i:j2^:M^cM!M:^m)im^)m^mM)i:&m^^^ 



Cupyrighi, Thb Hauowoou Compam, lyi7' 



Published ia the Interest of the American Hardwood Forests, the Products thereof, and Logging, Saw 

 Mill and Woodworlting Machinery, on the lOth and 25lh of each Month, by 



THE HARDWOOD COMPANY 



Edgar H. Defebaugh, President 

 Edwin W. Meeker, Managing Editor 

 Hu Maxwell, Technical Editor' 



Seventh Floor Ellsworth Building 



537 So. Dearborn Street, CHICAGO 



Telephones: Harrison 8086-8087-8088 



Vol. XLIII. 



CHICAGO, AUGUST 10, 1917 



No. » 



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General Market Conditions 



TRADE DEVELOP .MEXT JX HAKDWOODS these days more or 

 less resembles certain strategic maneuvers among the European 

 belligerents. Retirements iu some directions leave the trade in even 

 stronger position than they were before. The march of optimism 

 among hardwood distributors continues the trend'of prices, with a few 

 exceptions where values are marking time, continuously on the ascent. 



The sentiment of the trade seems to be that generally speaking the 

 furniture busin'?ss shows evidence of falling more or less in the foot- 

 yfejis of the l)uilfling business. Perhaps, though, this is too radical 

 ill comparison to be borne out by the facts in the ease. There is no 

 doubt, though, that the furniture business is less active than it has 

 "been and that the requirements in this quarter will be less in the next 

 iew months than have been shown during the past year. There are 

 so many kinds of furniture being manufactured, that is, so many 

 varieties and so many grades at varying prices; and situations in 

 <lifferent parts of the country var.ving so with changing local condi- 

 tions, that to reflect the sentiment of the entire trade would be next 

 to impossible. It is cjuite likely that the continued holding up anil 

 the bright prospects in quite a number of lines will hold the trade 

 fairly close to a normal production. However, there will be a falling 

 off in quantities to a degree, substantial enough in other lines, to 

 Tnake a distinct impression upon the demand for hardwood lumber. 



There is still no gooil word to say as far as the building situation 

 is concerned. The little flurry of expectation arising from changes 

 in British import regulations was quickly knocked in the head by the 

 independence of ocean freight lines, so the big opportunity will come 

 irom those things affected by the war game, except in so far as the 

 surplus of capital which has come and continues to come to this 

 country will be sufficiently well distributed to make it possible for 

 the people as a whole to increase their purchase of normal com- 

 modities. But hardwood lumber is so versatile in the character of its 

 growth and lends itself so readily to vai'ying manufacturing policies 

 that it will continue to gain new markets almost daily and the 

 strength which has characterized it for so long will show no perceptible 

 lessening, unless there should be circumstances now beyond the 

 average vision. 



Not Altruism, but Good Business 



O ONE CAN BE JUSTIFIABLY criticized for objecting to the 



suggestion that he deliberately sacrifice money in substantial 



amount, unlei^s there conies from the source of the suggestion proof 



that the money loss will be more than made up by resulting gain. 



There are a considerable number of lumber companies who have 



N 



unfini^^lll'd orilers on their books at prices belo« (igures now prevailing. 

 The natural inclination for the man in this position, when such orders 

 are for carloads rather than for so many thousand feet, is to refrain 

 from overloading the cars going out on these particular orders. There 

 are a good many cars of lumber going out every day that are inade- 

 quately loaded for this very reason. The man who loads seventeen or 

 eighteen thousand feet into a car when he could load twent}- to twenty- 

 two thousand possibly is, of course, saving an amount equal to the 

 difference between his price and the prevailing market multiplied 

 by the number of thousands of 'feet which he had left off of the car. 



As iu most cases these orders hang on because of the continued 

 extreme difficulty in shijiping, the man who needs the lumber cannot 

 be blamed unqualifiedly for letting these light cars go out. 



On the other hand, though, remember if you were about to sliiji 

 a few cars that come in this category, that you cannot justify yourself 

 in the face of extreme car shortage by the thought that the wasted 

 capacity whicli you are responsible for will have no liearing on the 

 general situation. Of course, if but one man should see the sensible- 

 ness of loading even these cars to capacity and the rest continue the 

 practice, there would be no benefit. However, if the entire practice 

 could be eliminated, if those caught in this situation, whether by 

 reason of inadequate shipping facilities or because they guessed wrong- 

 when they took the order, would all discontinue the practice, would 

 all clean up these orders as speedily as possible and continue to do 

 everything they could to utilize carrying capacity to the last possible 

 point, then there would be an effect and a very real one and a very 

 beneficial one. If you are on the wrong end of an order of this sort, 

 why not loail the car up as near carrying cajiacity as possilile and 

 let it go ? It will help the shipping situation just that much. 



Lumbermen Meet the Emergency 



WITHOUT ANY DISPOSITION TO BRAG OR BOAST, it can 

 be asserte.l that lumbermen of the Uniteil States are meeting the 

 war emergency in a way that merits commendation. They are doing 

 all that is required of them, and the}' are comliining patriotism with 

 business. No one hears much about war prices iu the lumber industry ; 

 and the charge has not yet been heard that lumbermen are exacting 

 excessive profits from what they sell to the Government. ' 



Further than that, they are organized in a way to perform the best 

 service in the quickest time. The lumber industry as a whole is made 

 up of many component parts, and between these parts there has been 

 the natural business rivalries during ordinary times. Hardwoods 

 compete with softwoods, or one hardwood or one softwood with an- 

 ther; or one region is a competitor of anothrt'. 



But none of these differences and natural rivalries has had the 



