46 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



ers to establish a new grade to be known as 

 No. 4, which would iudnde the poor end 

 of the present No. 3. This the manufac- 

 turers, after a thorough discussion of the 

 (jucstion, decided was not only unnecessary 

 but inimical to their own interests. They 

 maintained that there was difficulty enough 

 encountered in marketing the present low- 

 grade stock, and still further reducing the 

 quality of an established grade would re- 

 .sult in an accumulation of such stock in 

 their yards, which would be seldom called 

 for and only take up valuable yard space 

 without any chance of return. 



The live actions of Secretary Kellogg and 

 President Langdon in behalf of the associa- 

 tion were emphatically evidenced in the plan 

 of these officers to make a missionary tour 

 of the principal mill points of the North and 

 to bold meetings in the interest of the as- 

 sociation. This action, it is maintained, 

 will not only increase the membership but 

 will result in much general good. 



Visiting lumbermen were tendered a din- 

 ner by the Wausau contingent in the dining 

 room of the Wausau Club. 



Tlir lollowing were in attendance: 



C. II. Allen, Rib Lake : Rib Lake Lumber Co. 



,T. S. Alexander, Wausau ; Alexander Stewart 

 Lumber Co. 



L. U. Anderson, Stevens Point ; The John Week 

 Lumber Co. 



Louis Anderson. Calderwood, Mich. : Mercer- 

 Do Laitlro Lumber Co. 



T. R. Heale.v. Rib Lake : Rib Lake Lumber Co. 



Georse II. Cbapman, Stanley: Northwestern 

 Lumbci- Co. 



.Tohu II. Chesak, Athens ; Athens Maiuifactur- 

 ing Co. 



.1. r. Coerpcr, Hartford : Denison & Coerper. 



E. J. Coerper, Moon ; Denison & Coerper. 



C. P. Coon, Bruce : Beldenville Lumber Co. 



W. II. Collins, Madison ; Collins Bros. Lumber 

 C'). 



W. G. Collar, Merrill : W. G. Collar Lumber Co. 



II. H. Darlington, Chicago; American Lumber- 

 man. 



Theodore Engstinmd, Ogema ; Ogema Lumber 

 Co. 



I. W. Elliott, Bau Claire ; Daniel Shaw Lum- 

 ber Co. 



L. W. Gibson, Medford : MedJord Lumber Co. 



E. J. Gilloulv, Mellen : Foster-Latimer Lumber 

 Co. 



A. E. Germer, Crandon : Keith & Hiles Lumber 

 Co. 



William Ilnsdell. Ilhinclouder ; Pelican River 

 Lumber Co. 



F. M. Hart. Tomah ; C. A. Goodyear Lumber 

 Co. 



('. W. Ilollister, Oshkosh : HoIIister-Amos & Co. 

 J. II. .lohannes, W'au.^au ; Jacob Mortensou 

 Lumber Co. 



S. A. Kouz, Rib Lake. 



.1. W. Kaye, Westboro ; Wcstboro Lumber Co. 



John Kaufman, Phlox ; John Kaufman & Co. 



Status of Canadian Reciprocity 



The measure which stood dearest in the af- 

 fection of President Taft and for which he 

 most desired favorable action on the part of 

 the recently deceased congress, has failed of 

 enactment, namely, the bill providing for a 

 reciprocal arrangement with Canada relative 

 to trade relations. There can be no doubt 

 but that the measure would effect a materially 

 increased trade, both to and from this coun- 

 try, and, viewed in a broad way, any measure 

 which will, even in the future, result in a 

 less cost of commodities is certainly founded 

 on correct economic principles. 



There is no doubt, however, that the meas- 

 ure as it stands and as it was attempted to 

 be put through, would have worked a con- 

 siderable hardship on certain of the larger 

 industries of this country particular!}'. The 

 general protest from about a million of the 

 farmers of the United States is a sufficient 

 indication that they feared the results of the 

 provisions pertaining to the products of the 

 soil and of the lessened protection to which 

 they would have had to submit. As to the 

 policy relative to forest products, any effect 

 ^^ould be felt by but a limited group of the 

 manufacturers of lumber in this country. The 

 better grades of hardwood would not pos- 

 sibly come under the influence of reciprocity, 

 but the low grades and the pine and similar 

 products coming into competition with build- 

 ing, box and such lumber from Canada, would 

 bo very materially effected. 



With this in view the National Lumber 

 Manufacturers' Association, headed by Ed- 

 ward nines, put up a stiff opposition in be- 

 half of the lumber industry to the passage 

 of' the measure. In an appeal to the Ways 

 & Means Committee of the House, Mr, Hines 

 showed that dutiable lumber items aggregate 

 e.\actlv one-half of the total value of im- 



ported articles effected, while of the exports, 

 which amount to practically $48,000,000, the 

 only lumber items involved have a value of 

 about $75,000. This means that while one- 

 half of the burden of reduced protection is 

 carried by the lumber industry, the reciprocal 

 benefit so far as lumbermen ' are concerned 

 is practically nil. He showed that the lum- 

 bermen of this country would be giving up 

 protection on over $23,000,000 worth of their 

 manufactures in order that forest products 

 valued at less than $5,000,000 could enter 

 Canada free of duty. 



Mr. Hines argued that the former duty of 

 $2 a thousand as applied to lumber was really 

 not protection, but simply for revenue, owing 

 to the advantageous position of Canadian 

 operators, which enables them to ship to prac- 

 tically all of the important markets of this 

 country on a low water rate, averaging far 

 below the average cost of rail transportation 

 from the American mills, there being a gen- 

 eral difference of about 400 per cent. 



Of particular 'significance, howe^'er, are his 

 arguments pertaining to the source of supply 

 of saw logs aud other raw material. While 

 the timber in the United States is bought out- 

 right at a fixed price, subject to immediate 

 interest a^d taxes, the latter being based ou 

 the value of the timber from year to year, 

 in Canada the timber is government owned, 

 the government assuming the entire burden of 

 fire risk and taxation. Thus the Canadian 

 operators are not forced to tie up immense 

 sums in standing timber and to pay out an- 

 nually a good percentage of their profits in 

 taxes, protection, etc. They are at the outset 

 placed at a considerable advantage over the 

 American manufacturers. 



Mr. Hines' strongest plea for protection 

 is in the interests of conservation. He di- 



rectly challenges the statement of President 

 Taft that access to Canadian timber resources 

 would effect a conserving of our own, and 

 uses the same arguments advanced in opposi- 

 tion to the revision of the tariff under the 

 Payne-Aldrich act, claiming that the increased 

 competition directly resulting from the lower- 

 ing of import duties from Canada would have 

 the effect of tying up practically the entire 

 low-grade output of the country. It would 

 mean a tremendous increase in woods and 

 mill waste, inasmuch as it would be an abso- 

 lute impossibility to manufacture the poorer 

 grades of lumber without a severe loss, Mr. 

 Hines claims to have figuies showing that 

 there is now a waste of 2,000,000,000 feet 

 over that of 1906 as a result of the lowering 

 of the Canadian rate at the last revision. 



The efforts in the interests of lumbermen 

 and of various other industries seems to have 

 l;ad the desired efl'ect, inasmuch as no action 

 whatever was taken relative to this measure. 

 It does seem, however, that the president's 

 action in calling an extra session will result 

 cither in the final adoption or the rejection 

 of the proposed reciprocity agreement as it 

 stands. At the same time, as the bill provid- 

 ing for a permanent tariff board was fili- 

 bustered out of e-xistence in the House, it is 

 safe to look for a strenuous attempt on the 

 part of the Democratic members to take ad- 

 vantage of this opportunity to put through 

 at least a few radical downward revisions of 

 the present schedules. 



Rosewood and Rosewood Essence from 

 Guiana 



The shipment of rosewood (Liearia guianen- 

 sis), sometimes called tulip wood, from French 

 Guiana is steadily increasing. In 190.S the ex- 

 port was 27 tons, valued at $380, while in 1909 

 the export was 2G5 tons, valued at $3,836, all 

 shipped to France. The British consul at 

 t:ayennc says that the wood formerly sold locally 

 at $10 a ton. but is now selling at $20- to $30 

 a ton. 



Essence of rosewood is also shipped to France, 

 going to Grasse (Alpes Maritimes). Besides the 

 exports of the wood, five factories are now es- 

 tablished in Cayenne for the extraction of the 

 essence, which is shipped to France in carboys. 

 Two more factories are in course of erection. The 

 average product of 1 ton of wood is 22 pounds 

 of essence, the price in France being about $2.50 

 per pouud. The total export of this essence was, 

 in 1009, 25,500 pounds, valued at $60,293, 

 ag.tinst 16,500 pounds, valued at $35,913, in 

 1008. 



A Suggestion for the Owners of Small Mills 



This is an age of specialties. In all lines of 

 business it will be noticed that the concerns mak- 

 ing money are those which reduce their costs by 

 installing special machinery. A special machine 

 will often do the work ten times as fast and very 

 much more accurately. 



The day has gone by when it is practical to 

 edge the lumber on the main saw, however small 

 the mil). 



A gang edger, such as those made by the Gor- 

 don Hollow Blast Grate Company of Greenville, 

 Mich,, will not only increase the cut one-third, 

 but will save considerable No, 1 lumber which 

 is ordinarily wasted, and will raise the grade 

 of the entire output by removing hearts, shakes 

 and knots. These edgers are being used in mills 

 as light as 15 horsepower. 



