October 10, 1921 



Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



35 



One of Veneer Industry's Leaders Dies 



The death of Robert S. Bacon, president of the R. S. Bacon 

 Veneer Company, importers and manufacturers, Chicago, created 

 profound sorrow not only in the little town of Quincy, 111., where 

 for some years he had maintained his residence, but throughout 

 the veneer and panel industry, in which he was a commanding 

 figure. 



Mr. Bacon died on October 1, succumbing to a heart affection, 

 the result no doubt of the driving will and restless energy that had 

 given him such marked success as an importer and manufacturer 

 of fine veneers. He was born in Hannibal, Mo., April 16, 1872, 

 and in the early '90s, after having come to Chicago and won suc- 

 cess with the Dayton Book & Paper Company, Mr. Bacon asso- 

 ciated himself with some Chicago business men and organized the 

 veneer company which bears his name. This company started wiLh 

 a small factory, but under the able leadership of Mr. Bacon grew 

 and prospered rapidly until it is today one of the largest and 

 strongest of its kind in the country, importing and manufacliuring 

 a great deal of mahogany, Circassian and American walnuts, rose- 

 wood, quartered oaks, curly birch, red oak and other fine wood^. 



Success in this initial undertaking led to the organization of the 

 Bacon-Underwood Veneer Company at Mobile, Ala., with sawmill, 

 factory and logging offices at Stockton, Ala. In this connection the 

 company acquired several thousand acres of fine gum timber, and 

 Mr. Bacon spent three years in .Alabama establishing and develop- 

 ing the new enterprise. 



It w^as during this sojourn in the South that Mr. Bacon met 

 Miss Venetia Danner. one of the belies of Mobile, whom he married. 

 Mrs. Bacon was the daughter of Capt. H. E. Danner, a prominent 

 man in his section, a leader in banking, coal mining, railway and 

 other activities. His wife survives him. together with one son, 

 Robert S., and two daughters, Venetia and Mary. He is also sur- 

 vived by his mother, a resident of Quincy. 



A striking example of Mr. Bacon's enterprise was given in 1913, 

 when in order to get first hand information at the source of supply 

 of some of the woods that his company imported and establish 

 direct connection for their further import, he went to the Caucasus 

 mountains, the home of Circassian walnut in the far-away prov- 

 ince of Trans-Caucasia, Russia. His trip took him from Constanti- 

 nople to Batum, in the heart of the mountains and the center of 

 the Circassian timber producing section. Passing through Tiflis, 

 he had a view of Mt. Ararat, upon which Noahs ark rested, the 

 capital of Russian Trans-Caucasia and formerly the capital of the 

 Georgian kingdom. On a hill behind Samson, he plainly saw the 

 ruins of the ancient city of Amysos, mentioned in the Bible as the 

 land of the Hittites. After his return, at the request of the pub- 

 lishers of Hardwood Record, Mr. Bacon wrote a most interesting 

 five-page account of his trip, illustrated with numerous pictures 

 taken by him in that far-away section of the old world, an article 

 that attracted wide attention. 



During his trip abroad, Mr. Bacon arranged for direct importa- 

 tions of fine woods from the Trans-Caucasus to his factory in this 

 country and for exporting his products to Europe. Very shortly 

 after his return, how^ever, the world w^ar broke out and these plans 

 have been delayed. 



Furniture Plant Sued by Lumbermen 



Calbraith & Son. lumber dealers of Sunman, Ind.. filed suit 

 recently in Shelby circuit court, asking judgment of $23,055 

 against the Blanchard-Hamilton Furniture Company of Shelby- 

 ville, Ind., for refusal on the part of the furniture company to 

 accept the remainder of an order of 200,000 feet of one-inch oak 

 at an agreed price of $115 per 1,000 feet, f. o. b. Sunman, Ind., 

 after they had already accepted and paid for 43,000 feet of said 

 lumber. The suit is in two parts, the first asking judgment of 



$18,055 and the second demanding ;?5,000, and asks foreclosure of 

 the plaintiff's liens on the lumber ordered by the defendant com- 

 pany which is now stacked in the yard of the plaintiff company. 



The Wabash Cabinet Company, Wabash, Ind., has received a 

 large Christmas order from an eastern phonograph company which 

 will enable it to resume operations with a full working force, after 

 having been idle for eight months, until December 15. Additional 

 orders are expected after that date which will keep the company 

 in operation. 



Plans are being made for a mass meeting of all the furniture 

 dealers of the state, members of the Indiana Association of Retail 

 Furniture Dealers with executives of Indianapolis furniture factories 

 some time soon to discuss the better homes movement and see if 

 something concerted can not be attempted that will lead to the 

 sale of more furniture. The meeting has been called by George 

 Oilar, president of the retailers. 



Only a small portion of the veneer stock of the Astoria Mahog- 

 any Company was burned by the fire that visited the company s 

 plant at Long Island City. N. Y., on September 21. In all probably 

 not exceeding 3,000,000 feet of mahogany, Circassian walnut and 

 other veneers were burned. The loss will not interfere with the 

 company's business in the least, as it had a large line of mahogany 

 veneer on hand as well as a considerable stock of mahogany logs. 

 The fire did not touch the sawmills, veneer manufacturing plant nor 

 lumber yard. It was confined to one of the company's several 

 veneer warehouses. 



Evansville, Ind.. veneer manufacturers report that their trade 

 is showing some signs of revival now^ and that they look for a 

 steady picking up in business as the furniture trade picks up. 

 Local furniture factories are being operated on an average of 

 50 and 54 hours a week and the retail furniture trade is reported 

 to be a great deal better since the last furniture market was held 

 in Evansville. Veneer manufacturers believe that their fall trade 

 will show a great improvement over their business early in the 

 year. 



