February 10, ]919 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



19 



Important Announcements from Washington 



By H. C. Hallam 



The goveriiinent has issued tlie following statement regarding 

 the proposed disposal of surplus hardwood stocks: 



A confereuce was held January 80 lietwtM-n representatives of the gov- 

 ernment and of the lumber industry' to consider a unifortQ methotii of pro- 

 cedure for the disposal of government surplus stocks of hardwoods. The 

 conference developed the following facts : 



It was not the intent of the government to market these stocks in such 

 a way as to adversely affect the lumber industry. The amount of these 

 stocks is very small. 



A plan was under consideration by wbiidi these stocks would be disposed 

 of in co-operation with the industry. 



Members of the industry in attendance c.vpressed complete satisfaction 

 mith the practical methods which tbe government was employing. 



This statement contains meager details, l)ut it is the under- 

 standing of lumbermen here that hardwood men stand ready to 

 cooperate in the disposal of the stocks, which consist principally of 

 airplane and gunstock material and other specialties. 



In connection with the formation of plans for the disposition of 

 government hardwood surplus stocks, notice has been given of the 

 withdrawal from sale of all or parts of eight lots out of eleven 

 lots of mahogany and walnut lumber belonging to the navy that 

 was to have been sold at the Lang Products Company, Whitestone, 

 Long Island, N. Y., February 15. The stuff to be sold is now calcu- 

 lated at less than 275,000 feet of lumber (propeller material) and 

 202,000 pounds of mahogany cuttings, board end.s, etc. 



A board of sales review has been organized in the War Depart- 

 ment under C. W. Hare, director of sales for Assistant Secretary of 

 War Crowell. Different members of the board have charge of the 

 disposition of various materials, equipment and supplies of which 

 the army has a surjjlus. Major Crunden, for instance, has building 

 material, including lumber, millwork, roofing, wall board, refrigera- 

 tion, etc. Captain Glover has trucks and motor equipment, animal 

 and hand drawn vehicles. Colonel LaMar has woodworking tools 

 and other tools and machinery. Mr. Hartman has furniture and 

 many other articles, and so on. 



The board of sales review has given clearance for the construc- 

 tion division of the army to sell surplus materials at Camp Grant 

 valued at $867,000, including lumber, millwork, etc. The lumber 

 is to be sold through producers in line with a general agreement 

 with them. The remainder of the material is to be sold for cash 

 at auction or to the highest bidder on sealed proposal, or at current 

 market prices. The latter method is generally emj)loyed by the 

 construction division in most instances. 



Probing for Profits 



The Retail Lumber Dealers' Association is much disturbed over 

 a section of the revenue bill providing that business men shall 

 report to the government the profits they made on contracts with 

 or sales to the government. This, it is declared, it is impracticable 

 to do. 



Plans for closer cooperation between the lumber manufacturers 

 and the lumber retailers are expected to be worked out as a result 

 of suggestions that the national retailers' and the national manu- 

 facturers' associations appoint committees to meet and talk matters 

 over. 



For some time only certain kinds of wood andlumber have been 

 licensed as dunnage. Now it is announced that all grades of wood 

 and lumber will receive bunker licenses for that purpose. Of special 

 importance to the ship owner or agent is the further announcement 

 that hereafter any commodity that has been licensed and used as 

 dunnage or for containers may be sold or otherwise disposed of at 

 the point of foreign destination, according to the owner's wish in 

 the matter. In other words, vessels will not be obliged to retain 

 their dunnage and to return it to the United States if they care to 

 dispose of it otherwise. For a time it is said that wood dunnage 



was sold abroad as lumber, better grades and kinds being used as 

 dunnage on that account, but it was understood that the war trade 

 board stopped tliat practice under the license system. 



The Northern Hardwood Emergency Bureau is planned to close 

 March 1. Eoy H. Jones, its manager for the past year or so, has 

 gone to New York preparatory to sailing for Europe on a mission 

 of exploiting northern hardwoods in foreign markets. 



The Crosstie Situation 



M. E. Towner of the raUroad administration expects good results 

 .soon from recent conferences with gatherings of crosstie producers 

 and contractors at Chicago and St. Louis, and a similar affair at 

 Mobile, Ala. Mr. Towner hopes to have differences between the 

 government railroad system and the tie interests adjusted so that 

 there will be little friction. Where hardship has been suffered it 

 is intimated that relief will be granted. One of the problems 

 invcdves small ties. J. E. Pole}', also of the railroad administration, 

 is engaged on efforts to settle troubles of the tie peojjle. He has 

 gone into the southwestern States to stiuly the situation there, 

 and thence to the Mc^ile conference. 



It is said thai liarmony reigns once more between the railroad 

 administration purchasing forces and the southern pine industry. 

 Mr. Towner conferred recently with President J. H. Kirby of the 

 National Lumber Manufacturers' Association, and it was announced 

 afterwards that the administration is not discriminating against 

 southern pine or against certain yellow pine mills in purchases of 

 railroad materials. 



A. L. Justus, who was one of the assistants to Charles Edgar, 

 former director of lumber under the War Industries Board, has 

 been transferred to the War Department, for which he is appraising 

 lots of lumber commandeered by the government for construction 

 purposes. This lumber was taken from retail yards and whUe in 

 transit. Claims for j'ayment for it are being passed upon by the 

 department. 



Concerning the purchase of ties, the railroad administration has 

 issued a statement in which this paragraph occurs: 



As it stands now, there are no absolutely fixed prices of railroad oak car 

 material. The individual purchasing agent buys in his zone if possible 

 and, if not, instructs the regional purchasing agent to place his order tor 

 him. This, of course, is done to the best advantage of the railroad admin- 

 istration but not on the basis of a fixed price. Each railroad has been 

 instructed in reporting the mills on its line to state wbether they sell 

 direct or sell through a wholesale distributor in order that the bid requests 

 may be sent to the proper party. 



Wholesalers Send Out Questionnaire 



The National Wholesalers' Bureau has sent out a questionnaire 

 to wholesalers generally, asking for information relative to market 

 conditions in the section in which each wholesaler does business, 

 respectively. The intention is to compile this information and issue 

 it in some form for whatever it may be worth to members of the 

 trade. The questionnaire calls for data as to- the present condition 

 of trade, the percentage of buying compared to last month, the 

 outlook for the next three or four months, whether prices are main- 

 tained on a uniform basis or there is considerable variation in cer- 

 tain items, what items are being cut, what is the financial condition 

 and outlook, tlie use of trade acceptances, whether the movement 

 and cut of lumber is normal for this season of the year, whether 

 there is a labor shortage and reasons for same. 



The agricultural appropriation bill has passed the House of Rep- 

 resentatives carrying appropriations for the Forest Service and the 

 national forests about as usual. During the discussion of the 

 measure the statement was made authoritatively that the estimated 

 receipts of the national forests during the fiscal year 1919 would 

 be .$4,400,000. 



Senator Wadsworth of New York made the statement in the 



