30 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



reserve banks which has lain dormant at Wasliington for years, and 

 that this fact will go a long way towards clearing up the financial 

 situation. Mr. Lieberman said that his concern is holding its lum- 

 ber and that it is not at all disposed to get rid of it without making a 

 fair profit, as he considers that lumber is a better investment than 

 almost anything he knows of. 



Hugh McLean of Buffalo said that he finds stocks the lightest in 

 twenty-five years in the East and Canada in the consuming centers 

 and that his observation is that mill stocks are also light. He said 

 that his concern is holding its lumber, except for immediate shipment, 

 as it does not believe in making large sales for future aliipment at 

 prevailing prices. 



A. E. Xorinau of Holly Eidge, La., endorsed the previous state- 

 ments, and added that he would not take orders at prevailing prices. 

 He also said that producers' stocks are below normal. Ho expressed 

 himself as optimistic as to the money situation and recommended 

 holding stocks pending advance in prices, which is bound to come 

 soon. 



M. S. Hewitt of Indiana, representing the contingent of consumers 

 who were in attendance, spoke in behalf of the maintenance of more 

 uniform price levels. He said that prices go from one extreme to the 

 other and that the low level of values is usually the result of the 

 desire on the part of niillmen to make a dollar too quickly. He said 

 further that as soon as conditions are in fair shape the millraan 

 over-produces, which brings conditions eventually back to where they 

 were before. Mr. Hewitt said that it is difficult for the purchasers 

 of lumber to tell when to buy, because of this unsteady condition of 

 the market, and he said further that the consensus of opinion at a 

 convention of retailers which he had just attended was that manu- 

 facturers should operate steadily, regardless of conditions, which 

 W'ould result in a far more uniform price level. Mr. Hewitt also 

 said that retail stocks are really low- at this time because retailers 

 have not purchased in the face of the downward trend of lumber 

 values and in fact they did not know whether they should continue 

 to hold off or should get into the market. 



Lee Wilson of Memphis expressed himself in accord with Mr. 

 Hewitt "s ideas and said that manufacturers should produce more 

 steadily. 



G. E. Luehrmann of St. Louis said that hardwood stocks are low 

 because shortage of funds has held up operations. He said that 

 good times are ahead. Mr. Luehrmann suggested that the president 

 request all those in attendance who have more than 1,000,000 feet 

 of dry lumber on sticks to stand. Only about twenty-five per cent 

 of those present stood. A. E. Norman said that some of those 

 in attendance sometimes have from 20,000,000 to 30,000,000 feet of 

 dry lumber on hand and that the demonstration gave a pretty good 

 idea of the present stock conditions. President DeLaney then said 

 that his concern has had as much as 30,000,000 feet of lumber on 

 sticks and that it now has about 5,000,000. 



S. B. Anderson of Memphis stated that in his oi)iuion the whole 

 question hinges on the law of supply and demand. He said that 

 logs are not plentiful and stocks are not high, and expressed himself 

 as believing that improvement in the demand for lumber is inevitable. 

 He said that prices will be entirely fair if manufacturers confine 

 themselves to reasonable output. He said that the difficulty arises 

 from the fact that when business is good the output is increased. Mr. 

 Anderson stated that business men should be optimistic but reason- 

 ably cautious; that they should note general conditions and keep 

 fairly close to the ground. 



Upon the suggestion of Mr. Anderson, President DeLaney asked all 

 those who were running less than full time to stand. About thirty 

 of all those in attendance got to their feet. The question was raised, 

 however, as to the significance of such a showing, inasmuch as river 

 mills are naturally shut down more or less on account of the inability 

 to get out logs while there is ice in the rivers. 



Mr. Anderson then said that the question of running full time 

 hinges entirely on the log supply. He said that it is a mistake not 

 to run full time if a full supply of logs is on hand. He raised the 

 question as to whether the members of the association were logging 

 moderately or to excess. The question was decided by request on 



the part of the president that those curtailing the input of logs 

 stand. About twenty-five per cent of those in attendance arose, which 

 indicated that there is some little curtailment of log input. 



F. E. Gadd of Chicago said that stocks at both the mill and con- 

 sumers' yards are light. He said that business was good in 1913 up 

 to November and that it then went flat. Mr. Gadd stated that the 

 gum and oak meetings, held before the convention sessions, brought 

 out the fact that stocks in those woods are low. Mr. Gadd said that 

 his concern recently turned down an order for 1,000,000 feet of gum 

 for future delivery, as he had i'aith in the future market for tliat 

 wood. 



J. E. Ehodes, speaking along the same lines, said that 1913 marks 

 an epoch in the history of the country. He reviewed the accomplish- 

 ments of the administration in Washington. ,He said that business 

 and financial conditions in Chicago and New York show a much 

 better condition than a short time ago, and that 1914, lookir^g ahead, 

 looks much better than does 1913 looking backviard. He said that 

 the passage of the currency and tariff bills and the recent expressions 

 of President Wilson regarding the trust question removed from busi- 

 ness the menace of these political drawbacks. Mr. Ehodes said that 

 deposits in Chicago banks during the three weeks in January were 

 bigger than any three weeks in 1913, and that the quantity of loans 

 was smaller. 



Speaking of stocks, Mr. Rhodes said that they are low all over 

 the country and chat confidence in the year 1914 on the part of the 

 lumber business is shown by shipments. 



E. H. Vansant expressed himself as impressed with the talk of 

 Mr. Hewitt regarding uniformity of cut and prices and expressed 

 himself as believing that if conditions should improve rapidly prices 

 ought not to advance rapidly, but should be governed by cost of 

 manufacture and sales. He expressed himself as believing that prices 

 should hold uniformly in justice to the consumer. He said that he 

 had not changed prices in two years. 



C. Crane, Cincinnati, said that during 1913 the average value re- 

 ceived for his lumber was .$1.60 more than it ever sold for before. 

 He said that his concern manufactured 40,000,000 feet during 1913 

 and sold 47,000,000 feet. He further said that if his stocks do not 

 bring in 1914 an average of ,$2.00 in excess of prices received during 

 1913 they will stay in the yards. Mr. Crane said that the only 

 danger that he sees in the future is that stocks will be too light 

 to take care of the general demand. Speaking of collections, he 

 said that they are good and that during the last three mouths they 

 have been as good as he ever experienced. According to the speaker, 

 the collections of his concern are $140,000 a month and during the 

 past three months about ninety per cent of this has been in cash. 

 He said that the tariff and currency questions are buried to the sat- 

 isfaction of everybody and thinks that the next three or four years 

 will develop the best business in the history of the country. 



S. Lieberman of Nashville got a little out of the line of discussion 

 and talked of the benefits to be derived from association work, citing 

 specific cases where his concern had actually benefited. 



Mr. Lieberman was then called upon by President Del..aney for the 

 report of the nominating committee. 



Mr. Lieberman said that the choices of the committee were the 

 result of feeling out the popular sentiment of the members. He then 

 aptly introduced the officers recommended. The selection and rec- 

 ommendations of the committee were as follows: 



President ; John H. Himmelberger, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 

 First Vice-President ; B. B. Burns, Huntington, W. Va. 

 Second Vice-President , Ralph May, Cincinnati, O. 

 Treasurer ; C. M. Cr.iwford, Coal Grovf. 0. 



executive board 

 W. E. DeLaney, Kentucky Lumber Company, Cincinnati, O. 

 J. H. Himmelberger, Himmelberger-Harriscn Lumber Company, Cape 

 Girardeau. Mo. 



B. B. Burns. C. L. Rltter Lumber Company, Huntington, W. Va. 



C. M. Crawford, Yellow Poplar Lumber Company, Coal Grove, 0. 

 \V. B. Burke, Lamb-Fish Lumber Company, Charleston, Miss. 



R. M. Carrier, Carrier Lumber & Manufacturing Company, Sardis. Miss. 

 Clinton Crane, C. Crane & Co.. Cincinnati, O. 

 W. H. Dawkins. W. H. Dawkins Lumber Company. Ashland, Ky. 

 Frank F. Fee, Fee-Crayton Hardwood Lumber Company, Dermott, .\rk. 

 W. A. Gilchrist, Three States Lumber Company, Memphis, Tonn. 



