May 25, 1917 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



^7 



Ohio Building Supply Association has been completed by the officers and 

 H. S. Gaines, assistant to the president, with headquarters in Columbus. 

 The state is divided into 30 districts, each of which has a president and 

 secretary, which report to the state organization. Ln all the membership 

 Of the organization is now over 600 and is rapidly increasing. Much 

 interest and enthusiasm is being shown in all parts of the state. The 

 officers are now working to perfect plans for the annual outing of the 

 organization to be held at Cedar Point some time in July, the exact date 

 to be announced later. 



A deal by which the Cumberland Valley Lumber Company, with head- 

 quarters in Cincinnati, has purchased 20,000,000 feet of hardwoods and 

 white pine in Fentress county, Tennessee, was announced by John Byrns. 

 treasurer of the company. The company has begun the erection of a band 

 mill on the property aBd expects to be in a position to begin sawing in 

 about six weeks. The poplar and white pine timber on the property is 

 reported to be of very fine quality. 



The state industrial commission announced it soon will enforce the 

 law passed at the last legislative session, making employers of contractors 

 liable for injuries sustained by employes of financially irresponsible con- 

 tractors. The commission advises persons not to award work to contrac- 

 tors until they ascertain that the latter have taken out state insurance. 

 The number of irresponsible contractors of various kinds is so large as to 

 necessitate the new law to protect workmen, the commission says. 



The Columbus Builders' Supply Company is the name of a new concern 

 with offices located at 34 West Spring street, Columbus, O., and a large 

 yard at 490 Dennison avenue. The concern was organized a month ago 

 to take over the business of the Buckeye Coal i Supply Company. All 

 kinds of building materials are handled and a good trade is reported by 

 the officers. WUliam Kern is at the head of the concern. 



The Central Avenue Lumber & Supply Company has increased its capital 

 to $25,000. 



The Eagle Supply Company, Youngstown, has been incorporated^ with 

 a capital of $10,000 to deal in builders' supplies. The incorporators are : 

 Chester M. Boyd, H. O. Schwaner, N. W. Rein, H. A. Welch and Paul 

 J. Jones. 



R. W. Horton of the W. M. Ritter Lumber Company says trade in hard- 

 woods is quite active and sales are about equally divided between fac- 

 tories and retailers. Prices are high and every change is towards higher 

 levels. The car shortage is delaying shipments and that is the principal 

 drawback to a more active trade. 



J. A. Ford of the Imperial Lumber Company reports a good demand 

 for West Virginia hardwoods with prices ruling strong in every particular. 



=-< CINCINNATI >•- 



The Interstate Commerce Commission has ajiproved the increase class 

 and commodity fates between Cincinnati and Lexington, Ky. The class 

 rate increases range from 2 cents to 7 cents per hundred. The increases 

 are the result of a readjustment which the carriers made following changes 

 in rates necessitated by their effort to remedy violations of the long and 

 short haul section between various Kentucky points. The Lexington 

 Chamber of Commerce fought the advances and the Cincinnati Chamber 

 of Commerce intervened in support of the complaint. 



The final report closing the case of the West Alexandria Lumber Com- 

 pany, of West Alexandria, bankrupt, was filed in the United States 

 district court here last week by Referee A. M. Crisler of Eaton. The 

 liabilities amounted to $36,308 and assets realized $18,517, of which 

 unsecured creditors secured $14,509 on claims aggregating $29,993. Sev- 

 eral Cincinnati lumbermen formerly did business with the bankrupt. 



Cincinnati cypress dealers were deeply interested last week in the 

 decision of the Southern cypress association to launch a gigantic organi- 

 zation for the holding and ownership of all the freight cars in the United 

 States as a solution of the car shortage. R. H. Downman advanced the 

 idea to pool all cars, from an association that would own and control all 

 freight cars, somewhat like the Pullman Company. The idea is to have 

 Federal enactment to grant them this right. The idea has found much 

 favor throughout the lumber industry. 



The Builders' Material Company recently announced an increase in 

 capital stock from $5,000 to $10,000. 



The individual lumberman is not the onl.v sufferer from the car shortage 

 and embargo as is evidenced by the fact that recently at Hickville a car- 

 load of tent stakes for the Federal Government has been tied up so 

 long that it will be necessary to rush them through by express. An 

 embargo is responsible, the Ohio Utilities Commission was informed. 

 When the government itself can not get shipments through even on war 

 orders lumbermen see little hope. 



The P. W. Draekett & Sons' Company will double its original plans 

 for the construction of a plant on the site of the W. E. Heyser Lum- 

 ber Company's acreage grounds on Spring Grove avenue, in Winton 

 Place. Instead of the buildings containing 40,000 square feet of floor 

 space, it is likely that the first bunch of stmctures will have a total of 

 100,000 square feet. 



=-< CLEVELAND >• 



As the result of a compromise, brought about through E. A. Roberts, 

 secretary of the Builders' Exchange, teamsters are again at work in Cleve- 

 land lumber and building supply yards, on terms which promise to be sat- 



isfactory for both parties for some time to come. With the exception of a 

 disagreement between employers and sheet metal workers Cleveland build- 

 ing trades are entirely at peace and work is booming after a delay of two 

 months. 



One of the first lumber boats to arrive from the northern lakes was the 

 D. W. Mills, from Cutler, on May 16. The cargo was consigned to the 

 Mills-Carleton Lumber Company, and was unloaded at the Erie street pier. 

 The opening of lake traffic is expected to ease the rail situation from which 

 the lumber business has suffered considerably. Wood manufacturing in- 

 dustries depending on large quantities of lumber have also felt the results 

 of the open lakes, following a noticeable stringency due to the lateness of 

 the lake traffic season. The weather bureau states that an approaching 

 warm spell will make short work of any remaining ice. 



A campaign which will do much toward booming building of all kinds 

 was started by the housing committee of the Cleveland Chamber of Com- 

 merce, which has^ had brought to its attention a deplorable shortage in 

 houses and tenements in this city. Wide publicity has been given to this 

 condition through the committee and steps will be taken to bring out capi- 

 tal for this purpose. There is no doubt that the present high cost of mate- 

 rial has been responsible for the cancellation of many building projects. 



Meeting May 19, the Cleveland Board of Lumber Dealers adopted reso- 

 lutions to be forwarded to the Interstate Commerce Commission agreeing 

 to such advances in rail rates as the commission may deem equitable, but 

 at the same time emphasizing the protection of a large amount of business 

 closed prior to the middle of April. The resolution states that in view 

 of the car shortage for the past six months, which has prevented a great 

 amount of this lumber from being delivered, an immediate advance would 

 be unfair. A. L. .Stone, of the board, has just returned from Washington 

 and Chicago, where he appeared before the committees which are consid- 

 ering the claims of the railroads for increased rates. 



Cleveland lumber dealers have again taken up consideration of the 

 Cleveland building code. On the whole, the lumbermen consider it fair 

 and reasonable except in certain respects which are to the disadvantage of 

 lumber as a material, and in favor of substitutes. Stress requirements for 

 both timber and joists are excessive in the opinion of lumbermen. The 

 matter will be taken up soon. 



Lumber, building supply, and coal dealers have appeared before a grand 

 jury here in an investigation of alleged agreements contrary to the anti- 

 trust law. The investigation grew out of the policy of building supply 

 dealers to withhold deliveries to all contractors during the recent lookout. 



The largest out-of-court settlement in the history of Cuyahoga county 

 was made when the Cuyahoga Lumber Company agreed to pay William 

 Donnelly, a former employe, $23,000 to adjust his suit for $75,000 dam- 

 ages for personal injuries sustained in an accident which resulted in his 

 being paralyzed below the waist. 



The Alexander Bros. Lumber Company. Cleveland, has increased its 

 capital stock from $36,250 to $86,250. The original authorization was 

 $50,000. James Alexander is president, H. H. Alexander, vice-president 

 and treasurer, and M. F. Fitzgerald, secretary. 



New members of the Cleveland Board of Lumber Dealers are the Clifton 

 Park Lumber Company, the Miles Avenue Lumber Company, the Dille Road 

 Lumber Company, the Bohm-Stuhr Lumber Company and the Brookslde 

 Lumber Compan.v. 



-< INDIANAPOLIS > 



An unprecedented demand for lumber of all grades has grown out of 

 government requirements in this market, and it may be said that the trade 

 as a whole is busier at this time than at any period in its history. At Fort 

 Benjamin Harrison, an army post comprising 5,000 acres, arrangements 

 are being completed for the reception of 60,000 troops that are expected to 

 be in training there by September 1. More than 5,000 members of the offl-' 

 cers' reserve corps already are In training there, and orders have just been 

 filled for 2,000,000 feet of lumber to construct 100 frame buildings with an 

 average dimension of 20x120 feet. More than 300 more such buildings will 

 be constructed before fall, calling for more than 6,000,000 feet of dumber. 

 In order to meet this demand the Indianapolis lumbermen have started a 

 co-operative movement, naming the following committee to represent the 

 interests of the entire trade : O. D. Haskett of the O. D. Haskett Lumber 

 Company ; E. L. Dynes of the Dynes-Pohlman Lumber Company, and George 

 L. Maas of the Maas-Neimeyer Lumber Company. George H. Howenstein 

 is acting as secretary of the committee. The Indianapolis lumbermen 

 have been complimented by the government on the manner in which they 

 have supplied the unusual demand. 



John D. Me.ver, a lumber manufacturer of Decatur, Ind., died last week 

 of blood poisoning resulting from an infection from a cut on his hand. He 

 was 65 years old. He is survived by a widow, one son, and three daughters. 



The Capital Furniture Company, Noblesville, Ind., has reduced its com- 

 mon capital stock from $50,000 to $25,000, and has issued $25,000 in pre- 

 ferred stock. 



The F. P. Adams barrel stave factory at Bluffton, Ind., was destroyed by 

 fire last Friday, entailing a loss of $10,000. The cause of the fire is un- 

 known. 



The Dye & Thompson Lumber Company of Francesville, Ind., has changed 

 its name to the Francesville Lumber Company. 



The Shelbyville Desk Company, Shelbyville, Ind., has issued $30,000 of 

 preferred stock. 



