18 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



JaiiiKiry 2.",, IJHili 



Table of ew Rates 



Table showing new rate and the amouut of reduction from and 

 to roTjresentative point, as prepared by the association, is given 

 herewith : 



Colnitm 2. Amount of Reduction in Cents Per 100 Pounds 

 Column 1: New Rates in Cents Per 100 Pounds 



rieve- Buffalo- New 



TO — Chicago Detroit land Pittsburgh York 



Column Column Column Column Column 



12 12 12 12 12 

 FROM— 

 Missouri: 



Kennett ...31i^ 3 30'/^ 3 38 3i^ 41 4% 50 4% 



Helena' 32V4 1% 37^4 2 39 2V4 39^4 2% 49 3 



Brinkley 3414 2^4 39^4 2^4 41 3 42% 3^A 51 3%. 



Marked Tree...33V4 3 3SH S% 40 3% 41^2 3 r.l 3% 



Little Rock 36^4 3^4 41% 3 43 3% 46 4 51 3% 



Camden 38% 4 43% 4 45 4% 47% 2% 51 3% 



Louisiana: 



Alexandria 40% 3% 45% 3 47 3% 48% 4 52 2% 



Oakda'e 40% 3% 45% 3 47 3 48% 4 52 2% 



New Orleans... 39% 2% 44% 3 46 3% 47 3% 52 2% 



Texas 40% 3% 45% 3 47 3% 47% 2% 51 3% 



Mississippi: 



Charleston 35% 2%. 40% 3 42 3% 41% 3 51 3% 



Greenville ) 35% 2% 41% 3 42% 3% 43 3% 51 3% 



Vicksburg ( 



Greenwood 36% 3 42% 3% 43% 4 42% 3% 51 3% 



Meridian 38% 3% 43% 4 45 4% 46 4% 49 3 



Tennessee: 



Memphis 32% 36% 1% 38 2 37% 2 46 3% 



Nashville 34% 1 35% 1% 36% 1% 36% 1% 43% 2% 



Chattanooga ...37% 2 37% 2 37% 2 36% 1% 43% 2% 



Mar.vville 39% 2% 39% 2% 39% 37 1% 43 2% 



Alabama: 



Guin 37% 1 41% 3% 43 3% 42% 3% 51 3% 



Tuscaloosa 37% 2 41% 3 43 3% 44 4 47 2% 



Mobile 39% 2% 43% 4 45 4% 46 4% 51 3% 



Georgia: 



Macon 41% 2 45% 3 47 3% 40 3% 4.1 2% 



Florida: 



Marianna 40% 1% 44% 3 46 3% 47 3% 48 4 



Kentucky: 



Loi'isvillo 21% 24 25 % 26% 1 38 2% 



Paducah 21 % 28 1% 29% 2 33 3 44% 5 " 



Campbellsville .33% 1% 33 % 2 33% 2 33 1% 47 " 3% 



Quicksand 35% 2% 35% 2% 35% 2 33% 2 ' 44% 3 " 



North Carolina; 



Asheville 44% 2% 44% 2% 44% 2% 41% 2 41% 2 



South Carolina: 



Spartanburg ...17 3% 47 3% 47 3% 45% 3 41% 2 



West Virginia: 



Pickens 34 1 29% 2 27% 20.3 33 2 



Midvale 34 1 29% 2 28% 24 n 35 3 



Boyer 35 1% 29% 2 29% 2 29% 2 34 2% 



Pax 35 ]% 29 2 29 2 29 '' 38 4 " 



Parkersburg ...26 22% (I 19% IS 32% IS 



Virginia: 



Lynchburg 36% 2 31 1 31 1 31 1 33 " 



Abingdon 41% 4 37 3% 37 2 37% 4 40 5% 



NOTE — These figures may he subject to slight changes when the 

 decision is worked out in detail and put in tariff form. 

 Text of the Decision 

 The following is the cnmplcle text of tlii' Interstate CDiniiHTee Com 

 mission's decision : 



No. 12995. 



S01:tIIER.\" II.UUIWOOI) TRAFFIC ASS()CIATIU.\ KT .\I,. 



r. 



H.LINOI^i CKNTR.U, RAILROAD COMr.\NV KT .\I,. 



Submitted Octdlper 1". 1921. Decided .lamiaiy IC, 1922. 



Rates fin hardwood lumber and forest product.^ from pcdiits iji the states 

 of Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi. Alahnma. (ieorgia, 

 Florida, .South Carolina, Xnrth Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Ten- 

 nessee, and Kentucky to ceiKral territory and other defined territories 

 found unreasonable for the future to the extent shown in the repnrl. 



J. r. Xortnan- and (1. F. Oruham for coin|)laiiiants. 



ancrnscii Orcutt, A. P. Uumhurg, Clauilian IS. Jiorthrop, Clinrhs M'lhhtr. 

 Ediiln A. Lucas, Edward D. Moltr, M. O. Uoherts, tl. (!. llcrbel. A. II. 

 Enoch and Ilcnru ThiirMl for defendants. 



T. M. llcnderimn for Nashville Lumlicrinen's Clul) ; drorgc II. Wrhstcr 

 for Associated Cooperage Industries of Ameriea : .\iilnii- llair for ]:il< 

 River Coal & Lumber Company, interveners. 



ItKI'OilT Of TIIK CoM.MlSSlOX. 



Cox, CoiHuii-sf^ioucf : 



Complainants are the Southern liai-dwiHid Traffic Association, a vciluu- 

 tary organization of manufacturers and distributers of hardwood lumber 

 and the products thereof, ivith principal offices at Memphis, Tenn., and 

 various organizations and individual corporations having like interests. 

 Other harilwood interests intervened in support of the complaint, which 

 attacks as unreasonable the rates on hardwood logs, bolts, billets, and 

 other rough material between jioints in the states of Missouri, Arkansas, 

 Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama. Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, 

 North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky. Indiana, 

 and Ohio, and as unreasMnabb', unjustly discriminatory, and unduly 



in effeet .\ugust 2.">. 



t(ny rates fi)r the 



gle section. In 1918 the 



prejudicial the rates on hardwood lumber and other hardwood forest prod- 

 ucts taking lumber rates or arbitraries higher from points in the states 

 named to the Ohio River crossings and to destinations In western tnmk 

 line territory, central freight association territory, including Illinots- 

 Wisconsin territory, ruffalo-Pittsburgh territory, eastern trunk liue ter- 

 ritory, Canada, Virginia cities territory, aud Cartdina territory. Although 

 Ohio and Indiana are included in the territory or origin covered by 

 the complaint, the evidence was practically confun'd to traffic originating 

 south of the Ohio River aud our fludiugs will not include rates from points 

 in those states. The general rate level is assailed rather than individual 

 rates, it being alleged that the increases since June 24, 191.S, have resulted 

 in transportation charges greater than the traffic can bear, and in undu? 

 prejudice to complainants aud undue preference of competing shippers in 

 Wisconsin, Michigan, and <ither northern stati's because of the widening 

 of the spread in favor of sucli competing iioints resulting from percentage 

 increases in rates. 



Subsequent to the hearing complainants nski'd and were granted per 

 mission to withdraw from consideration that part of the complaint deal- 

 ing with the rates on logs. These rates will not, therefore, be considered 

 in this report. 



On .lune 25. 191S, under general order No. 2,S of the Director General 

 of Railroads. conimodit.v rates on lumber anil fitrest products were in- 

 creased 20 per cent, but not exceeding an increase of o cents per 100 

 pounds. On .\ugust 2fl. 1020, following the general increase authorized 

 by us in Increased Rates, 1920, 5S I. C. C, 220, the interstate rates on 

 these and other commodities were iucreased 25 per cent within the south- 

 ern group as defined in tliat proceeding, 40 per cent within the eastern 

 grouj). 35 per cent within tlie western gi'oup. auil 33 ';i per cent between 

 groups. 



The spe<-ilic jirayer of the complaint is that the rates 

 1920, be jirescribeil as reasoualtli' ami noudiscrimin; 

 future. 



Ilardwoijd production is not cmilined to ; 

 proilucing states, in the order of tlieir importance, were Arkansas. West 

 ^'irginia, Michigan, Wisconsin. 'I'ennessee, Louisiana, aud Mississipjii. 

 I,arge quantities were also produced in Pennsylvania. Ohio, Indiana, and 

 New York in the north and in Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, an<I 

 Missouri in the soulh. The total production in the northern states for 

 the year miuitioneil is shown as 1.947,000.0011 feet and in the southern 

 states 3,212,(100,000 feet. 



Lumber Is Desirable Traffic 



Lumber is ilesiralile traffic from a transiiortatiiui standi)oiut. It loails 

 heavily, may be transported in any kind of car, moves the year round, ami 

 the risk to the carrier from loss or damage is negligible. It ccnistitutes a 

 substniitial part of the tonnage of defendanls. The statistics showing the 

 relation of lumber tonnage to the total tonnage handled by defendants is 

 not divi<led as between hardwood and other lumber. 



The hardwood industry of the south Is in a state of prostration. It was 

 estimated at tiie time of the hearing in October that ''> per cent of the 

 mills in the southern and .\ppalacliian regions were closed. Many of those 

 still in operation were running on short time. While there was a consid- 

 erable falling off during 1921 in the hardwood-lumber movements, it is 

 represented that the loss of traffic in the near future may be still greater. 

 The current movement is due in part to th(' fact that mills liave been 

 getting out logs purchased umler contra<-ts heretofore made which call for 

 the cutting of th<' timber within a specilied time. Wheu the Hrst depres- 

 sion came in the lumber market large stocks of both logs and lumlicr were 

 on hand at the mills and in the yards. These stocks have, to some extent, 

 been moving. Hut the logging operations, whi<h are conducted in the fall, 

 are being greatly curtailed. A traffic witness for an important Mississippi 

 Valley line stated that while the movement of logs in the autumn on his 

 road is usually heavy, the moveuu'nt during the past aut\imn has been light. 



The movement of lumber via certain northern liui's froiu jioints in Wis- 

 consin to Chicago during the first six months of 1921 was approximately 01 

 per cent of the movement during the tirst six unuiths of 1920. The move- 

 ment of lumber friuu jioints in Indiana to various destinations in central 

 freight association territory was also less in 1921 than in 1920 for compara- 

 ble periods. 'J'liis testimony jiurports to sliow that the business depression as 

 its alfects the lumber industry has been felt in the north as well as in the 

 south. 



Complainants do not seriously contend that the increases in freight 

 rates alone arc the cause of the business depri'ssion as it alTects them 

 This depression Is admittedly the result of lessened demand aud rapidly 

 falling prices which were themselves but manifestations of business con- 

 ilitions generally, an aftermath of thi> war. 



Some Grades Back to Pre-War Value 



During the first six months of 1920 lumber luic-es ri'aeh.d the higbi'st 

 mark in the history of the industry. The decline since that time is illu.s- 

 trated by the following comparisons of prices of oak lumlier f. o. b. mill, 

 per 1,000 feet, submitti'd by a Louisiana jiroilncer : 



.Tulv, 1920 .lulv, 1921 



Firsts and seconds ' l|!175 $75-$.SO 



No. 1 common 150 30 



No. 2 common 



The prices of the better grades are still somewl 



SO 12 



It higher than before the 



