36 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



January 25, 1919 



Big Fire at Woodworking Plant 



Fire destroyed the big plant of the Fitzgerald-Speer Company at Pen- 

 argyle. Pa., on the night of Tuesday, January 21. The concern is a large 

 manufacturer of fancy bar fixtures. The loss sustained approximates 

 $800,000, it being stated that between 300 and 400 carloads of high-grade 

 lumber were consumed. 



John M. Woods Lumber Company Elects Officers 



The annual meeting of the John M. Woods Lumber Company of Mem- 

 phis, Tenn., was held at Memphis on January 14. The following officers 

 were elected for the year : 



President, John M. Woods ; vice-president, W. E. Chamberlin ; secretary- 

 treasurer, AI. E. Philbrick ; manager, R. H. Goodspeed. 



The board of directors received a letter from E. D. Walker, who has 

 been treasurer of the corporation since its organization, in which he 

 expressed hi.s desire to relinquish that office because of ill health. 



Gill-Andrews Opens Chicago Office 

 The Gill-Andrews Lumber Company of Wausau, Wis., has opened up 

 offices in the Lumber E.xchange building, Chicago, in order to be 

 more closely and constantly in touch with trade in and around this big 

 market. Two salesmen will handle the company's business out of the 

 Chicago office, namely, W. H. Abbott, who has been in the Wausau office 

 for some time, and H. W. Waffett, who for several years has been asso- 

 ciated with the Steven & Jarvis Lumber Company of Eau Claire, Wis. 

 The new offices are at 503 Lumber Exchange building. 



Thomas Perry Becomes General Manager 



.«ter a great many years of close application to the development of 

 the business of the Grand Rapids Veneer Works of Grand Rapids, Mich., 

 Z. Clark Thwing has determined that he will gradually retire from active 

 direction of the business, which he has built up to such a permanently 

 strong basis. Therefore, about the first of the year Mr. Thwing made 

 his arrangements to take a protracted vacation to Florida and thus begin 

 Lis period of gradual retirement. He still remains the head of the insti- 

 tution, now being president, but is succeeded as general manager by 

 Thomas D. Perry, who was formerly in charge of the dry-kiln department 

 of this organization. 



Mr. Perry also becomes vice-president, and In these two offices is the 

 active head of the whole institution. Mr. Thwing left Thursday night for 

 his Florida trip. 



Both Mr. Thwing and Mr. Perry are deserving of congratulation, Mr. 

 Thwing for his great success in building up the business and Mr. Perry 

 because he comes Into such a responsible position. 



Major Allen Goes to Siberia 



C. B. Allen of the Allen-Eaton I'auel Company, Memphis, Tenn had 

 just reached Chicago last Tuesday in starting out on a two weeks' 'busi- 

 ness trip when he got iu long distance connection with his son. Major C. 

 D. Allen of Camp Lee, Va., and learned that he had been given instruc- 

 tions to await traveling orders that will take him to the American forces 

 now engaged in the Siberian campaign. Major Allen is attached to the 

 medical corps of the regular army and has won very rapid promotion. 



Haedwood Record was pleased to be able to mention his war work last 

 July, at which time he was lieutenant. He gained his majority August 31 



Naturally Major Allen's family is very much upset over the sudden call 

 for such a far distant point, as it may be several years before he will be 

 released from duty at that post. This eventuality, of course, depends 

 upon developments in Russia. The orders, however, seem to indicate 

 that Major Allen will have to start out immediately, possibly without 

 even having time to visit his family. 



Pertinent Information 



Identification of Mahogany 



A report has been published by the Royal Dublin Society (Vol XV No 

 34 December, 1918) by Henry H. Dixon, on the identification of mahogany.' 

 The report contains plates and a key for identifying different species 

 which pass commercially as mahogany. This report should be of interest 

 to manufacturers and users who are called upon in course of business to 

 distinguish between the different woods which pass as mahogany. The 

 publication is probably not on sale in book stores, but may be consulted 

 n. public libraries which have a department of scientific publications. 

 No More Lumber Out of Russia 



The forests of those parts of Russia under Bolshevik control will no 

 longer furnish lumber for building purposes in the rest of the worid 

 unless something is done to eliminate the Bolshevik control. The timber 

 trade, outside of the White sea district, has been dealt a death blow by 

 !vL^r^ f ^"° °^ " '^'"'^ "''"" '"'^ ^°"«t government, which forbids 

 s^Zll for™" """''^' ''"' ''^'^'"^^ "^''^ ^" "^'-'^ '-»"•'"»" --' -^e 

 t J",' <Je<^ree jvhlch affects all districts of Russian under Bolshevik con- 

 „n ' ^f,'^"""''^ *'"'* "»» ^"k i° connection with forests and trade In timber 

 and all wood manufacturing will be taken over by the local Soviets A 



ban on what Is called "exploitation by the capitalist class at the expense 

 of workingmen" Is ordered. 



Reports indicate that the decree has already cost lumber Interests, par- 

 ticularly those of the Scandinavian countries, heavy losses. Norwegian 

 lumbermen are hard hit, as much of their properties, representing millions 

 of crowns, are in Bolshevik territory. 



Furniture Outlook Good 



St. Louis furniture manufacturers are entering upon one of the best 

 years they have ever experienced, according to a statement recently made 

 by John H. Meier, chairman of the furniture division of the St Louis 

 chamber of commerce. Conditions are favorable for lively manufacturing 

 and satisfactory wages and profits. Stocks of furniture are generally 

 low, and the factories yill be kept busy to meet the demand. 



Big Purchase of Canadian Lumber 

 Great Britain has negotiated for 1,000,000,000 square feet of Canadian 

 lumber of all grades, valued at appro.ximately $40,000,000. It is under- 

 stood this will be allocated among the several timber provinces. 



Will Sell Abandoned Toys 

 Shipments of toys which left Germany before the war but were held 

 up somewhere on the road until quite recently have reached this country 

 where they have not met with much welcome. Some of the consignee 

 refuse to receive them and prefer to lose what has been Invested in them 

 rather than take chances of offending their customers by offering the toys 

 for sale. Others announce that they will store the toys a few years until 

 popular prejudice against Germany dies down. Such toys as are aban- 

 doned will, after a certain length of time, be sold at aucUon by the gov- 

 ernment to pay the duty and the cost of storage. 



California's Claim 



The claim is made for California that it uses more lumber than any 

 other state in the Union ; but the claim is made by Californians who seem 

 to have overiooked figures from some other states. Statistics will not 

 substantiate the claim. At least ten states use more lumber than Cali- 

 fornia, If government figures published by the Forest Service are correct 

 Among the states using more than California are Illinois, New York 

 Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Virginia, Arkansas and 

 Ohio. The state of Washington is ahead of California in the quantity 

 of lumber going to factories ; but some of this is for flooring and house 

 finish and is shipped to other states after being manufactured. 



Insurance for Soldiers and Sailors 



The Treasury Department at Washington has addressed to the soldiers 

 and sailors a circular letter urging them not to let their Insurance lapse. 

 About four million men were insured for $37,000,000,000, This advice 

 is given to the men : 



ri^'h5''<rF,rin'''i°'' °^ continuing your government insurance is a valuable 

 light given to you as part of the compensation for your heroic and 

 nih^P""?' services. If you permit the iisurancn to lapfe, vou lose that 

 right, and you will never be able to regain it. But if you keen un vour 

 ^ble^to c"ha"n"e 'irJ'/. *"" ?^^'"'. P'''^^™* "' Premiu^m"s-yo'S w^^ilf^be 

 examination °MinnH„,„ ^t^nlard government policy without medical 

 sfanJolll fh» 1^^"'^\""' ^""i can keep up your present insurance at sub- 

 stantially the same low rate. The government will write ordlnarv life 

 insurance, twenty-payment life, endowment maturing at age 62 and other 

 "rnment°raTes ■°''^'"^°<^'^- '^'^'^ ^"» ^e government insurance^at gov- 



October Wood Exports 



Figures have been published by the government showing the export of 

 lumber and other wood products during last October. This was the last 

 full month of the war, and it will be interesting to study export figures 

 month by month in the future to note the gradual changes as they occur. 

 The total value of forest product exports for November, 1918, were larger 

 than for the corresponding month of 1917 ; hut most items were smaller. 

 The larger total was made up by a few items. The leading figures follow 

 for 1917 and 1918, the figures representing value : 



Round logs <trt0 014 'i^Fnta 



S^f^,^'?!^^ ::::::::::::::: ^JU:?!! fi|;?l 



Lumber 417,557 276 614 



F mitnre 3,5S0.547 4,291616 



Coot^era^e 3S2.202 230 682 



Box shnoks 160,410 368,081 



Staves 152,478 154 587 



*™^^s 342,919 273^312 



'■'''*"' •$n.-sn.972 $7,265,712 



The Wooden Shoe Sole 



Wooden shoes and wooden soles for leather shoes are coming into greater 

 use than formerly in this country, though the change is not very rapid 

 or among people of all classes. It is a factory or a worker's footwear. 

 The wooden sole keeps out water that would soak through a leather sole, 

 consequently the wear's feet remain dry under circumstances which would 

 subject them to dampness If leather were worn. The wooden sole being 

 warmer, the wearer's health is better during winter. Maple and beech are 

 the best sole woods ; and the most frequent wearers are miners, stable 

 keepers, foundry men, teamsters, brewers, car conductors, and street 

 workers. Lumber for soles Is sawed two inches thick, but the thickness 

 is reduced in manufacturing. Such a sole is much cheaper than leather 

 and wears much longer. Noisiness and appearance constitute the principal 

 objection to wooden soles. 



