September 10, 191? 



'' COTitj^iiaiaaAia-.^im^i^gty.'t^^ 'w^tgrozro ^ 



Great Strength in ISforth 



A special meeting of the Northern Hemlock and Hardwood Manu- 

 facturers' Association was held at the Hotel Sherman in Chicago Au- 

 gust 31 for the purpose of discussing market conditions which have 

 become greatly altered during the recent months on account of the 

 European war. As the meeting was confined to only market and 

 allied subjects, it was decided that the association should hold its 

 regular quarterly meeting during the latter part of October at the 

 Hotel Pfister, MUwaukee. 



The main address at the Chicago meeting was that of H. H. Butts, 

 chairman of the bureau of statistics and education information and 

 was based largely on facts submitted before the members of the 

 committee on Thursday, August 30, when market conditions were 

 discussed. Mr. Butts said in part: 



A very inteliigont survey of market conditions was gone into and taking 

 everything into consideration a healthy state of affairs seemed to exist 

 with reference to all of the products we are manufacturing. Your sec- 

 retary's office compiled and forwarded for our use a complete report of 

 cut and shipments and stocks on hand. (Copy of confidential report was 

 distributed among members.) You will note there is a decrease of total 

 hardwood stock.s on hand, No. 2 and better of 5,386,000 feet and on No. :S 

 common 10,600,000 feet or a total of No. 3 and better of 15,986,000 feet. 

 Then taking into consideration the fact that there is a decrease of 14,- 

 458,000 feet of stocks on hand sold and unsold over a year ago it virtually 

 means a decrease of 27,444,000 feet in the amount of stock on hand to 

 be sold August 1. this year as against July 1, 1916. 



Then for your further knowledge, we want to call your close attention 

 to the figures presented by the Michigan Hardwood Manufacturers' Asso- 

 ciation .\ug. 3, 1917. This is simply a brief summary : 



Decreases 



.Maple, No. 2 common & better 14,628 M ft. 



Beech, No. 2 common & better .8,197 M ft. 



Kock Elm. No. 2 common & better 1,396 M ft. 



Soft Elm. No. 2 common & better 1,542 M ft. 



Basswood, No. 2 common & better 240 M ft. 



Total 26,003 M ft. 



Increases 



Ash. No. 2 common & better 187 M ft. 



Birch. No. 2 common & better 4 M ft. 



Tiital 191- M ft. 



Net ilecrease 25,812 M ft. 



They report No. 3 common hardwoods on hand as 25,209 M feet less 

 than one year ago, or a total decrease of their hardwood stocks on hand 

 this year as against last No. 3 common and better of 51,021 M" feet. Com- 

 bining their figures with ours the consuming trade is confronted with a 

 total shortage of northern hardwoods, No. 2 common and better of 31,198 

 U feet and No. 3 common only of 3.'i,809 M feet or a total of No. 3 common 

 and better of some si.\ty-seven million feet. There is 11,000 M feet less 

 of stock on hand August 1 as against May 1 ; in other words the pro- 

 duction of May, June and July has been consumed and 11,000 M feet in 

 addition. Then there is 25,000 M feet less of stock on hand .\ugust 1. 

 1917, than .August 1, 1916, No. 3 and better, the difference being largely 

 No. 3 which speaks well for the No. 3 situation generally and the Michi- 

 gan association reports 9,290.000 feet. No. 3 and better less than a year 

 ago. 



This ci-»mmittee recommends that Secretary Swan be directed to co-op- 

 erate with the secretary of the Michigan Hardwood Manufacturers' Asso- 

 ciation in arriving at some common basis form for compiling the summary 

 of cuts and shipments and stocks on hand, and that he in company with 

 W. E. Vogelsang of this committee arrange a meeting sonii' time during 

 the coming months with this end in view. 



Another big feature of the special meeting was a talk on market 

 conditions by Edward Hines of Chicago, who emphasized the rapidly 

 increasing cost of lumber production not only due to the higher demand 

 for wages but the big percentages of increase for every item of equip- 

 ment and maintenance in the sawmills. Particular attention was 

 called to the fact that in spite of the falling off of local building, 

 which had a tendency to discourage the retailers, the manufacturer 

 has had a vast field of demand opened before him by changed condi- 

 tions. War orders, though big, are but a small percentage of the net 

 needs for lumber. There has developed a big stimulus to the building 

 of factories wherein are manufactured the things the United States 

 formerly imported from Europe. This fact is noted in the tremendous 

 increase of exports and what is most important these exports are be- 

 ing shipped in packages and crates of lumber which also must be 

 manufactured in the United States. For this reason high records 



of consumption far exceed the figures on lumber being cut and sup- 

 plies are being rapidly depleted. Government business of course is 

 great and the cantonment supply is only a small part of the govern- 

 ment demand for limiber. 



What proved of great interest to the members jiresent was the 

 talk by Secretary O. T. Swan on how the association members sup- 

 plied lumber for the army cantonment at Eockford, lU. A review 

 of the entire project was given, Mr. Swan telling how a trip was 

 first made to Washington to secure the data on requirements as well 

 as the order for hemlock and how promptly activities were moved from 

 Oshkosh to Chicago and the creation of the Hemlock Emergency 

 bureau. A total of 35,000,000 feet of hemlock of all dimensions was 

 shipped from the mills to Eockford. The order from the government 

 was secured on June 26 and on the same day eleven carloads of 

 lumber were started on the way and the next day twenty-five more 

 carloads. In the first four days fifty-two carloads were being shipped 

 and a maximum of seventy carloads a week was achieved. This eoiUd 

 have been maintained if the orders from the contractors had been on 

 hand regularly but owing to various changes in plans the orders were 

 "spotted" and varied in amount from 3,000 to 4,000,000 or 5,000,000 

 feet. The emergency bureau broke all records for the sixteen canton- 

 ments supplied in shipping the lumber promptly. Besides the 1,400 

 cars shipped to Eockford, the bureau also aided the Michigan bureau 

 in sending 160 ears to Battle Creek. 



The oflice organization at Chicago was a model of efficiency. Mr. 

 Swan explained how he acted as a sort of a general manager of the 

 work, directing a force of voluntar.y sales managers supplied by the 

 various companies of the association. Mr. Swan made the allotment 

 of the orders in order to» keep them well distributed among the sixty 

 manufacturers, ten of whom were not members of the association. 

 F. M. Ducker, traific manager of the association, was kept occupied 

 in handling traffic matters, specifying the ratings and arranging with 

 the raOways for prompt service. It was mentioned that the raOways 

 co-operated admirably with the bureau giving their sliipments prefer- 

 ence at all times. Inspector McDonald of the association remained 

 at Eockford during the time conferring with the contractors and 

 seeing that all shipments complied with specifications and grades. 



The executive work ,was handled by Mr. Swan with the aid of three 

 stenographers and Draftsman Hansen of the association office. Mr. 

 Swan had been granted power of attorney by the mUls supplying the 

 limiber and as such handled all financial transactions and facilitated 

 Iiayment for the lumber used. The work required late hours daily 

 and all mills supplying lumber were kept in telegraphic communication 

 at aU hours as to ability to fill orders, time of loading begim and 

 completed and starting of cars to their destinations and routes as 

 well as to probable arrival. Service expense of the emergency bureau 

 totaled $1,000 a week. 



Another subject touched upon by Mr. Swan was that of the out- 

 look for the consumption of hardwood in government work and the 

 amount of such material available in Wisconsin and Michigan. Birch 

 is to be a large factor in this regard as it is to be used largely for 

 aeroplane structure as will also maple and rock elm. It was an- 

 nounced that the Forest Products Laboratory at Madison is to make 

 a test of a carload of birch as to strength and other qualities and 

 the prospect is that birch will replace heavier hardwoods in transport 

 trucks. With this data in hand Secretary Swan will journey to Wash- 

 ington next week in the capacity of timber engineer to present to 

 the proper authorities at Washington the quality of northern hard- 

 woods and figures as to the supplies on hand. 



In the general discussion at the Chicago meeting some time was 

 devoted to the subject of lumber insurance especially as to the basis 

 of adjustment of losses. It was brought out that at present it is not 

 clear in the average policy how settlement for losses are to be made, 

 some adjusters following the rule that compensation should be made 

 on the market price of lumber on the day of the fire and others offer- 

 ing to replace the burned lumber, the most economical plan to the in- 



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