I)..c..iiil..T -jr.. 1!'17 



Hitting the Sawdust Trail 



The conference of the loggers, inanufactiiiers and iipiiatoi's in 

 this section on Friday, November lid, was an interesting nieeting. 

 It brought out the fact that the day ha^ gone by for apjilying to 

 the railroads themselves expecting to get equipment to keep the 

 mills running. A committee was appointed to spend enough time 

 in Washington to reach such boanis as are interested in getting 

 enough cars to move at least sixty per cent of the timber and 

 lumber jiroduced in the Mississippi valley. The meeting was under 

 the auspices of the Southern Hardwood Traffic Association, Jas. B. 

 Stark, president; J. H. Townshend, secretary: and W. A. Ransom, 

 chairman of the logging association, and these associations author- 

 ized a committee of eleven to work with Secretary Townshend at 

 Washington reaching boards that would have influence on the 

 government railroad committee for relief, not only on government 

 shipments but on fifty per cent of the lumber in this section which 

 goes into box material, each one of whom are suffering because 

 they cannot get cars and employes enougli to get their logs to the 

 mill, and not over sixty per cent enough cars to ship lumber out. 

 It is true there is a little leaven in the dough for a government 

 requisition generally digs up a car, but the trouble is there is not 

 enough of them. Government orders are getting attention but un- 

 less permanent relief can be assured during the spring months when 

 cars are always scarce in this section, the consumers of box lumber 

 and cooperage will be high and dry for more material. Every stone 

 must be turned at Washington to make the government officials 

 realize also that while they move heaven and earth to get men in 

 the conflict in Europe and supplies to support them, if they em- 

 barrass the various industries who are profit producers, tlie govern- 

 ment will find'it. pretty hard to collect from concerns which ordi- 

 narily are profit makers, and thus the possibilities for getting to- 

 gether eighteen to twenty billion dollars a year will be hampered. 

 The old adage you cannot eat a cake and have it at the same time 

 also applies in commercial life, if committees in charge at Washing- 

 ton will insist on giving war materials and food products all the 

 cars. In other words, the plain citizen, the official and^the soldier 

 must co-oi)erate to support the government 's requirements, and 

 while there is a de.sire to make a special effort to this end, wherever 

 one goes there is still plenty of opportunity to help. 



The demand for thick lumber still keeps up. Three and four- 

 inch hickory sold for a higher price than ever in its history. Thick 

 timber is in good demand, and ash is still the leader and no doubt 

 will be higher because it is getting more scarce every day. Tliere 

 seems to be a buyer looking for it wherever you turn around. Thick 

 oak is in good demand too. The only bright spot in oak is the price 

 prevailing on railway materials — ties, planking, timbers, etc. Forty 

 dollar ties at Indiana points is something like the real price. Of 

 course this is for a square tie, but if you were to put a cost sheet 

 on it you will find that the valuation is perfectly relative and much 

 lower than similar materials can be bought for in other lines, and 

 one reason that people are criticizing some values of lumber is 

 because they do not compare it with steel and other materials 

 which are 100 per cent more than our price proportionately for the 

 same amount of stuff. There is onlj' one way to look at the oak 

 situation and that is to sum up the costs. I heanl a discussion the 

 other morning, and a dealer said, ' ' Why are ties selling for forty 

 dollars? I can't understand why, neither can the purchasing 

 agent." A well-known Kentucky manufacturer said: "1 know 

 why. Our logging account, without getting the increased jirice 

 for stumpage costs $!.■) compared with $"..50 two or three years ago, 

 and our manufacturing and yard and other expenses including over- 

 head, stumjiage, etc., put that up to about $2!l, and you can see 

 where we land in the way of profit if *e sell the stuff even as low as 

 $37.50. We can't figure that we are getting over a ten per cent 

 profit on the majority of stock that is sold." The trouble is, oak is 

 selling too cheap. It is cheaper really than it was three years ago 



wluii the cost of putting it on the cars was very much less. It is 

 the only wood that has not respomled to the increased price 

 necessary to absorb the increased cost and therefore in taking care 

 of the new demand for oak that seems to spring up, both in veneers 

 and lumber, a relative price should be used, not the present one, but 

 one that is relative and more substantial, and if you bill your salei 

 values on that basis, you will sell just as much lumber and you 

 won 't have to borrow from the gum account to take care of the 

 oak business. 



The Kraet/.er-Cured Lumber Company has its general oflBee in the 

 Bank of Commerce building, presided over regularly by Sales Man- 

 ager James Dulweber. Ben Dulweber, general manager of this 

 eompanj', spends most of his time at the mills at Moorhead. B. F. 

 was talking the other day about the darkies during the Liberty loan 

 campaign, and how they encouraged each man to strive for one or 

 more bonds, an<l then taking the amount out of their weekly wage. 

 He says it is surprising how interested the darkies were, and how 

 well they supported this movement for government finances. The 

 company is well supplieil with orders and the mill is running full 

 time. 



H. H. Alexander of Alexander Bros., who have a mill at Belzoni, 

 Miss., stated while in Memphis recently that the new mill would 

 be completed shortly. This mill is equipped with a twelve-foot band 

 and will [irobably have a resaw back of it. It will be modern in 

 every particular, and will probably be running by the first of the 

 year. This means pretty quick work as they only lost the old mill 

 by fire in October last. They have a fair stock of lumber on hand, 

 and plenty of logs on the right of way. 



Frank Fee of the Fee-Crayton Hardwood Lumber Company, Lit- 

 tle Eoek, Ark., was very enthusiastic about the future of thick 

 lumber, especially ash, hickory and oak. They are running full 

 time, and have some good orders booked, but like every body else 

 they have trouble in getting cars. 



It looks like that I. W. W. bunch of hellions is trying to make 

 its way back to the Southwest. One was recently discovered in 

 central Arkansas, and locked up. In his trunk were found blue 

 prints of plants and enough nitroglycerine to blow them all uji. 

 It behooves every community to discover those kind of fellows, 

 and if the government won 't ride them on a rail out of town where 

 they can 't do any damage the citizenship of America ought to step 

 in and hire a few strike-breaking bullies and lose a lot of these 

 irresponsible guys who have no regard for God or man, and who 

 are not worthy of citizenship. Therefore we hope the night riders 

 of the Southland will take them to their bosom to such an extent 

 that they lose their breath. It is up to every operator to keep his 

 eye peeled for any disturbance, and for any influences about the 

 plant that may be controlled by this element. 



We believe in every man getting as good wages as possible. Some 

 of our employers are a little careless about looking into the real 

 needs of the occasion and discover malcontents in their organiza- 

 tion. This is no time for rough stuff, because every workman, good 

 or bad, is entitleil to wages that will remunerate him for his efforts 

 and give him a chance to live, but this I. W. W. crowd is beyond 

 recall. They should be watched carefully, and every effort made 

 to nil) any of their schemes in the bud. This is a matter that 

 should be given serious consideration. 



I sat on a pile of logs with a veteran of eighty-four the other 

 day, and his eye was just as clear, and his knowledge of trees and 

 logs was as keen as ever. He remarked that "if we old fellows had 

 ajiprcciated the value of good timber and had initiative enough 

 and money in the bank, we might now have much more of this 

 world's goo<ls than we have toilay. I took .$100,000 out of this 

 field anil spent it in real estate, whereas had I just put it in good 

 timberlands, my fortune would have been made. There is one. 

 piece of property over here that we have cut three times in less 

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