HARDWOOD RECORD 



27 



nle district that th.? quantity of liimlicr In the 

 hands ot nianniiuturcrs Is being considerably 

 overestimated. The prices up to November 1 

 were such that lumber was moved forward to 

 i-onsiimin^ iwints from half-dried to Rreen. and 

 the accumuliition sin;e that time has not been 

 Ereat, owing to the linanciai depression. 



Tliere is one factor that does not seem to 

 liavc bi-en taken into consideration in connection 

 with hardwood stock, and that is that through- 

 ont the mountain district in tlie South a very 

 consiilerable percentasc of hardwoods arc manu- 

 factured l\v the small mills cutting from 3,000 

 to 12,000 feet per day. These mills necessarily 

 work from hand to moiiih. and stumpagc has 

 been advanced from time to time on them so 

 that evn at the higher prices olitnineil during 

 the summer there was no great margin to them 

 In manufacturing lumber. The conditions now 

 •are such that, with the resumption of trade on 

 a lower basis, It will be absolutely Impossible 

 lor a good percentage of these mills to resume 

 operation, with the result that their stock for 

 the time l>eing will be eliminated from the mar- 

 kets. 



We feel In view of this that even with the 

 limited demands after the first of tlie year it 

 will not be long before the establislied manufac- 

 turers will be running on a safe basis, and it 

 will ultimately result In steady prices for their- 

 products. 



Taken as a whole we feel that the outlook is 

 fairly bright for profitable business, because of 

 the fact that the small mills above referred to 

 will not resume until prices are back to the higli 

 basis prevailing some six months ago. 



<»f course, it takes a little nerve to sit down 

 and watch lumber accumulate at manufacturing 

 points, but the manufacturer who feels that his 

 stock has a definite market value and abstains 

 from shipping it to the market until he can ob- 

 tain Its value will not be hurt. Very truly yours. 



SlEiRXS LU.MPF.B COMPAXY, I.NC. 



F. R. Seeley. 



RiFF.vijj, X. Y.. Dec. IS. — Editor IlAimwooD 

 Rkcoud: Your letter of the 12th was duly re- 

 ceived. Complying with your request, we take 

 pleasure in handing you below our opinion of 

 the hardwood situation as it looks to us. 



The •financial" panic is no doubt a thing of 

 the past. Its effects no doubt will be felt for 

 some mtjuths to come. This, in connection with 

 the fact that we are about to enter upon a presi- 

 dential year, which always causes a halt in 

 general business, we do not look for a very ac- 

 tive or large trade in hardwood lumber during 

 the j-ear 1908. 



By reason of the fact of the constantly dimin- 

 ishing supply of hardwood and the wise action 

 of large manufacturers in curtailing the supply. 

 we do not look for any very great reduction in 

 prices, although possibly in some lines there will 

 tie some price cutting indulged in. While busi- 

 ness may not be continued with the same activ- 

 ity as characterized the years of 1900 and 1907, 

 yet It Is not going to stop, and when iiusiness 

 goes on the demand for lumber will go on with 

 It, and when we look back at this time next 

 year upon the business done in 1908 we will 

 find that it has been a fair average year, not- 

 withstanding the adverse conditions which ap- 

 pear on the surface at the present time. Good 

 lumber has always been a good asset, and we 

 believe It will continue as such to the end. 



G. Elias & Bito. 



BcFFAt.o, N. Y'., Dee. 16. — Editor Habdwoob 

 Ui;coRD : Answering your favor of the 12th, we 

 believe that very close on the advent of the 

 new year business will Improve, and we will not 

 be surprised to .see it nearly as good as It has 

 been for the past several years. We base our 

 opinion on the fact that we in the past week 

 have received quite a goml many orders for Jan- 

 uary 1 delivery, and are happy to report that 

 prices are very little. If any, less than have 

 lieen prevalent during the past year, which shows 

 a healthy condition. In our opinion. Of course. 



we look for a little falling off during the sum- 

 mer and fall, owing to the "presidential cam- 

 paign," but believe that business on a whole will 

 be satisfactory. Yours very respectfully, 



I. N. Stf.waiit & Biio. 



IJiFFAi.o, N. Y., Dec. 17. — Editor IIaiidwood 

 Recoiu) : Answering your letter of the 12th 

 Inst., to Keating ,Summlt, Ta., as to our opinion 

 on the hardwood situation: 



While we understand many mills of the coun- 

 tr.v have curtailed their ouiptit. our three large 

 band mills in Potter county. I'ennsylvania, are 

 running day and night, making full time. We 

 have not reduced the force in the woods or in 

 the mills. Our shipments have averaged up to 

 the present time about as good as former years. 



We are installing a new Mcrshon band resaw 

 in our <:aleton mill and have Increased our 

 hardwood flooring mill capacity at Gaieton by 

 adding a large now IToyt planer this last month, 

 and are expecting a fair trade after inventories 

 have been taken aufl the new year opens up. 

 Yours truly, 

 EiiroKiuM Ll-mbkr Compaxv, 



\V. L. Sykes, President. 



Appletox. Wis., Dec. IS. — Editor Hardwood 

 IIecord : You ask in yours of the 12th what 

 our observation is concerning present conditions 

 and our view of the situation, and in reply w« 

 are glad to say that in spite of the fact that 

 there is little or no business, we have an abiding 

 faith in the future and we firmly believe that 

 the year 190S will average up with our other 

 prosperous years. 



We can hardly sec how this can fail to be so. 

 The farmer is rich — he has harvested a good 

 crop and received a good big price for it — and 

 is going t<i spend his mone.v. lie is the founda- 

 tion of all our real wealth in this country, and 

 if the farmer is not struck you cann»)t have a 

 panic. And he is spending his money and pay- 

 ing his bills. 



We are reliably informed that a few weeks 

 ago th? International Harvester Company had 

 $30,000 in farmers' paper due on the first of 

 November in one of the smaller towns In Wis- 

 consin, and every cent of it was paiil before 

 the 10th. 



With the exception of a very few items there 

 is no surplus of hardwood lumber, and in view 

 of the fact that it will be six months before 

 the new cut is on the market, practically all 

 the dry stock will be cleaned up before that 

 time. Considering the above and the fact that 

 the large consumers of hardwood are not heavily 

 stocked, we believe that there is going to be 

 no great dirticiilly in maintaining former prices. 



In fact, we feel satisfied that next spring will 

 see nearly as good a demand for lumber as 

 I'xisted a year ago and that the buyer will have 

 to pay as much, at least, for his sto<k as he did 

 then. 



While we are on the subject ot prices we 

 want to enter a most vigorous protest against 

 the seemingly senseless manner In which cer- 

 tain manufiiiturers and jobbers of hardwood 

 have gone after trade. To our mind there is no 

 use In crowding lumber on a sick market, for 

 that can only spell ruin. There have been men. 

 especially in the north here, who have circular- 

 ized the country offering lumber at from 

 St.. 30 to $r. off prevailing prices. To our mind 

 this only enhances the dlflicully and makes it 

 all the harder for trade to regain Its normal 

 condition. We. ourselves, prefer to carry our 

 stock over to next sen.son rather than disiwse of 

 It at ridiculous figures. 



Things seem to be picking up conslilernbly 

 and while, as we said above, there Is practically 

 no new business coming In. still concerns who 

 had planned to put off their buying until the 

 latter part of .laniiary or February have In many 

 cases changed their minds and are ready to 

 place their contracts now. This In Itself Is a 

 mighty good sign. 



As stated al«ve. we are extremely optimistic 



regarding the future and really believe that the 

 new year will be all that we hope for. and that 

 it will be only a few months before the present 

 financial stringency will lie but a bad dream. 

 Yours respectfally, 

 G. W. .loxKS LiMiiEit Compaxv. 



U. II. Jones, Secretary. 



I'iiii.ADEi.PiiiA. I'A.. Dec. 10. — Editor Habd- 

 WMili Kkcobd ■ We. have you recent favor on 

 the subject of the general business conditions in 

 Itardwood lumber, and would say from the way 

 we look at it, there is some consumption going 

 on all the time, altliough It Is restricted, but it 

 is bound to use up a certain amount of lumber 

 and buying, which has stopped almost entirely 

 lentil the end of the year, will necessarily have 

 to commence earl.v in the coming year. We 

 feel the holder rif hardwood lumber will 1m? much 

 Itetter off in refraining from making any great 

 efforts to sell during the present month and 

 holding his stock at fairly firm prices, which 

 are sure to be realized later on. 



While there are .some bargains being offered 

 through the buying section, they are being taken 

 up to a certain extent, and we do not look for 

 this condition to last very long, and there is 

 no doubt that the available supply of dry hard- 

 woods will not last very long and that the pres- 

 ent output has been restricted to such an extent 

 there is going to be very little new lumber 

 coming in during the spring, except absolutely 

 green stoi-k. Yours truly, 



BoICF. LUMBEB COMPAXY. IXC, 



Per C. E. Lloyd. Jr. 



CiiATTAXoOGA, Tenx., Dsc. 10. — Editor n.vRD- 

 wiMiii Reooep: Replying to your favor of the 

 lOth inst., asking our opinion of the hardwood 

 situation. 



It seems that the financial situation is looking 

 up, and as consumers have only been buying 

 lumber for their Immediate needs, until such 

 lime as money matters resume their normal con- 

 dition, there should be a good demand for hard- 

 wood lumln'r shortly after the first ot the 

 year. 



From all Indications dry stock is very scarce 

 and the output has l)een curtailed at least 50 

 per cent. For this reason the people who have 

 the stock and are in position to hold it will 

 not sacrifice it to any great extent. We be- 

 lieve that if there is any difference in prices 

 they will go higher instead of lower, as the 

 consumer seems to think, or at least to hope. 

 Very truly yours. 

 The CaseFowi.er Co.mpaxy, 

 II. c. I'.iwler, Secretary and Treasurer. 



CiitCAuo, 111., Dee. 17.— Editor llAitDwoou 

 Record: Answering your favor ot the 12th, 

 requesting the writers opinion on the hardwood 

 ^ltuation, will say that 1 find that owing to 

 the pri'seni money stringency a great many 

 nortluru mills have temporarily closed down. I 

 understand this is also true to a greater extent 

 iu different parts of the South, and you can 

 readily see that this curtailmeul, together with 

 the car sliortagc which is known to exist, will 

 keep the prices of hardwood firm. If not be the 

 lausc ot a marked advance the early part of 

 the coming year of 1908. 



On the other hanil. It Is a known fact that 

 only a small percentage of the wo<idworklng, 

 liardwiMid manufacturers and factories of all 

 kinds have closed ilown or reduced their labor 

 forces. They all seem to have plenty ot orders 

 on their books on which they can and will 

 resume shipments as soon as the money market 

 "loosens up," which condition Is more prevalent 

 now than at any time during the past sixty 

 days. 



It is my firm and honest belief that there will 

 lie as much if not more hardwood luinlK-r con- 

 sumed during the coming year ot 190S than In 

 any previous year. Furthermore, for your In- 

 formation, wish to advise you that our hard- 



