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Gum Manufacturers to Organize ^^ 



On Saturday, Oct. 18, a meeting, whidi will j;o (Uiwn in ^11111 

 history as of exceeding significance, tooU iilacf ;it I lie Ihitcl 

 Gayoso, Mempliis, Tenn. The meeting can be said to lie directly 

 the result of the very apparently diminished demand for gum 

 which has been noted for some little time past. Certain promi- 

 nent manufacturers have realized the seriousness of the condition 

 and have felt it was incumbent upon tlie bulk of the producers 

 of gum to get together on a common basis to work out ways and 

 means for increasing the market for their product. Some wind 

 of this move has been abroad for quite a little time in connection 

 with the campaign to create a fund for general advertising of 

 gum, but the meeting itself w-as the direct result of the efforts of 

 C. L. Harrison of the Himmelberger-Harrison Lumber ('oni)iany of 

 Cape Girardeau, Mo. 



No permanent organization was effected, although direct steps 

 were taken to that end, and the opinion was expressed by men 

 prominently connected with the meeting that a permanent organi 

 zation is a positively assured fact for the near future. 



If nothing else were accomplished, the expressed opinions of 

 those present at least put the gum condition in a more favorable 

 light. According to reports of the attendants at the meeting, they 

 have an average capacity of from .50,000,000 to 55,000,000 feet a 

 vear and find that they have an average of only four months 

 cut ahead, which is not so bad as they thought. They have 

 21,600,000 feet on hand. According to the report, the average of 

 red gum to a log is twenty-five per cent. 



As stated, there was no permanent organization formed, but, 

 judging from the sentiment exjjressed, one is strongly desire<l. 

 The following committee was appointed for the purpose of work- 

 ing up plans to be reported at a meeting which will be held four 

 weeks from the date of the original meeting: E. A. Lang, L. P. 



liuHose, C. L. Harrison, T. W. Fry, J. VV. .\lr( line. K. K'. Gadd, 

 L. K. Hrowu. 



Another committee was appointed to act as a sort of member- 

 ship committee for the purj)Ose of getting together a list of the 

 names of eligible manufacturers and secure their |)resence at the 

 next meeting to be held as stated in four weeks. 



\V. K. DeLaney of Cincinnati was elected temporary chairman 

 uf thi' meeting and .1. W. McClure of Memphis tem])orary secre- 

 tary. There is no indication as to who the officers for the per- 

 manent organization iuight be when It is affected. 



The discussion of the red gum market develojjed the fact that 

 it was not so weak as it had been thought, and th.-it there was 

 more red gum cut and sold this year by those attending the mi'et- 

 ing than ever lief ore. 



The question of publicity for gum was also given some dis- 

 cussion, but nothing ilefinite was determined in this direction, it 

 iieing probably considered advisable to wait until the permanent 

 organi?.ation was formed before going ahead on such work. 



While the progress made does not seem to be unduly auspicious 

 at first glance, it can readily be comprehended that with such a 

 start it is a comparatively simple matter to form a strong associa' 

 tion of gum manufacturers, which association when |>roperly 

 organized would unquestionably have a powerful influence upon 

 the manufacture and distribution of red and sap gum. Consider- 

 ing the important place which gum occupies in the hardwood 

 demand of this country and foreign countries, it is not a question 

 of "why is this organization to be formed?" but rather, "Why 

 wasn't it formed long ago?" The meeting undoubtedly con- 

 stituted an epic in the affairs of gum manufacturers and it will 

 be interesting to watch how the pro[iosition works out before the 

 next meeting takes place. 



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Chicago Building Project Endorsed 



As a prominent member of the Chicago lumber trade expresses 

 it: "You can't hold them back on this Lumbermen's building 

 proposition. ' ' The spirit displayed at the meeting of the Lum- 

 bermen 's Association of Chicago following tte banquet at the 

 Hamilton Club on Tuesday evening, October 21, was strong proof 

 of the truth of this assertion. 



In the absence of Murdock MacLeod, president of the associa- 

 tion, Vice-President Mashek presided at the meeting. He reviewed 

 the work of the building committee composed of George J. Pope, 

 Everett A. Thornton and Edward E. Skeele. Mr.' Mashek said 

 that the committee had worked in close harmony with the asso- 

 ciation and its board of directors and had been given every assist- 

 ance and advice possible by the board. He added that it now 

 devolves upon the lumbermen themselves to give the project the 

 des.'red support in the matter of space rental, to put the proposi- 

 tion through. 



inasmuch as the meeting was mainly for the purpose of dis- 

 cussing this building question, George J. Pope, chairman of the 

 building committee, took the chair at this point for the purpose 

 of telling of the status of the arrangements and of answering 

 the questions and leading the discussion. He stated that the 

 committee "s arangements are in fairly concrete shape but urged 

 that prompt action is necessary inasmuch as Nov. 1 is the limit 

 given for the rental of the 30,000 square feet of space necessary. 

 He said that unless this amount of space is contracted for by 

 the first of November, the project will be given up definitely, 

 and that so far the work of the committee had resulted in leasing 

 20,000 square feet of space, not including the space to be occu- 

 pied by the Lumbermen's Club and the Lumbermen's Associa- 

 tion. Mr. Pope explained that the committee has met its greatest 



—Si- 



difficulty in the spirit shown by some of the lumbermen who 

 seem to be willing to postpone the definite contracting for 

 space for no apparent reason or for trivial reasons. He requested 

 that those not firmly convinced but of open mind in the matter 

 give the committee an opportunity of calling .upon them at an 

 appointed time in order to demonstrate conclusively the practi- 

 cability and advisability of having space in the Lumbermen's 

 building. 



The architects of the proposed building, Holabird & Roach, 

 had a representative at the meeting for the purpose of explaining 

 in detail the various features of the building. A screen and 

 lantern were provided, and exterior and floor plans were thrown 

 upon the screen. As explained in a previous announcement, the 

 building will be 100x134 feet and 200 feet high. According to 

 the plans shown, the exterior will closely resemble that of the 

 McCormick building, while it is planned to have the interior equal 

 in every resjiect to the modern office buildings of the city, mar- 

 ble and mahogany being used. The structure will be equipped 

 with six elevators. An arrangement will be in effect on each 

 floor whereby any amount of space can be given to any tenant, 

 but the McCormick estate provides that partitions put in at re- 

 quest of tenants must remain intact during the leasing period. 

 This provision is the result of the short lease which is asked, 

 namely, for five years. ' The depth of the larger offices from the 

 windows to corridors will be twenty-four feet, while the smaller 

 ones will be sixteen and eighteen feet. In planning the structure, 

 particular attention has been given to the matter of space, light 

 and ventilation. 



M. C. Kemmen, who has charge of the McCormick building, 

 also owned by the McCormick estate, made some interesting sug- 



