22 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



February 25. 1918 



On motion of Earl Palmer, the club, by unanimous vote, placed 

 J. V. Stimson of tlie J. V. Stimson Hardwood Company In nomina- 

 tion as the candidate of this organization for the presidency of the 

 National Hardwood Lumber Association. Mr. Palmer said that, 

 while Mr. Stimson was present, the latter did not know that this 

 action was to be taken. Mr. Stimson responded briefly, saying that, 

 while he had not sought this or any other oftice, he very much 

 appreciated the compliment and would do his best to show his 

 appreciation of the honor done him. 



President McSweyn announced that, at a conference held dur- 

 ing the afternoon between representatives of the Southern Hard- 

 wood Traffic Association and Superintendent A. H. Egan of the 

 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley road, the latter had agreed that, if 

 lumbermen at Memphis and elsewhere throughout the valley terri- 

 tory would unload log cars day or night without any delay what- 

 ever, the road would furnish 100 cars per day for handling logs to 

 the mills. This conference was an aftermath to that held about 

 a week ago when the lumbermen agreed to unload cars night and 

 day, and when the management of the road in question agreed, in 

 turn, to furnish switching service 24 hours every day. The results 

 were not what were expected, so the above conference was held. 

 Reports showed that 41 manufacturing firms had 20,000,000 feet of 

 logs on the right of way of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley road 

 awaiting loading, and Mr. McSweyn stated that the new arrange- 



ment would increase log receipts by about L'nu ears per week over 

 the more recent average. 



Four new members were elected, as follows:, bringing the total 

 to 189.3: T. S. Taylor, Taylor Brothers, Lunsford, Ark.; J. H. 

 Schlosscr, Forrest City Box Company, Forrest City, Ark.; B. 

 McMullen, McMullcn & Powell, Chicago, and T. C. Thorn, Forest 

 Products Chemical Company, Memphis. One new application was 

 filed. 



J. H. Hines, chairman of the law and insurance committee, called 

 attention of tlie members to the fact that it had been necessary, 

 since September 8 last, for the seller to place revenue stamps to 

 the extent of $1 per $1,000 for the entire amount involved in land 

 transactions, without regard to cash or deferred payments, and 

 urged them to look closely into whether or not this law had been 

 complied with, since failure to comply therewith seriously affected 

 titles to such lands. 



The house committee requested that members report the quantity 

 of lumber bought or sold through the exchange boards maintained 

 in the rooms of the club in order that it might be ascertained 

 whether or not this service is worth while. 



There were eighty-three members present at this meeting, mak- 

 ing it one of the most largely attended, for a regular luncheon, in 

 the history of this organization. President J. F. McSweyn occu- 

 pied the chair. 



r > i >?maitiimi«WMTO4i!MTO»^ 



Inasmuch as some critic, competitor, or even friend may accuse 

 us of plagiarism in using Billy Sunday's well known route to heaven 

 at his meetings, the writer wishes to go on record and state that be 

 used this heading twenty-eight years ago when he first visited the 

 Southland, and claims priority patent. 



While in New York recently I had a visit with C. S. Powell 

 of the Powell Lumber Company with offices in the Wilson building, 

 and operating a custom planing mill at Portsmouth, Va. He has 

 been operating this plant for several years and it certainly lias 

 been beneficial not only to the Powell company in handling its 

 export trade, but to others who ship through the port of Norfolk. 

 The company has an electrically equipped planing mill and re- 

 cently added a new band resaw and is equipped to take care of a 

 good bunch of stuff every day. It is of the opinion that after the 

 war the export trade will be much greater than ever before in his- 

 tory and so is prepared to do a large custom business as well as 

 assist other manufacturers in furnishing the European market with 

 exactly what it wants. Powell, in speaking of the change in con- 

 ditions said, "Natural!}', as we are able to increase our merchant 

 marine and get a greater number of boats routed all over the world, 

 each line of trade should get busy, and right now, to ascertain 

 what routes will be available, and to plan to handle this trade. 

 They must also consider the new basis of rates, free time, new 

 terms of sale, and other methods that will be employed. The 

 scarcity of money after this war will be such that America has to 

 figure on taking care of a lot of this business by loaning money, 

 and every export organization, whether in effect now or otherwise, 

 should keep this in mind. Both the railroads and the shipping com- 

 panies will minimize the free times and make other changes that 

 will necessitate yards at the seaboard, not depending on daily de- 

 livery through carload shipments that may be on demurrage or 

 come in the day after the ship is loaded. 



S. E. Slaymaker of New York is not taking his usu.al winter 

 vacation in Florida owing to the recent death of his mother at Sun- 

 berry, Pa., and also on account of the activities of the various 

 lines in which he is concerned. He is in the best of health, and 

 looks forward to a good demand for spruce, hemlock and hardwoods 



from the West Virginia mill, said R. U. Schaefer, manager of the 

 hardwood department. 



An operator likened the New York port to a bottle neck, and 

 said he believed there was not over sixty per cent movement, and 

 while the number of cars under demurrage on eastern tracks was 

 being reduced, yet it was almost a miracle that a car is released 

 and put on ship board in some of the big ship yards or munition 

 plants in the East. 



Geo. F. Harriman of the Emery Company, commenting on the va- 

 rious values of stock said the purchase of Central American ma- 

 hogany by the government had also loosened up the receipts of 

 cedar, but had not reduced the value of the logs in the New York 

 market. The facts are that cedar logs are at a premium and it 

 looks as though they will continue so notwithstanding the fact 

 that there is always a certain percentage of cedar that comes out 

 of the same logging operations as mahogany, and if the govern- 

 ment is successful in increasing the receipts of mahogany from 

 South America, it will no doubt assist the cedar situation. On 

 account of the short labor supplj', the high freight rates, and 

 everything incident to getting out the logs, the value of cedar is 

 probably 100 per cent higher than it has been in his time. 



F. C. Leary, sales manager of the I. T. Williams & Sons Com- 

 Iiauy, one of the aggressive Chicagoans in the East who has made 

 good, in speaking of business said that the government 's use of 

 airplane stock had certainly reached that point where the mahogany 

 manufacturers had to be called in to help work out the problem, 

 and that Uncle Sam was just about to commandeer the whole pro- 

 position, and put on his own boats in order to get enough lumber 

 to cover his needs. This would naturally produce the amount of 

 stock needed for furniture and the interior trades. He was very 

 much interested in the plan suggested by Hardwood Record that a 

 serial story be run illustrating the various kinds of mahogany and 

 their utilization for particular purposes, and concurring in this sug- 

 gestion, the serial story will start in an early issue of the paper, 

 faking up the four classes of mahogany, viz.: Central American, 

 African, Mexican and West Indian. It not only will be beneficial 



