April 10, 191S 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



23 



Occurrences at Washington Interesting to Lumbermen 



Personal Mention and the Activities of Various Boards and Committees 



Southern hardwood lumber manufacturers and the vehicle mak- 

 ers who have government war contracts show signs of getting to- 

 gether. Their representatives have had conferences here at the 

 request of the vehicle men, and members of both parties went home 

 to consult their principals and submit further data. The result is 

 said to be that the controversy between the two groups has sim- 

 mered down to the question whether the spread between prices on 

 green vehicle stock quoted by the southern hardwood men to the 

 vehicle men and the prices which the latter are said to have 

 expected to pay for ready-to-use stock at Chicago. 



C. H. Worcester of Chicago and Walter E. Chamberlin of Boston, 

 hardwood experts advising Charles Edgar, the new director of lum- 

 ber under the Council of National Defense, have been and are in 

 touch with both sides to the controversy and are hopeful that it 

 will be settled. 



So far the hardwood men have gained two points, possibly more. 

 One was to obtain from vehicle manufacturers the figures on the 

 cost of vehicle stock, especially oak, which were said to have been 

 used as the basis of the government contract prices for the vehicles. 

 Another was to secure reinstatement of the Kelsey Wheel Company 

 order for 7,000,000 feet of vehicle stock, which order was sought 

 to be canceled through the intluence of certain influential vehicle 

 interests. 



The vehicle people are stated to have been negotiating with the 

 Northern Hardwood Emergency Bureau regarding vehicle materials. 

 The prices each side is said to have given to the other are under- 

 stood not to have been satisfactory. 



Hardwood lumbermen say that the ordnance bureau has adopted 

 a poor policy of declining to give regular recognition to birch lum- 

 ber as material for gunstocks. The department demands birch 

 occasionally as a temporary substitute for walnut gunstock ma- 

 terial when the latter becomes scarce, but it does not give the 

 birch manufacturers an opportunity to cut stock to meet the ord- 

 nance requirements. The result is illustrated by the fact that 

 recently, in buying 200,000 feet of birch for gunstocks, the ord- 

 nance bureau had to go to the wood-using industries and obtain 

 the stock that they needed. Talking machine and furniture fac- 

 tories gave up stocks they had on hand to use in their business. 



Walnut and mahogany lumber suitable for gunstocks and air- 

 planes may not be used for making furniture veneer, according to 

 a recent ruling of the ordnance and signal corps. Veneer mills 

 are expected to be guided by the government requirements. Con- 

 sequently gum and other varieties of lumber are expected to replace 

 mahogany and walnut now used. 



The navy department this month wants quotations on numerous 

 lots of hardwood and other lumber for delivery at various navy 

 yards, including the following: 



Cypress, boat building, green or shipping dry, as follows : 

 Item. 

 5. 240,000 feet board measure (about) 1 by 10 Inches and up, averag- 

 ing at least 12 Inches by 12 to 24 feet, even length, averag- 

 ing 19 feet. 

 C. 60,000 feet board measure (about) 1 by 12 Inches by 10 feet. 



7. 120,000 feet board measure (about) I'/i by 10 Inches and up. averag- 



ing at least 12 inches by 16 to 24 feet, even length in equal 

 proportions. 



8. 300,000 feet boarrl measure (about) 1% by 10 Inches and up, aver- 



aging .it least 12 Inches by 14 to 24 feet, averaging IS feet. 



9. 240,000 feet board measure (about) I'/j by 12 Inches and up, averag- 



ing 14 Inches by 26 to 34 feet even lengths. In equal pro- 

 portions. 

 Oak, white, for shaft logs, domestic green, as follows : 

 Item. 



37. 12,000 feet board measure (about) 6 by 10 Inches by 8 feet. 



38. 12,000 feet board measure (about) 6 by 16 Inches by 10 feet. 



39. 12,000 feet board measure (about) 6Vj by 12 inches by 12 feet. 



40. 12,000 feet board measure (about) 6'/j by 16 inches by 12 feet. 



41. 12,000 feet board measure (about) 6V4 by 16 inches by 16 feet. 



42. 12.000 feet board measure (about) OMJ by 18 inches by 12 feet. 



43. 12,000 feet board measure (about) S '/j by 16 inches by 16 feet. 

 Oak, white, flitch sawn, plank, for boat building, green or shipping dry, 



8 to IG Inches wide, average 12 Inches as follows : 

 Item. 



44. 48,000 feet board measure (about) 1 Inch thick by 24 and 28 feet 



long in equal proportions. 

 40. 00,000 feet board measure (about) 1V4 inches thick by 16 feet, 20 



and 28 feet long in equal proportions. 

 40. 20,000 feet board measure (about) 1^ inches thick by 12 inches 



and up wide by 20 feet long. 



47. 60,000 feet board measure (about) 2 inches thick by 12 inches and 



up wide by 20. 24 and 28 feet long in equal proportions. 



48. 20,000 feet board measure (about) 2 inches thick by 12 inches wide 



by 16, 18 and 20 feet long. 



49. 20,000 feet board measure (about) 2% inches thick by 12 inches 



and up wide by 22 to 24 feet long. 



50. 20,000 feet board measure (about) 2>;-i inches thick by 12 inches 



wide by 20 feet long. 



51. 20.000 feet board measure (about) 2^ inches thick by 14 inches 



wide by 32 feet long. 



52. 20,000 feet board measure (about) 3 inches thick by and 12 inches 



wide by 22 to 30 feet long. 

 Oak, white, domestic, green, No. 1 timber, as follows : 

 Item. 



53. 20,000 feet board measure (about) 2^: by 12 inches by 34 feet. 



54. 20,000 feet board measure (about) 3 by 12 inches and up wide bj 



16 feet long. 



55. 20,000 feet board measure (about) 2% by 12 inches by 26 feet. 



56. 20,000 feet board measure (about) 3i/j by 12 inches by 28 feet. 



57. 20.000 feet board measure (about) 3 Mi by 12 inches by 30 feet. 



58. 20,00(1 feet board measure (about) 31/2 by 12 inches by 32 feet. 



59. 20,000 teet board measure (about) 4 by 12 inches by 16 feet. 



60. 20,000 feet board measure (about) 4yo by 12 Inches by 32 feet. 



61. 20,000 feet board measure (about) i\i, by 8 inches by 30 feet. 



62. 20,000 feet board measure (about) 6V4 by 10 inches by 42 feet to 



44 feet. 



The navy also wants 2,250 boxes for nuts, parts of gyroscopes, 

 etc., for the Newport, R. I., torpedo station. The quartermaster 

 corps of the army has let contracts for lasts, many of which are to 

 be made of hardwood. 



A. C. Burrage, Jr., has been placed at the head of the plywood 

 section of the signal corps, aviation branch. New specifications 

 for this material are issued by the interallied aviation authorities 

 and by the navy department and signal corps. New specifications 

 on propellor wood are also out from the signal corps. 



There may be government box factories built at the big powder 

 plants at Nashville, Tenn., and Charleston, W. Va., according to in- 

 formation in wooden box circles here. The box makers do not want 

 this, of course. They say that there is an enormous demand for 

 boxes for shells and other army equipment. 



Lieut. Dorman of the ordnance department has charge of certain 

 work in connection with boxes. It is understood that a new kind 

 of wooden box to hold four 7o millimeter shells has been adopted 

 by the war department, which contains three veneer partitions and 

 is said to be similar to the box specified by the allies some time 

 ago and made largely in Canada, and for the Bethlehem Steel Com- 

 pany to sliip allied shells in. 



R. H. Downman of New Orleans, president of the National As- 

 sociation and first director of lumber and chairman of the lumber 

 committee of the Council of National Defense, has been here visit- 

 ing friends. Mr. Downman 's health is not good and his friends 

 fear he will not be able to take up the duties of commander in 

 chief of the lumber forces. 



Important conferences have been held recently among representa- 

 tives of various departments of the government interested in the 

 purchase, use and shipment of lumber, with a view to clearing up 

 traffic conditions somehow so that lumber needed b.v the govern- 

 ment can be handled promptly by rail. Freight embargoes now 



