'4 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



iiig tlioir trade, as voiced by more than 200 letters inninisinK 

 fiiiiiiuial and iiKiral siipixirt iif the iiiovpniout — they slimdil fjot to 

 tlic fniiit |iriiiii|illy with their applications for meiiihcrsliip and 

 cheek for the first year's annual dues, and pi"" f'^ 1»' present at 

 the Indianapolis meeting and do their full share toward further 

 ing this cause. Kveii a man whose interest in handle production 

 is very small, can surely afford to pay $10 for the benefit which is 

 sure to arise from an association aiming ;it llic Inltn nniit of 

 trade conditions. 



The inatter of paranionni importance whicli will lie threshed out 

 at the meeting is the establishment of standard grades for the 

 various kinds of lumdles. .-Vs the niatler stands today a large 

 number of jobbers are encouraging the small manufacturers to 

 sell them cut-grade handles at cut prices, to enable them to \indpr- 

 sell jobbers buying straight grades. This is having an exceedingly 

 demoralizing effect upon the handle business, and the foremost 

 manufacturers regard the Correction of this evil id' more- impor- 

 tauce than the ailvanceuK'iit of pric(>s. 



The Wall Street Mix=Up. 



Within the last lew .lays, as :i nsnlt of frcn/.ied (inaiicial 

 methods among the handlers of cash and wind, half a dozen bank 

 presidents have been dejiosed and successors elected. The clear 

 ing house c-ommittee of the nu'tropolis has got to the center and 

 protected the weaker banks and there is every i)rospect of tiding 

 over the flurry without any serious disturbances to the general 

 financial condition of the country. 



la less than tiMi months of this year .$.^.Oll().()(l(|.llllO in market 

 value have been wrung from the securities tliat furnisli tlir lifi- 

 Idood of Wall Street. These securities involve the ownership of 

 railroad, industrial, mining and other pro])erties extending over 

 the length and breadth of the Tnited States. The Street li:,nking 

 on the securities loaned is in the deepest depths of gloum over 

 this shrinkage. Xew A'ork has been on the verge of a panic 

 induced liy the discovery that reckless and jdunging speculators 

 have been |ilaying fast and loose with the funds of som<' of its 

 banks. The ofTicers and directors of one liank after another have 

 been kicked into the street. 



AVith the country at large the situation is distinctly ililferent. 

 'I'lie country is not "busted" or even on the hiyh roml to the 

 ]>oorh(nise. Based on actual ju'operties rather than these "securi 

 ties." the country is prosjierous and .serene. In tlir copper, iron 

 and steel industries it is true there is hesitation, but general con- 

 ditions are good. There should be little fear for the future. 

 Crops, while not quite u)) to the average of recent banner years 

 in volume, are bringing higher jirices and are of greater total 

 value, ami the world if furnishing a ready market. Conserv.-itive 

 figures place the value of the produce of the farms of the coun- 

 try this year at the enormous sum of lli6,o00,0nn,00ri. Some esti- 

 nmtes are higher. The furnaces and the tnines have (iroduced 

 other billions, ami the country at large is not in Wall Street's 

 jiredicament. It is rich, and growing richer, and the iioverty of 

 the narrow alley that runs from Trinity church to the East river 

 disturlis only a very small percentage of the geni'ral popnlat ion. 

 The eonntry is all right! 



Adjustment of Fire Losses. 



The attitude nt stone nt' tin [iromiin-nt himlM-r tire insnrnnce com 

 jianies in the ailjustmeiit of losses sntt'ered by manufacturers from 

 lime to time, is wi'll defined in two interesting articles pnldished in 

 a late issue of L\imber Insurance, a pamphlet issued regularly by 

 the Lumber Insurers' ticiu'ral Agency of Xew York. One of these 

 articles is reprinted in full in another section of the Kecokd. 



Th(- agency is underwriting manager for three large lumbi-r iusnr 

 ance cotapaili^ which, as far as is kiniwn. are the only ones to openly 

 declare theij X^sition in the adjustnu'nt of such losses. .\liiu)st with- 

 out exception adjusters for general lire insurance companies seek to 

 determine the cash value of the stock destroyed by finding out from 

 the books of the assured the iU'tual cost of prodni-tion. contending 

 that the ''cash \alue*' which their policies agree to i>ay in case of 



loss nuist not 1 oust rued as market \alue. but rather merely what 



it ha.s cost the manufacturer to produce the lumlier destroyed. One 

 :irticle throws considerable light upon tin- legal status of the ca«e, 

 and points out that there is no justification for the position usually 

 adopted by general fire insurance adjusters. 



.\n instiince may bi- cited which well illustrales the altitude tin- 

 sunuMl by the average conijiany, regarding this determiujition to esti- 

 mate "cash value'' from cost of production, .\ prominent West 

 Virginia boniier ciuiceiji recently suffered extensive hisses by fire, 

 .■iiui the attorni'y for this house asserts that out of twenty-five ingur- 

 arn-e companies approacheci on the adjustment (piestion, oidy thiTV 

 regarded it in anything like the proper light. Hence suit was coin- 

 iiM'nceil against the remaining twenty-two. Of course no Inndier spe 

 rdalizing company wa,s incdtnled in this ''unfair list." 



This liberal position <if the specializing luiidier insurancu com- 

 panies with regard to the settlenmnt of Inndier losses on the basis of 

 marki't value is one of the strongest points in their favor, anil is 

 liounii to make Ihem popular with lumber manufacturers, l)oth large 

 anil snuill. It is safe to ]iredict, in consecpieiu'e, that if the general 

 firi' insurance' companies would hold tlieir business with Ihis class 

 of risks, they \\\\\ soonei' or iatir lia\e to fall in line. 



Famine Ahead. 



I'ader the above title tin' yrc-it iKitlonal weekly, (ollier'.s, epi- 

 tomizes the timber situation. Every word of the presentation is 

 true and it is an excellent thing that at least a few of the leaders 

 of thought in this country, outside the lumber press, are intelli- 

 gent enough to coin])rehend the true state of affairs and assist 

 in crystallizing public sentiment in reganl to the necessity of 

 the preservation and expansion nf the life of the forest resources 

 of the nation. 



.Not soon, liut alread.v ; a timber ijuniiu^ is hei-e ; and worse, and 

 steadily worse, faces w-f as eacli .year passes. Americans use more 

 wood per capita tlnm any other people on the earth. They use 

 more ]jer capita each year than they used the .year before. By 

 destruction of oiu' foi-csts. streams have deteriorated, droughts 

 :in.1 floods increased tlic diniate rendered nmre extreme, the value 

 ol" the soil lessened, .\ccordinji' to tlie best lii;iu'cs thus tar to be 

 laid. Ibe present rate of cuttins. with the present rale nf ijrowlli. 

 would abolish our i'orests utterly by about the .\'ear 1U3(). Cut- 

 ting must be regulated. Growth must be increased. The Na- 

 tional Government and the few active States should have eu- 

 llmsiaslic support in every ctfort to hiiri-.\- ou-wai-d this, the 

 most ijressing step in the preservation ol our resources. 

 The iron qiu'stion can wait. i:ven the <-oal u'.U'stion can wait. 

 Tlie forest situation must l)e met. Xor should tlie forward move- 

 ment fla.i; until C)in" forests are sufficient to feed our sti-earas .and 

 regulate our climate : otherwise we shall he foolish for our- 

 selves antl but unwortb.v ancestors to those who must meet the 

 problems ot' existence when, we of lUOT arc tint a memory of the 

 past. 



.Mtlioiigh ill most respects an exceedingly practical people, 

 Americans sometimes allow their conliilence in the great resources 

 of this conntiy to lilind them to the nee<l of guarding against the 

 day of exh.'inslion. This li:\s been particularly true with reference 

 to the forests, and altlionyh repeatedly w.-irio'cl by the far-.seeing, 

 still tliey have not full.\' tiwakened to the urgent need of guarding 

 existing timberlanils and [iroviding for the future by replanting. 

 Thus it behooves those few who do compreheuil the situation to 

 keep harping away on this topic until it becomes a matter of 

 I'onimoii knowledge and understanding. 



.\iiy observant American traveling over the continent of Kuro[ie 

 will liarclly tail to see and hear what has been done in the old 

 world along this line, and thus recognize the great possibilities of 

 the United ytates. Fortunately the enthusiasm of the Forestry 

 Kureau is at last beginning to bear fruit, and large areas in the 

 far West have been withdrawn from private entry and are now 

 oiving promise of augmenting the timber supply within a few 

 Mars. However, it is a grievous error to shoulder everything 

 upon the government, for in .spite of what it may do for the pro- 

 tection of the forests, it will be seriously handicapped if the 

 masses do not ap|ireciate the urgent importance of coming to the 

 fore with that private enterjirise, support, intelligence and public 

 spirit which have often in other lines achieved such maguifieent 

 residts. 



