May 25, 1917 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



21d 



The Expense Account 



Neither Col. Kline nor Harry Kline of the Louisville Veneer Mills 

 was present. Had a visit with the Colonel, however, and he stated 

 that the figured gum veneer and panel business was never so good as 

 at this time. In fact, both their veneer plant and panel business are 

 working at maximum capacity and customers seem to be very much 

 interested in getting more of the Colonel's gum. That brought out 

 the thought that he registered the other day when he said : ' ' You 

 know now-a-days if you want to keep up with the times, if you do not 

 know how to make an intelligent price on either a specialty like figured 

 gum or regular stock, believe me, you have to know what it costs, for, 

 like in mostly every other line, the increased costs have grown faster 

 than the increased price." There should be a lot of good information 

 brought out on this subject at the semi-annual meeting of the National 

 Veneer and Panel -Manufacturers' Association to be held in Chicago 

 June 11-12. 



That reminds me that E. V. Knight, president of the New Albany 

 Veneering Company, New Albany, Ind., was about on Derby day 

 trying his best to get rid of a few .$2 bills. I asked him how he dis- 

 tributed that class of expense, and he said : "I put this cost in under 

 overhead ; that seems to be the class to the heart and mind of every 

 man who has a payroll and is trying to get profit out. of the business 

 he does. ■ '• 



L. P. Groffman of the St. Louis Basket &, Box Company was ap- 

 proached on the subject of panels, of which his company is a large 

 manufacturer also, and he said : "If the values wjere- relative, the 

 price of finished veneer and panels would be higher than they are and 

 the man vpho is not checking his costs and basing prices on the present 

 scientific basis is in danger of loss. ' ' I was particularly interested in 

 this comment because he told of two or three instances of l-fecent quota- 

 tions where his firm and others wh6 had asked a good round figure for 

 particular stock they had to sell secured the orders over men who were 

 willing to sell for less money. This illustrates that buyers know there 

 is no use kicking about the price ; what they want is service, and when 

 they got it they are willing to pay the price. In fact, everything has 

 advanced so materially that no man. who buys raw material for making 

 anything nowadays, if he is not educiited up to maximum prices it 

 is because he is not putting himself right with the trade, because 

 everybody expects advanced prices on everything they buy. Of course, 

 we all know there will be a hereafter, but the man who goes ahead and 

 does business instead of playing a waiting game now is going to have 

 some profit out of this year 's business. 



You know with the stream of money that has been coming into 

 America from all over the world the past two years, all have a chance 

 to rub some of it off, and if you were to do your part in encouraging 

 the -buying of part of these six million dollars' worth of bonds you 

 would be reminded that the increased costs alone due to war conditions 

 would almost make an ordinary valuation in lumber, . veneer, etc. 

 Illustrating this, I walked across the street last evening, bought a 

 paper at one hundred per cent increase, bought some Cremos, thirty- 

 three per cent advance, and I was eleven cents short when I reached 

 the far corner. When you read your mail from the club, the church, 

 the commercial association and every organization on the face of the 

 earth, you will see they are trying to raise more money to fight the 

 central powers. If a few more of them start, it looks like the.re will 

 not be any more golf games for a lot of us until the Kaiser is secured 

 and rooms at home, without so many envoys over the country inter- 

 fering with the peace and prosperity of the rest of the world. 



E. H. Defebaugh. 



What the Railroads Are Doing to Us 



We have contended for a long time that the shippers have not 

 awakened to the immense increase in freight charges. We have had 

 many iUustratibns and here is the latest one; it is so drastic that it 

 should awaken any shipper to the necessity for putting in a protest 

 against the proposed fifteen per cent increase which the raOroads are 

 arguing for now before the Interstate Commerce Commission. 



To points in the Southern Classification Territory, vegetable ship- 

 ping cases in mixed carloads prior to April 15 could be shipped from 

 St. Louis to Birmingham or vice versa on 15,000 pound minimum, 



carrying 3oc rate and making the cost $52.50 per car. The basis afteii 

 April 1.5, 1917, with 24,000 minimum and 35c rate is $84. The basis 

 after the 15 per cent increase is allowed, if it is allowed, on 24,000i 

 pound minimum and 40.5c rate gives a freight bill of $97.20 or an 

 increase over the old basis of 85 per cent. 



On baskets and hampers the tabulation shows: Before April 15,; 

 1917, 15,000 pound minimum, 35c rate, $52.50 freight bill. After 

 April 15, 1917, 18,000 pound minimum, 35c rate, $63 freight bill. 

 When the 15 per cent increase is absorbed with 18,000 pound minimum; 

 the rate is 40.25 cents and the freight bill $72.45 ; increase over old 

 basis, 38.9 per cent. 



Corinth, 15,000 minimum, 30c rate, $45 freight bill before April 15, 

 1917. After April 15, 1917, 18,000 minimum, 30o freight rate, $54 

 freight bill; basis after 15 per cent increase, 18,000 minimum, rate 

 34.5, $62.10 freight bill, or 38 per cent increase. ' 



On baskets, splint or stave, before February 1, 1917, 12,000 minimum 

 to Adrian, Mich., 32c ratie, freight bill $34,40; after February 1, new- 

 basis 10,000 minimum, "41,5 rate, $41.50 -freight biU. After 15 pei 

 cent increase, 10,000 mininram, 47.5 rate, $47.50 freight bill, or 23.7 

 per cent increase. 



Pittsburgh, Pa., 12,000 minimum, rate 29.4, $47.28 freight bill prior 

 to February 1; after February 1, 1917, 10,000 minimum, rate 51,5, 

 $51.50 freight bUl. After 15 per cent' increase, 10,000 minimumj 

 freight bill $59 ; increase over old basis, 2'4,8 per cent. 



Memphis Gets More Cars 



• W. A. Waddington, general manager of the Valley Log Loading 

 Company, reports considerable improvement in the car situation so far 

 as fliat cars for the loading of logs is concerned. He says that the ' 

 railroads began furnishing an increased number of flat cars about 

 a week ago and that, by virtue of this fact, it has been possible for the 

 company _to operate three log loading machines on the Yazoo & Missis- 

 sippi Valley line of tlie Illinois Centi^al since that time and one on thd 

 Memphis-Marianna cutoff on the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern^ 

 This represents practically full capacity for this company, and its 

 present operatibns are in striking contrast with those of a short time 

 ago, when not enough cars could be secured to keep one loading 

 machine going on full time. Mr. Waddington says that he has no 

 means of knowing how long this supply of cars wUl be available, but 

 he reports the situation as quite satisfactory at the moment. i 



This improvement in the flat ear situation is beginning to be re- 

 flected in a slightly increased number of logs for the mills at Memphis 

 and elsewhere in this territory and, if it continues, there will be ai^ 

 adequate supply of logs available in a reasonable time. Some of the 

 mills heretofore closed down are preparing to resume, while others 

 have already done so. It is recognized, however, that the mDls are 

 not out of the woods by any means, and urgent appeals for relief arei 

 being sent to Congress, to the Interstate Commerce Commission andl 

 to other agencies having to do with the ear situation. i 



Advices have been received from the car service commission at 

 Washington that 5,000 freight cars were being sent south for use on 

 the lines operating through the Memphis gateway to relieve the short- 

 age of ears for the handling of outbound shipments of lumber. These, 

 advices have reached Memphis only within the past few days, and it 

 cannot be told yet what measure of relief wiU result from this move- 

 ment. So far as the situation at the moment is concerned, it may 

 be stated positively that the shortage of cars is quite acute and that 

 the majority of lumber mills and other woodworking enterpii-ises are 

 not receiving more than twenty-five to thirty per cent of the number 

 of cars they need for the handling of their outbound shipments. It 

 is this shortage that is making lumber interests so active in trying to 

 secure the co-operation of the government in providing a supply of 

 cars that will meet the needs of the lumber industry and other lines of 

 business. 



Any man with almost any kind of good hardwood flooring to 

 offer has a splendid selling argument, because everything in the 

 hardwood flooring list is a decided improvement over the soft 

 wood offerings for this purpose, and is recognized as adding enough 

 value to the building to more than make up for its cost. 



