of a general nature reported, and the demand for 

 ties is particularly heavy. The Rock Island con- 

 struction work under way in this city alone will 

 amount to a half million dollars. 



ISEW ORLEANS 



Ferd Brenner of the Ferd Brenner Lumber 

 Company, Cincinnati, is on a visit to the Louisi- 

 ana mills. 



C. F. Brotfett of the Simonds Manufacturing 

 Company, Fitchburg, Mass., is on his annual 

 southern trip and spent a number of days at the 

 New Orleans branch of the company. 



James D. Laeey of James D. Lacey & Co., Chi- 

 cago and New Orleans, arrived in this city March 

 28 from the Pacific coast and will remain here 

 for several weeks. Mr. Lacey announced that he 

 had decided to give up his home in New Orleans, 

 but said that he still intended to spend his 

 winters here. 



Following the death of Lucas E. Moore of the 

 Lucas E. Moore Stave Company, the following 

 officers of that company have been elected : W. 

 K. Knox, president ; W. P. Toung, vice-president ; 

 Lucas E. Moore, secretary-treasurer. 



The Baton Rouge Veneer Works, Baton Rouge. 

 La., will rebuild its plant which was recently 

 l)urncd. It will install a sawmill and veneer and 

 box shop machines, and will have a daily capac- 

 ity of about one car of box shooks. 



The Natalbany Lumber Company of Hammond, 

 La., recently increased its capital stock to $2,- 

 000.000. 



The ruins of the plant of the Iron Mountain 

 Lumber Company at Pollock, La., were still 

 warm when B. E. Crafts, district sales man.ager 

 of the J. A. Fay & Egan Company, was on the 

 spot. Quick work on bis part and the fact that 

 the Fay & Egan company was in a position to 

 make immediate shipment enabled Mr. Crafts to 

 land the entire order, which included three big 

 planers, an inside moulder, resaw and several 

 cut-off saws. 



DETROIT 



Owing to rather slack conditions in the auto- 

 mobile trade the local market is long on white 

 poplar stocks. Prices therefore have been con- 

 siderably shaded. Indications, however, point to 

 a renewal of activities in the automobile trade 

 very soon. 



The lumber mill of Schmied-Sisman Company 

 on Beaufait avenue was totally destroyed by lire 

 last week. The damage is estimated at $75,000. 

 The company will rebuild, and has made arrange- 

 ments to take care of orders until the new plant 

 is ready. 



Fire did about $15,000 worth of damage to the 

 planing mill owned by Audley M. Ostrander in 

 Highland Park. The rear of Mr. Ostrander's 

 residence, adjoining the mill, was badly damaged. 



Secretary John Lodge of the Dwight Lumber 

 Company reports that the yards and factory of 

 the company in River Rouge are very busy and 

 that orders are coming along in good shape. 



Within the next sixty days Brownlee-Kelly 

 Company will move into a handsome new office 

 building which it is erecting at its yards on 

 liouge river. For the past ten years the com- 

 pany has maintained an office in the Telegraph 

 building, with a smaller office at the yards on 

 Rouge river. The members of the firm for a long 

 time past have contemplated combining the two 

 offices. Plans have been completed and the work 

 will be started at once. The office building will 

 be heated by steam and lighted by electricity and, 

 as Mr. Brownlee states, will have the latest 

 "fixings." 



The spring meeting of the Michigan Hardwood 

 Manufacturers' Association will be held in the 

 Pontchartrain hotel in this city April 19. Mat- 

 ters of great interest to members will come up 

 for discussion. Among these will be market con- 

 ditions, a discussion on No. 3 Common, as well 

 as a discussion on the hemlock market. A good 

 attendance is expected. 



— MILWAUKEE 



Fire recently wrecked the planing mill of the 

 Atwood Lumber & Manufacturing Company at 

 Park Falls, causing a loss of $10,000, fully cov- 

 ered by insurance. The building is of concrete, 

 but the floors were of wood and these were 

 burned, allowing tlie machinery to fall through. 

 Fire in the yard of Walton E. Wilcox of Mil- 

 waukee recently caused a loss of $15,000. The 

 office, dry-kiln, barns and several thousand feet 

 of lumber were destroyed. 



The Minn Billiard Company of Milwaukee 

 has completed plans for the erection of a new 

 concrete plant to replace the structure recently 

 burned. 



The Wisconsin Western Timber Company has 

 been incorporated at Madison with a capital 

 stock of $1,200,000 by Former Gov. James O. 

 Davidson, State Senator A. W. Sanborn, Jackson 

 Renter and Albert S. Larson. The company 

 owns extensive timber lands on the Pacific coast. 

 Former Gov. Davidson will he in charge of the 

 Madison office. 



The different logging interests operating on 

 the Menominee river recently met at Marinette 

 and awarded contracts for the driving of most 

 of the Menominee branches. About 30.444,000 

 feet of timber was held over last season be- 

 cause of low water. This will be driven also 

 this spring. 



The Green Bay Box & Lumber Company of 

 Green Bay has filed notice of dissolution. 



The Cedarburg Box & Woodwork Manufactur- 

 ing Company of Cedarburg has increased its 

 capital stock from $10,000 to $29,000. 



The M. Winter Lumber Company, manufac- 

 turer of high-grade fixtures at Sheboygan, hag 

 withdrawn its exclusive sales agents from the 

 south and southwest and will handle this busi- 

 ness direct from its main offices at Sheboygan. 

 The Marinette Woodworking Company, which 

 removed from Crandon to Marinette some months 

 ago, has started manufacturing operations in 

 the plant formerly occupied by the Marinette 

 Iron Works. Telephone pins and brackets, table 

 tops, veneer panels, wagon rims and garment 

 hangers are being turned out. The plant has 

 been entirely remodeled. 



M. P. Larrabee, aged sixty, a prominent tim- 

 ber and mining land owner of Minneapolis and 

 Chippewa Falls, died recently at the home of 

 his brother-in-law at New Auburn, Wis. 



Thomas Gaynor, aged sixty-eight, tor many 

 years associated with W. E. Moses in the well- 

 known logging firm of Moses & Gaynor, recently 

 died of heart failure at Chippewa Falls. 



William L. Hall of Madison, assistant to Chief 

 Forester Graves of the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, and who was director of 

 the Madison division of forest products, has been 

 appointed by Secretary of Agriculture Wilson 

 to establish the $10,000,000 national forest re- 

 serve in the East. 



