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Copyright, Thb Hauuwood Company, 1917 



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

 Mill and Woodworking Machinery, on the 10th and 25lh of each Month, by 



THE HARDWOOD COMPANY 



Edgar H. Defebaugh, President 

 Edwin W. Meeker, Managing Editor 

 Hu Maxwell, Technical Editor' 



Seventh Floor Ellsworlh Building 



537 So. Dearborn Street, CHICAGO 



Telephones: Harrison 8086-8087-8088 



C 



Vol. XLIII. CHICAGO, SEPTEMBER 25, 1917 



No. 11 



Review and Outlook 



General Market Conditions 



THE QUESTION MOST COMMONLY HEARD these days, is, 

 "What is the matter with business!" The answer is that 

 nothing is fundamentally the matter, but rather that the radical 

 change in the direction of consumption, which wise operators have 

 been anticipating for several months back, is beginning to be felt 

 and that the circumstances which naturally would make for lessened 

 call from the usual channels have estalilished their effect upon the 

 markets sooner than has the stimulation which would follow from 

 new use of enormous quantities of hardwoods in new fields. The 

 trade at large does not as yet realize what it will be called upon to 

 furnish in the task of supplying government lumber needs, but it 

 does realize that fields of consumption which have always been counted 

 upon to take care of all supplies are not as yet developing the usual 

 fall briskness. 



The hardwood trade may as well realize now that it cannot expect 

 any radical improvement in the usual factory demand for hardwood 

 much before the new year. It may as well begin now to imbibe 

 sufficient courage to sit tight, and refrain from making the ridiculous 

 and totally unwarranted cuts which some operators, including some 

 which are easily able to hold on to their lumber, have been guilty of. 



There have been a number of causes that have made the present 

 slack situation inevitable. The uncertain character of tax proposals 

 and various other war demands have been enough in themselves to 

 make any man proceed as cautiously as possible. There is a promise 

 that the uncertainty surrounding these features will shortly be cleared 

 away and thus this adverse influence will be removed. There has 

 been great uncertainty so far as the labor question is concerned. 

 The factory man has not only been unable to figure definitely ahead 

 on his wage scale, but his calculations have been more or less uncer- 

 tain as to the possibility of his getting enough labor to use up the 

 raw material which he might wish to buy. It is now pretty well 

 known what the demand will be for men to be taken from the 

 various woodworking industries and the wage question will auto- 

 matically adjust itself. 



There was until lately some uncertainty as to farm productiou. 

 This cause has righted itself with reports of record crops in prac- 

 tically all cereals and other food stuffs. The farm trade has been 

 uncertain as the farmer was not sure of his immediate prospects. 

 He is sure now and reports every day are encouraging to the man 

 who will sell to the farm classes. 



A short tijne ago there were more or less concerted efforts on the 

 part of hardwood buyers to stay out of the market, the hope luiiig 

 to break prices. These efforts were made at the time when the 



lumber trade was stronger than ever Ijefore in its history and they 

 were quickly nullified by the unwavering firmness with which they 

 were met by those who had hardwood lumber to sell. These are some 

 of the causes why trade is slack. But the prospect of continued 

 strength and not stagnation is easily discernible to anyone who will 

 consider all conditions in the hardwood markets. It is possible here 

 only to repeat the reasons that have already been given showing why 

 the future of the hardwood business will be strong. It has previously 

 been emphasized that for many months the average production has 

 lieen way below normal. In addition to inadequate labor the total 

 inability to get in enough logs was sufiicient in itself to vastly curtail 

 hardwood output. It is commonly agreed that the real meaning of 

 car shortage is yet to be learned. A very large majority of the 

 hardwood sawmills depend upon common carriers for their log supply. 

 If frequent shut-downs have been the rule rather than exception in 

 the past, due to shortage of logging cars, why is anyone justified in 

 anticipating anything but more frequent and more prolonged shut- 

 downs in the future months? Report is already coming in that many 

 river mills in mountain territory will not operate until spring. They 

 have not been able to get in sufficient logs to make operation worth 

 while. All of this comes at a time when a closer concentration will 

 be demanded to take care of what the government will require. The 

 regular trade wiU hot be neglected, but it must of necessity take 

 second consideration to the government needs. The last issue of 

 H.\RDW00D Record stated that organizations were being whipped into 

 shape to line up the hardwood resources behind the government, but 

 it must be borne in mind that these organizations have so far been 

 engaged in the work merely of analyzing the possibilities of hardwood 

 production and that the actual production for government purposes 

 in hardwoods wOl hardly have started inside of a month or two from 

 now. The surface so far is but barely scratched. 



It must be remembered that the government fuUy recognizes the 

 absolute necessity for adequate transportation ami that if the railroad 

 companies are unable to meet the terrific demand for new equipment, 

 most of it calling for lumber a good proportion of which will be 

 hardwood, the government will see to it that adequate provision is 

 made either directly or indirectly so that the railroads will not want 

 for equipment they need to' carry on the task ahead of them. The 

 equipping and housing and taking care of the new national army is so 

 tremendous in itself that it rather puts in the background of attention 

 the requirements incident to meeting the needs accessory to the actual 

 cantonment work. For instance, the government needs many new 

 buildings at Washington to house enormously extended administrative 

 forces. Word has come of plans for two of these buildings to be made 

 of wood, one of them alone to cost two million dollars. The public does 



