36 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



April 10, 1919 



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Brookmire Economic Service 



56 Pine Street, New York 



millwc.rk :inil fixturps. capital $75,000; the Columljiis Wood Turning Com- 

 Iiiiiiy. Coliimlnis, Inil.. and the Schadtl Manufacturing Company at Knox- 

 villi', Tonn. 



The Johnston & Klarp Manufacturing Company, Lawrenceburg. Ind.. has 

 increased its capital from $10,000 to $30,000. 



The death is announced of William Bassett of Bassett Brothers, Madison- 

 ville. Ky. 



The Washington riow Company, Washington, Ind., has gone out of busi- 

 ness. 



The Pensacola Shipbuilding Company i.s reorganizing at Pensacola, Fla. 



CHICAGO 



Maurice W. Wiley, president of the Sterner Lumber Company, Philadel- 

 phia, Pa., was a Chicago visitor this week. He reports some improvements 

 in the business situation, although delay in settling the peace and other 

 features of the government has delayed matters somewhat. 



Harry Sutton of the Twin City Hardwood Lumber Company, Minnesota 

 Transfer, Minn., spent a day in Chicago this week. He reports things 

 looking up somewhat, but the labor situation in the Northwest is Inter- 

 fering some with the progress of yard dealers and general building. It 

 is his impression, however, that the thing will bear watching very closely, 

 and probably a normal year's business will follow. 



Harry B, Weis.s of George C. Brown & Co., Memphis, spent a day in 

 Chicago this week. The company started up its mill at Proctor, Ark., last 

 Thursday, although the logging situation following the continuous rain- 

 fall since last November is really no better. The recent rainfall of some- 

 thing like nine inches, on top of the continuous rainfall, made the log- 

 ging situation worse than if hampered by severe floods. There were some 

 thirty-eight feet of water in the river last week, but having a fair run 

 of logs at the mill the company is endeavoring to run part of the time 

 until the weather situation clears up. 



The Liberty Lumber & Mill Company, Chicago, has increased its capital 

 stock from $5000 to .ii20,00n. 



The Fred A. Curtis Lumber Company recently began wholesaling hard- 

 woods and dimension stock at 1530 Monadnock building, city. 



The Ennis Hardwood Lumber Company has started a sawmill at Martius- 

 vllle. 111. 



George N. Harder, president of the Rib Lake Lumber Company. Rib Lake, 

 Wis., was East last week, attending a meeting of the board of directors 

 of that company, Mr. Harder passed through Chicago on both trips. 



Hugh McLean of the Hugh McLean Lumber Company, Buffalo, N. Y., 

 spent a few days in Chicago last week. 



J. R. North of the Wisconsin Lumber Company, Chicago, has gotten 

 back from a trip South. 



Joe Thompson of the Thompson-Katz Lumber Company, Memphis, Tenn., 

 passed through Chicago on his return from Wausau, Wis, 



BUFFALO 



A legal conflict has been on in the courts here recently In the case of 

 the government against the Silverthorne Lumber Company, North Tona- 

 wanda, accused of overbilling of lumber shipments to the railroads. 

 Frederick W. Silverthorne, president of the company, was on April 1 

 found guilty of contempt of court by Judge Hazel and remanded to jail 

 In the custody of the marshal. He had declined to turn over to the 

 Federal grand jury the company's books, papers and documents on the 

 ground that these might be incriminating. The company was fined $250 

 for contempt of court and a bond of $500 was ordered to guarantee the 

 payment. Along wVth the above action comes a civil suit brought against 

 the company by the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company for the govern- 

 ment. This suit demands payment of $31,000, alleging that the railroad 

 had been defrauiled of that amount through the overbilling of lumber 

 shipments. The defendants are Mattie F., Asa K. and F. W. Silverthorne 

 and James W. McConkey. 



Buffalo is sparring just now over the problem of tall buildings, and 



as usual the two factions are expressing small opinion of each other. 

 One says that the limit of buildings to 150 feet high, as the common 

 council proposes, would cripple the city's building industry ; the other 

 says that skyscrapers are for towns that have not the land and do not 

 know any better. Bufllalo's people do not wish to wander about at the 

 bottom of a ravine in the way that New York and Chicago do. It 

 rather looks, though, as if the highs have it, for the common council 

 takes no final action and seems to be uncertain about the matter. The 

 HufTalo Lumber Exchange took a fall out of the problem at its last 

 meeting and did not agree any better than other people, so the situation 

 stands at present. 



I'.uffialo is to continue its protest against the deepening of the St. 

 Lawrence river at American expense and will set forth to the commis- 

 sion before whom the matter is now pending, and to the country gen- 

 erally, the facilities and advantages afforded by the improved Erie canal, 

 which now connects the Great Lakes with tidewater. New York state 

 should be deeply interested in the threat against its prosperity, accord- 

 ing to the best-informed canal men, and see to it that the many millions 

 spent on the waterway are rewarded by results. 



The value of buildings authorized in Rochester in March was $182,842 

 greater than in the same month last year. From other cities of the 

 state also come encouraging reports of increase in building activity, and 

 less is being heard as to the oversupply of labor. The opening of the 

 lakes and the farm .season is expected to result in the further relief of 

 the lalior situation to a large extent. 



PITTSBURGH 



Architects and contractors all over the Pittsburgh district are doing 

 their utmost to promote the building of a large number of houses this 

 spring. So far very little encouragement has been offered along this 

 line. 



The Topliff-EIy Company at Washington, Pa., which is a big manu- 

 facturer of baby and doll carriages, let the contract last "week for a 

 $60,000 addition to its plant. The company is now employing 200 

 people. 



The Acorn Lumber Company reports hardwood business is very spotty. 

 This is due largely to the falling off in mining demand. 



At Greenville, Pa., the Art Cabinet Company is a new concern which 

 will use a large amount of hardwood in the manufacture of phonograph 

 calnnets, etc. The contract has been let for a plant and the company has 

 arranged to make ^,000 cabinets for a Chicago concern. 



J. N. Woollett. president of the Aberdeen Lumber Company, says that 

 some concerns are coming into the market quite strongly for gum and 

 Cottonwood. He predicts that high prices are going to stay for the rea- 

 son that actual production of these factories in the southwest has been 

 away below normal for the past year. 



Mayor E. V. Babcock of the Babcock Lumber Company is working over- 

 time to put over the $14,000,000 bond issue which is proposed for Pitts- 

 burgh. This will include a number of immense improvementt^ and will 

 make a splendid market for lumber throughout the year if it carries. 



The Frampton-Foster Lumber Company is doing a splendid business In 

 oak, but reports that medium and low-grade stock is a pretty hard seller. 



BOSTON 



Walter J. Barris, formerly with Lawrence & Wiggin and later con- 

 ducting business on his own account, has joined forces with R. Garfield 

 Fralick who was previously associated with Charles Holyoke of Charles- 

 town, Mass. The new firm under the style of Barris-Fralick Lumber 

 Company will conduct a general retail and wholesale business in Cam- 

 bridge, Mass, 



The Grogan Lumber Company has closed its office at 88 Broad streeti 

 Boston and its headquarters will be at 100 Arlington street, Charlestown 

 where also a general stock of hardwood lumber will be carried. 



Tbe Bay State Builders Finish Company has been incorporated at 

 Chelsea, Mass. 



BALTIMORE 



Among visiting lumbermen in Baltimore last week was E, Stringer 

 Boggess, an exporter, who makes his headquarters at Clarksburg, W. 

 Va., and who stopped here on the way to Philadelphia and New York to 

 see about getting space for foreign shipments. 



It is stated here that the Baltimore Sash and Door Company, which 

 occupies an establishment on South Howard street, also operating a fac- 

 tory, will retire from business. According to, report no more orders are 

 being taken. The concern has been a factor in the trade here for a 

 number of years, I. J. Miley being the general manager. It is controlled 

 by interests in Cumberland, Md. 



There is every indication that something like a building boom will be 

 inaugurated before long under the pressure for additional housing ac- 

 commodations which have been on the increase ever since the w'ar activi- 

 ties attracted large numbers of people and swelled the population by 

 many thousands, while construction work remained in abeyance. The 

 declared value of new buildings for the erection of which permits were 

 actually issued in March exceeds one million dollars, and applications 

 calling for an expenditure of over $800,000, actually filed, are yet to be 

 passed upon. 



Fire early on the morning of March 28 destroyed the lumber mill of 



