floMwoi RocoM 



Published In the Interest of Hardwood Lumber. American Hardwood Forests, Wood Veneer Industry, Hardwood Flooring, 

 Hardwood Interior Finish, Wood Cheniicals, Saw Mill and WoodworKIng Machinery. 



Vol. XXV. 



CHICAGO. NOVEMBER 10. 1907. 



No. 2. 



Published c>n ilic 10th and 25th of each month by 



THE HARDWOOD COMPANY 



HENRY H. GIBSON. Ed.cr. EDGAK H. DEFEBAUGII, Maii.sfr. 



7th Floor, Ellsworth Bldg., 355 Dearborn St., Chicago, ill., U.S.A. 



Telephone Harrison 4960 



TERMS OF ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION 



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In all other countries in Universal Postal Union ..... 3.00 



Subscriptions are payable in advance, and in default of written orders to the 

 contrary are continued at our option. 



Entered at Chicago PostoHice as Second Class Matter. 



Advertising copy mvjst be received five da^ys In ek.dva..nce of 

 publication d&.te. Advertising rates on application. 



Coming Association Meetings. 



HANDLE MANUFACTUKEES' ASSOCIATION 



A meeting of this association to perfect permanent or- 

 ganization and to adopt new rules governing handle grading 

 will be held at the Grand Hotel, Indianapolis, Wednesday, 

 Nov. 20. 



NATIONAL VENEER & PANEL MANUFACTURERS' 

 ASSOCIATION. 



The annual meeting of this association will be held at the 

 Auditorium Hotel, Chicago, Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 

 18 and 19, for the election of officers and the transaction of 

 other important business. 



General Market Conditions. 



rill- financial inixu|) having its iirigin among the i niiiriHriiul ad 

 vi'iiturers of New York is having marked effect (in the lianlwniMl 

 litisinfiSM of the conntiy. I'lmn u wavi- of tlin liigbcst (iiospiMity 

 till' I'onntrv is Kppan'ntlv plnngcil iiitu an absiihite cniirncv faiiiiiii'. 

 .\rtiial monev is qiiotoil at almost falnilons prin-s. Siicli Imsini'ss 

 as is going on in all lines is being done tlmiiigli the ineilinni iif 

 ••lipeks and time iiajier. Currency has gone iiitn liidiiig. That thcri' 

 is uo actual necessity for this (•(inditiuii "f alVaiis goes witlunil 

 saying, but face it the eiiminercial world iiiiist. I'mliinliteclly euiili 

 iIpuco is rapidly being restored and money will soon come out of its 

 hiding places to go back into the banks and take its jilace in le.^jiti 

 mate channels; but .iust now nioiiev is money. Collectidiis are drag 



giug in all quartets. There seems tn have 1 n .ilmiist :i siispeiisiiiii 



nf cash payments. 



Th« conditions imted abiive are having their ert'eet iiii the Iimi'iIwikkI 



^^ business to a marked riegroe. Perhajis the small inillmaii is sulVeriiig 



0> niimt. Ho simply cannot obtain cash to buy logs or lanv on his 



woods or i»wmill operations. Probably fully half tin' mills in the 



remote hardwood sections of the country are shut dnwii. I'lii re is an 



aicnmulation of logs at liiindreils of railwiiy jioints, awaiting buyers 



and shipment, (ienerally spcitking. the striinger riineenis are carry- 



j:^ iiig nn Imsiness in the usual way, but in thr- aggregate a shortage of 



hanlwoiiil lunibei is in sight that will In- aliiiost appiilliiig when 

 affairs read.iust themselves and the market regains niirmal eniulitions. 



At tlie inception of this commercial rtnrry there was uo over- 

 stork ill hardwddd of any variety. Now, through force of cir- 

 iiiiustaru-es, the output is cut down more than half, and buyers will 

 find lumlier will be very scarce and high juiced within a short time. 



Probably tho demand on the tiverage the ci>unti-y over is abnul 

 lialf what it was one year ago. This buying is simply of the hanil- 

 tii-motith variety, for immediate necessities. Tliere are no large orders 

 being placed from any source. There litis been very little cancella- 

 tion of orders, but in many cases shijijiers littve been retinested to hold 

 up on loading for a considerable time. Httyers iidvance the informa- 

 tion that in spite of restricted sales, offerings of stock are ciun|)ara- 

 tively light. In place of the natural deluge of ort'erings owners of 

 lumber do not seem to be attempting to force the market. The 

 result is that such stock as is being moved is sold at fair jirices. 

 In only a few varieties of wood are jirices being cut to any appre- 

 ciable extent. 



C^uartereil oak is scarce and high. TTie good end of ]>oplar is 

 ranging at as high a price as ever in its historj-. In some cases plain 

 oak is being otfered at a diseoiint and this is true of red gum and 

 tupelo. 



All the iiortliern woods seem to be in very fair shape. The large 

 Michigan operators are well sold uji to green stock, and in quite a 

 number of cases have orders that will consume a large portion of 

 next season's output. The outlook for maple lumber is exci-ptionally 

 linn. 



The trade in veneers and jiaiiels is very fair. The furuiture trade 

 seems to be busy but uni|uestionably the retail trade has droppiMl 

 off' tremendously during the last two weeks, iind this may result in 

 some cancidlation of factory orders. It is not to be expected that 

 t'liniiturn factories will continue in active operation as tln-re surely 

 »ill lie a diniinisliing deinaiid for some little time. 



The lianlwoii.l 11 iiig p(>ople are not booking very many orders til 



tho jiieseiit time, but there is quite an accumulation of old orders 

 that is keeping the factories pretty fully employed, and they ]iroli- 

 ably have eiiougli business on tlic liooks to tide over this dull period 

 of sale. 



There is nothing radietiliv disheartening in the hardwood outlook 

 and it is sincerely to be hoped that with a little loosening up of the 

 money situation and a nnaissauce of discouiitiug bills riither than 

 making payments in note, normal conditions will reassert themselves 

 before the first of the year. 



Arrogance Unparalleled. 



The city of New York has a local organization known as the 

 .New ^'ork Lumber Trade .\sKoeiatioii. .\s an ex!tui|ile of operatioii 

 from a local viewpoint it has lieeu eminently successful. That it 

 has Ikh'U ably niauiiged, or rather manipulated, goes without saying. 

 The a.ssiiciation is so thoroughly ilomiiiatid by the retail element of 

 the trade as to be essentially a retail organization. .So strong is this 

 institution in the metropolis that it is impi'actical for either a 

 retailer or a wholesaler to do business there without allying himself 

 with it. Its life history shoWs that it has done a lot of good work 

 in certain lines. However, its very success has made it arrogant, 

 .•iiid the prime inoveis liave gotten it pretty well fixi'd in their minds 



