Copyright. Vuz IlAFdiwooD (Company, 19^1 



Published in the Interest of the American Hardwood Forests, the Products thereof, and Logging, Saw 

 Mill and Woodworking Machinery, on the 10th and 2Slh of each Month, by 



THE HARDWOOD COMPANY 



Edwin W. Meeker, Vice Pres. and Editor 

 H. F. Ake, Secretary-Treasurer 

 Lloyd P. Robertson, Associate Editor 



Seventh Floor, Ellswortli Building 

 537 So. Dearborn St., CHICAGO 

 Telephone : HARRISON 8087 



Vol. LI 



CHICAGO, SEPTEMBER 25, 1921 



No. 11 



General Market Conditions 



EVEN THOIUJH KKI'OHTS OF BUSINESS comlitious ;uv lu.t 

 eiitiroly I'on.si.sti'iit in every reference to various important mar- 

 kets, the fact remains that there is evidence justifying the statement 

 that reference to depression can now be expressed in the historical 

 seu.se. It ha.s been exceedingly interesting to watch the progressive 

 development in business conditions and at the same time a very difli- 

 cult job to sort out the essential from the nonessential indications, 

 firawing one's conclusions from a parallel alignment of contrary facts. 

 The job of business prognostication over the past year has been 

 fraught with difficulty and in its efforts HARDWOOD Record has con- 

 sistently endeavored to record the average sentiment and to disco\uit 

 extreme experiences'. Thus while conditions were on the declining 

 stage it was lu'cessary to reject the experiences of those who for some 

 leason or another were still able to keep up at the top and also those 

 who in the beginning were in the extreme depths of pessimism. Even- 

 tually business reached a seemingly level stretch, marked, howe\er, by 

 many abrupt rises and many precipitous plunges to unfathomable bot- 

 toms below. It was necessary, though, to bear in mind constantly the 

 net result of observations and thus II.\F!Dwood Kecoud has consis'tently 

 recorded for some time a practically immobile state of trade. 



Then gradually there develojied a preponderance of optimism over 

 ]iessimism in which the high points scored more heavily over the 

 lower points with resulting more favorable levels. This state has con- 

 sistently continued for the past two or three months until todaj' the 

 success of favorable factors over unfavorable influences has so dis- 

 tinctly arrested itself as to have earned its right to dominate. 



Still, though, one is not justified in predicating judgment upon lone 

 experiences and thus Uakdwood HKrORU has discounted to a fair av- 

 erage the experience of one large and conservative Memphis operator 

 whose record for the jiast ten days shows sales at actual price increases 

 of from $2 to $5 within a week's time, covering several of the major 

 hardwood items iiudusive of some of the low grades. A fair average 

 statement, though, would fully justify at least a partial acceptance 

 of this one experience as indicative of the whole. The record of in- 

 creasing inquiries and orders from Memjihis is borne out from many 

 ^~ other points and is resulting from increased business with consuming 

 crj industries. In the meantime log and lumber production is practically 

 '' non-existent, sto<-ks are disappearing with increased rapidity and with 

 I actual danger of exhaustion in some items. Though the experience of 

 ^^ all hardwood men mav not neces.sarilv support the statement that busi 

 I— 



CD 



ness is definitely improving, the exjierience of the average oi>erator is 

 assuredly along those lines. 



The Right and Wrong of Anti-Misrepresentation 

 Campaigns 



AT THE I'fiESENT MOMENT it ai.pears that the efforts to 

 cover up the identity of the propagandists sponsoring the 

 much-talked-of anti-substitutir)n campaign have in themselves aroused 

 such a widespread curiosity as to the identity of that individual, or 

 individuals, that the real point is missed and the nu^ritorious principl.' 

 lost sight of. It would be well, therefore, to remind the trade that 

 just because in this campaign the jirinciple is seemingly being sacri- 

 ficed to iiulividual ambition.s, there is no reason why misrepresentation 

 in furniture manufacture and merchandising should be tolerated. 



The position of plywood in furniture and interior finish manu- 

 facture is firmly established and is expanding with astonishing 

 rapidity. Its use in jirojier combinations and ])roper locations in- 

 sures not only much more strength, durability and gencr.-il quality, 

 but makes possible effects in beauty and color jihysically unattain 

 able otherwise. No man of intelligence and sincerity can success- 

 fully dispute plywood's right to the jiosition it holds. 



These facts are pointed out because H.Minwooi) RKroni) believes 

 the cfTort to eradicate misrepresentation is so all-important in the 

 campaign to gain popular interest in furniture and so necessary 

 in engendering a popular sympathy with the lumber industry, that 

 it is deplorable to jeopardize the chances of attaining those ends 

 through methods that are certain to create antagonisms rather than 

 the sincere cooperation so necessary to any big effort. 



Furniture is sold as a necessary household utility, purcha.sed for 

 its beauty of color and design, its strength and durability. It is 

 offered in various standards of manufacture so as to present to the 

 public these essential feature at a range of prices designed to meet 

 individual ability to ])ay. Thus it is obviously an economic im- 

 possibility to eliminate the substitution of cheajier woods in the 

 construction of furniture designed to represent mahogany or wal- 

 nut, and any effort to bring about such elimination would appar- 

 ently be against public interest. However, the public should know 

 what it is getting and should be convinced of the sincerity of the 

 furniture industry in marketing its product. It should not, though, 

 be rendered suspicious of every ]dece of furniture it sees, by prop- 



