November 25, 1918 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



43 



activities and cause' a halt until the country had had a breathing spell. 

 Such an outcome had been expected, to be sure, but when it did come it 

 proved none the less arresting In its effect, especially since it has been 

 followed by the United War Work campaign, which is engaging the atten- 

 tion and occupying the time of a number of the hardwood men here. It is 

 no secret that the expectation of important changes in the trade condi- 

 tions has been connected with the termination of hostilities. With the 

 fighting over, there will come the removal of the restrictions that have 

 been imposed upon regular business on the ground that nothing must be 

 allowed to interfere with the work designed to maintain our fighting 

 forces at the highest point of efficiency. The first effect of peace, natu- 

 rally, will be the return of a large part of the army and navy to civil 

 occupations, with all that this Implies, such as a gradual lowering of 

 wages as a rgsult of increasing competition for places. Before this hap- 

 pens, however, business other than war work will be encouraged in order 

 that the elimination of the demand for hardwoods which have until now 

 gone into the making of war materials of various kinds may be compen- 

 sated for. This diversion is confidently expected to prove great enough 

 to maintain the demand for stocks and prevent such a failure in demand 

 as would cause congestion. For the rest, the effect of the coming read- 

 justment will make itself felt gradually and may require some tlmfe for 

 its full consummation. The certainty, however, that the change will come 

 has sufficed to slow up the inquiry at least for the time being, and ac- 

 counts for the easing up noted last week. This easing up does not mean 

 that the inherent strength of the situation has been seriously or at all 

 impaired, for In addition to the shifting to be looked for in the domestic 

 business, there is expectation of the revival of the foreign movement on 

 an extensive scale. The countries of Europe which called for American 

 woods prior to the war were literally starved during the period of the 

 conflict, and the stocks in all of them are entirely depleted. In addition. 

 there is a vast amount of reconstruction to be done, which will call for 

 correspondingly large imports of stocks of all kinds, which, together with 

 the stocking up to insure an adequate selection for normal requirements, 

 will absorb great quantities of hardwoods. The embargoes upon hard- 

 woods imposed by Great Britain and other countries cannot be main- 

 tained, and the raising of the bars will presently be followed by a re- 

 sumption of shipments. Every reason exists, therefore, to assume that the 

 hardwood trade will enter before long upon a period of great activity, 

 and the producers as well as the dealers are Justified in taking a hopeful 

 view of the prospect, with prices remaining high and with margins of 

 profit probably wider, as the cost of production diminishes, with the de- 

 mand enormously stimulated. 



=-< COLUMBUS >-- 



The hardwood trade in Ohio territory has been rather quiet during the 

 past fortnight. Buying has been held at a minimum and trade is not as 

 active as formerly. But on the whole the tone of the market is good and 

 future prospects are considered good. 



Buying on the part of factories has not been as active as formerly, 

 partly because of the stoppage of hostilities. Manufacturers gener- 

 ally are waiting to see what will happen and are not inclined to 

 stock up to any extent. Reserve stocks are now being used, but it is 

 believed they will not last very long and that manufacturers will be in the 

 market before the first of the year. Concerns making boxes, vehicles and 

 implements have been the best customers. A good deal had been sold to 

 manufacturers of gun carriages. 



The retail trade is not active, although dealers will probably come into 

 the market when the building ban is removed. There are intimations that 

 the ban is to be removed entirely soon. Prices are firm all along the line 

 at the levels which have prevailed for some time. Collections are becom- 

 ing better. Shipping embargoes have been removed generally and there is 

 a freer movement of cargoes from the South to northern markets. 



Both quartered and plain oak are in good demand at former levels. 

 There is a good demand for the lower grades of poplar. Chestnut has 

 been rather weak. Other hardwoods are unchanged. 



^-< CLEVELAND^--- 



With few exceptions, there is practically no change in the hardwood 

 situation here following the final announcement of peace terms. The 

 change from war to so-called peace has been so sudden that there can be 

 little effect upon materials, in the opinion of leading interests, nor is there 

 likely to be here until next spring. War construction, which has been vir- 

 tually the only kind of building here during the greater part of the year, 

 of course is expected to diminish. In fact plans of certain factory inter- 

 ests for additions to their plants have been abandoned, as the present 

 facilities are deemed sutficient for peace-time needs of production. The 

 effect of this upon the hardwood industry is seen mainly in a weakening 

 of heavy oak timbers and similar material, which have been used largely 

 up to the present because of their adaptability to speedy construction. 

 This weakness is apparent only in that there is less demand, but at the 

 same time there is no superabundance of these materials in this market at 

 the moment, and consequently no actual reduction in price can be noted. 

 Hardwood interests are optimistic for a big outlet for materials for interior 

 finishing in housing construction, which is the principal business in normal 

 times. Partial lifting of the building restrictions by the authorities at 



^'iiiiiiiiiintiiiiiniiiiintiiiiiiiiiiiiiNmiimiiiiiniiiiiiniiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiii^ 



I SHOOT IT AT US I 



I Your Inquiry for | 



I 4/4 to 8/4 Plain Red and White Oak. | 



4/4 to 12/4 Cypress. j 



4/4 and 5/4 Gum. j 



4/4 to 1 2/4 Ash. i 



6/4 to 1 0/4 Hickory. I 



6/4 and thicker | 



Oak and Hickory Dirtiension Stock | 



LET us DEMONSTRATE THE i 



REAL MEANING OF SERVICE | 



Memphis Hardwood I 



Flooring Company I 



AMERICAN LUMBER 

 & MFG. COMPANY 



PnrSBURGH 



PENNSYLVANIA 



Exclusive Selling Agents 



Lenox Saw Mill Company 



Lenox, Ky. 



PRODUCERS OF 



tiru A >ffir LumDcK 



SOFT y TEXTURE 



WHITE OAK and POPLAR 



AU Three of Us Will Be Benefited if You Mention HARDWOOD RECORD 



