HARDWOOD RECORD 



31 



year of nearly 2.300 cars. There 1ms been quite 

 a lot of lumber thrown on the market by people 

 who have to have money. This condition of 

 affairs Is fast disappearing and there is very 

 little stock offered at cut prices. 



Our firm Is carrying in St. Louis about 7.000,- 

 000 feet of hardwoods and 2.500.000 feet at 

 mill points. We arc not adding anything to this 

 stock, as we are shipping out about as fast as 

 we are getting it in. We have only one small 

 mill cutting ash for us at the present time. 

 We have no contracts for lumber except one 

 (or quartered white oak. We find quartered 

 oak. both red and white, common and better, 

 scarce and holding its own In price. 



We believe if the lumbermen hold up and do 

 Dot push their lumber on to an unwilling mar- 

 ket, the prices will remain where they are and 

 on a good many items will advance during the 

 spring months, lours respectfully, 



Steele & Hibbard Lumber Company, 



Q. E. Hibbard. 



i;nASD R.M'IDS, Wis., Dec. 13. — Editor Habd- 

 woou Rt:ooRD : Tour favor of the 12th received. 

 We believe the disposition of the hardwood 

 lumbermen throughout the state Is to be con- 

 servative, and the result will be that production 

 will be at least thirty per cent lower than last 

 year. Most of the season's stocks were less 

 than the average In the hands of manufactur- 

 ers and practically no accumulation in the bands 

 of consumers. The needs of the country are so 

 great that nothing can prevent a strong demand 

 asserting itself next season for lumber. The 

 country generally is prosperous and this demand 

 will surely develop before long with the pros- 

 pects of an early restoration of confidence which 

 Is already Iwing felt. It seems that the finan- 

 cial conditions will be nearly normal by next 

 spring. Therefore, we look for a natural better- 

 ment from now or. and a good, healthy activity 

 In ail business by next spring. Lumbermen are 

 going to do cheaper logging this year than for 

 some years past. This will offset some of the 

 onfavorabie conditions that now prevail. 

 Yours truly, 

 Anrix IlAitDwooD Lumeek Comp.in-t, 

 E. P. Arpin. 



Makixette. Wis., Dec. 13. — Editor Habdwood 

 ItECORD : Keplying to your letter of the 12th 

 inat. would say that we lack the temerity to go 

 on record as to the immediate future of the 

 hardwood market. We know that there will be 

 a strong demand at good prices some time, and 

 as this ultimate coiiditlon is a certainty and 

 the immediate f\iture problematical, to say the 

 least, we figure that our hardwood is worth 

 relatively more on the stump than it is in the 

 pile. Yours tnily, 



SAwrEB-GoomiAN- Cojcpast, 

 Charles A. Goodman, Secretary. 



RiiiNEi.ANDEB. WIS., Dec. 13. — Editor Hard- 

 wood Record : The state of the hardwood busi- 

 ness In Wisconsin is about as follows, as far as 

 comes under my observation : The mills that 

 manufacture hardwood are pretty well stocked 

 now with dry lumber. To be sure, it is sold 

 to some jobber, but It is on hand and the mill 

 men can see It every day. This Is making 

 them cut down their output for this winter, 

 and logging Is not going to be over one-half the 

 usual amount. There will not be as much bid- 

 ding against each other among the Jobbers this 

 winter,* and prices for hulk stocks are likely to 

 be a little lower than they were a year ago. 

 Many of the Jobbers have enough stock now to 

 last them six months or more and do not feel 

 like making any haste to contract for more, 

 as they think there will l>e enough lumber for 

 ereryliody when they get ready to buy. 



As far as present trade Is concerned, there 

 Is none to speak of. This Is the dullest De- 

 cember we have bad for years. An occasional 

 order comes In for something that Is l>adly 

 wanted, generally the order comes by wire. As 



some of the big jobbers are slashing prices to 

 move stocks, there Is no use of our getting into 

 the race with them, it Is better to let them 

 sell and get rid of their stocks and then prices 

 win be better maintained. As a general rule, 

 however, prices have not suffered any slump 

 worth mentioning, not any more than might 

 happen even in the busy season. As most of 

 our lumbermen feel that there Is no use of 

 crowding, lumber onto an unwilling market, and 

 as they feel that January 15 will be soon enough 

 to look for any improvement In trade, they are 

 not forcing matters at all. 



It is my opinion that there will be a much 

 better state of affairs after the holidays have 

 passed. I do not think, as so many of the news- 

 papers do, that this flurry Is due to a few 

 banks failing in Xew York, as the causes for a 

 general cessation of business are deeper than 

 that. It is the fact that we are doing business 

 on highly inflated values. The stock market 

 has squeezed the inflation out of Hieir business, 

 but, generally speaking, there has been no 

 squeeze on other lines of trade, and we must 

 expect that such a change will take place In 

 lumber as well as in all other lines. LalX)r Is 

 the base of it all and must suffer a decline, as 

 It has already suffered in the last few weeks, 

 and when It becomes possible for an employer 

 to get a dollar's worth of labor for a dollar, 

 then business will resume its wonted course. I 

 do not refer so much to the advanced rate of 

 wages, but to the fact that an employer gets 

 only about halt the usual amount out of a man. 

 When you advance a laboring man's wages he 

 thinks he is better than he was before and not 

 obliged to do as much work. 



Perhaps you will not agree with me, and 

 with what I have said, and perhaps it is not 

 such information as jou require, but it is 

 pretty near the truth as far as the amount of 

 stock on hand, the price cutting and the Jobbers 

 having heavy loads on their hands now. 



Yours truly, C. P. Crosby. 



Cleveland, Ohio, Dec. 13. — Editor Hardwood 

 Record: Answering your letter of Dec. 12: 

 The volume of inquiries we have been receiving 

 during the past two weeks would indicate that 

 the demand for hardwoods is going to l)e good 

 from now on. While a good many factories have 

 large stocks, they have not been buying to any 

 extent during the last six or eight weeks, and 

 these stocks have been reduced to some extent, 

 so that we look for a good trade after the first 

 of the year. 



Our mill has been running right along but 

 will shut down for the holidays and will resume 

 right after the first of the year. We probably 

 have on hand 4,000,000 feet of dry stock, which 

 is a little less than we had a year ago. 

 Yours truly. 



W. A. Cool & So.v, 

 Per E. L. French. 



Cin-cixxati, Ohio, Dec. .13. — Editor Hard- 

 wood Record: Referring to yours of the 12th 

 Inst. : 



In our opinion the worst of the financial 

 scare Is past, and after ail It seems to us that 

 it was more a case of stage fright than a con- 

 dition warranted from any other cause. 



What has seemed to be a disaster, in our 

 opinion, will prove to be a blessing in disguise, 

 for the reason that it will afford the manufac- 

 turer an opportunity to clean up and reduce the 

 costs of manufacturing in a manner that had 

 i'cen Impossible with conditions that have existed 

 for the past two or three years. 



We have enjoyed quite a volume of business 

 in all departments, possibly for the reason that 

 cur stocks have been very complete, and we are 

 booking many orders for delivery along the fore 

 part of the coming year. We have not found 

 very much price cutting in poplar or other hard- 

 woods, with the possible exception of a slight 

 concession In oak. 



The production of hardwoods has no doubt 



been curtailed sixty to sevcnty-Dve per cent. 

 The consumption, in our opinion, has not de- 

 creased anywhere near this percentage, nor has 

 tlie selling volume decreased a similar amount. 



With even a normal demand the fore part of 

 the coming year available dry stocks which are 

 now held would very soon be exhausted, with 

 comparatively light stock at producing points 

 to draw from ; consequently we see no reason 

 why any lumber should be sacrificed. 



With the return of confldcnce, which is grad- 

 ually coming, a resumption of operation will 

 necessarily follow, and in our opinion by the 

 middle of January you will find the buyers In 

 the market Instead of the sellers. 

 Yours respectfully. 

 The M. B. Farbix Lumber Company, 



Per W. J. Eckman, Secretary. 



Louisville, Kv., Dec. 13. — Editor Habdwood 

 Record : Replying to your favor of the 12t)i 

 lust., we beg to say that we think that onr 

 opinion in regard to the hardwood situation 

 would not be of much value. We do very little 

 In hardwood lumber, and when such conditions 

 of business arise as at present we simply make 

 no efforts to sell lumber until the trouble has 

 passed i)y, as we are not disposed to cut prices 

 for the purpose of making a sale. There is no 

 doubt but what the luml)er business at the pres- 

 ent time has dropped to practically nothing and 

 that prices have been reduced in some places : 

 usually, however, because the holders of luml)er 

 have not been in the financial condition to en- 

 able them to retain the stock and have, there- 

 fore, been forced to reduce prices In order to 

 raise money for maturing obligations. This 

 seems to us to be the entire situation. 



We agree with you in the opinion that busi- 

 ness will resume its normal condiiion next 

 month, but perhaps not before the middle of that 

 month. Yours truly. 



The liOuisviLLE Vexeer Mills, 



by D. E. Kline. 



Bay City, Mich., Dec. 13. — Editor Hardwood 

 Record: In reply to yours of the 12th, will 

 state we believe the outlook for the hardwood 

 lumber industry In this state to be good. The 

 Michigan Hardwood Manufacturers' Association 

 report of October 1 shows a shortage in all the 

 various kinds of Michigan hardwoods compared 

 with Octolwr 1, 1900, with the exception of 

 liirch. the shortage In basswood, elm and beech 

 being especially large. It Is true that the de- 

 mand for the last two months has l>cen slight, 

 but it is our opinion that this has been caused 

 largely by manufacturers using up their stocks 

 on hand rather than to buy more, and we be- 

 lieve the actual consumption of hardwood lum- 

 ber has not licen much lessened by the financial 

 stringency through which we have been passing, 

 while the production has been materially cur- 

 tailed ; therefore, we look for a good demand 

 shortly after the first of the year, as the users 

 will not only have to replenish their stocks, 

 which arc below the average, but will desire to 

 assure themselves of a year's stock, and we 

 believe they will soon be contracting for hard- 

 wood for 1908. We think the purcliaslng power 

 of the people Is equal to what It was a year 

 ago, and that with easier financial conditions, 

 which are sure to come in a short time, there 

 will be fully as much building as there has 

 been, and that the consumption of articles Into 

 which hardwood enters will be as great as It 

 has been heretofore. Yours truly, 



Tue Kneeland Bioelow Compaxv, 



Charles A. BIgelow. 



Sevmoub. Ind., Dec. 13.— Editor Habdwood 

 Recoiu): Replying to yours of the 12th, we do 

 not look for any improvement In business until 

 the holiday season Is over. We have received 

 during the past week more inquiries than we 

 liave for several weeks, which goes to show that 

 there Is some demand for stocks at a price. We 

 do not think prices will be lowered, l)ccanse 



