56 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



November 10. 1920 



The CHICAGO 



APPROVED PORTABLE 



Watchman's 

 Clock 



with its special Waltham moTement, its lock 

 stations and its superior cjuallty throughout* is 

 especially desirable for mills and factories and 

 for either in-door or out-door patrol. 



IVrite for booklet 



CHICAGO WATCHMAN'S CLOCK WORKS 



No. » Church Street, NEW YORK 

 1526 So. Wahash Ave., CHICAGO 



FOR SALE 



Southern Hardwoods 



OAK, GUM, ASH, ELM, 

 MAPLE, CYPRESS, 

 HICKORY, POPLAR 



WRITE OR WIRE 



Jerome Hardwood Lumber Co. 



JEROME, ARKANSAS 



WE SHIP STRAIGHT OR MIXED CARS OF FLOOR- 

 ING, OAK. ASH, CYPRESS AND GUM LUMBER 



VESTAL LUMBER 

 & MFG. COMPANY 



INCORPORATED 



Soft Textured Oak 



Poplar 



Black Walnut 



Tenn. Red Cedar 



KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE 



BAND MILLS AT VESTAL 



A SUBURB OF KNOXVILLE 



FONDE, KY. 



is no disposition to stock up. This is usual during a falling market and 

 dealers still believe that the bottom has not yet been reached. The tone 

 is not good and the future is rather uncertain. 



Retailers' stocks are light in all localities, according to reports of 

 travelers who penetrate every section. But the dealer is not in the 

 market for small orders to replace broken stocks. He is selling quite 

 a good volume to consumers, as building operations are still rather busy. 

 Practically few new building projects are announced, although a number 

 of construction jobs are being pushed to completion. Rural dealers are 

 buying slightly better than the city dealers. Mill working plants are only 

 buying in limited quantities. 



Factories are also following the policy of buying for the present and 

 are content to let the future take care of itself. Concerns making boxes 

 are the best customers. Furniture and implement factories are not buying 

 very actively. Piano and talking machine plants are buying fairly well 

 under existing circumstances. Railroads are buying fairly well and in- 

 quiries from that source show a remarkable increase. 



Prices are rather weak and a still further reduction was announced 

 recently. Quartered oak is moving fairly well and the same is true of 

 plain oak. Chestnut is slow. Poplar is fairly active, especially the higher 

 grades. Basswood is In fair demand and other hardwoods are slow. 



INDIANAPOLIS 



Dullness in demand and softness in prices is the characteristic condition 

 of the markets in Indianapolis during the past two weeks. The trade, 

 however, is convinced that the price level is as low as it will go regardless 

 of what happens to the demand. No indications are visible that would 

 tend to give the dealers hopes for a better demand during the winter 

 months, though there is every prospect that next spring will see the 

 greatest building year Indianapolis ever has experienced. 



Woodworking industries are breathing a little easier since it has become 

 apparent that the coal operators and retailers are going to make an effort 

 to abide by the rulings of the Indiana coal commission and provide at 

 least 1,600,000 tons of coal monthly for state consumption. For a time 

 it appeared that a large majority of these factories might have to close 

 indefinitely because of the inability to secure coal for power. While the 

 situation has shown only improvement during the past week, yet these 

 industries likely will be in the market again shortly, as their stocks of raw 

 materials were purposely permitted to shrink to the lowest possible ebb. 



Indications from a building standpoint show no prospects of any worth- 

 while building during the winter months. During the past week, with 

 bad weather, much building has been stopped and several houses under 

 construction will be put under cover and sided up for temporary use and 

 not completed until spring. 



EVANSVILLE 



The hardwood lumber manufacturers of Evansville say that there has 

 been little or no improvement in trade for the past two or three weeks 

 and that while a few rush orders are coming in they are small as a rule. 

 A good many inquiries are being received. General trade conditions in this 

 city are not as promising this fall as they were this time last year. Some 

 of the large woodworking manufacturing plants are reducing their working 

 hours, and it is believed by the manufacturers that other plants will do 

 this. There seems to be a disposition on the part of the manufacturers 

 to retrench some, and it is predicted that by next spring the number of 

 idle men in this city will be on the increase. Employment bureaus in this 

 city report that there are now more men looking for jobs than there were 

 last fall at this time. The larger hardwood mills in this section are being 

 operated on steady time, but it is announced that many of the mills will 

 close down just as soon as they have sawed up the logs that they have 

 on hand. Few logs now are being received here. Lumber prices are tend- 

 ing downward, but in the opinion of the hardwood manufacturers there 

 will be no radical reduction in prices during the next few months. Gum 

 is moving fairly good in view of the fact that the furniture factories 

 in Evansville are buying so little lumber at the present time. The demand 

 for plain white oak is good, while the demand for quartered white oak 

 has been a little sluggish for some time past. Walnut and poplar are in 

 fair demand, while hickory is in strong demand. There is a disposition on 

 the part of the buyers to hold off buying at this time because of the 

 uncertainty of the market. Trade lacks the snap that it ought to have. 

 Collections are reported good. Veneer manufacturers report that they 

 have had a very good year and that their plants are being operated 

 steadily. The demand for boxboards is very good. There has been little 

 improvement in the building line during the past month and not much 

 change is expected before early next spring. That there will be a good 

 deal of residence building in this city next year is generally believed by 

 contractors and building material men. Sash and door men and planing 

 mill owners say that trade is a little off at this time. 



MEMPHIS 



Not even the overwhelming victory of the Republican party in the 

 national election — the greatest by far in the history of America — has 

 served to bring the hardwood lumber industry out of the slough of despond 

 into which it has fallen during the past several months. But there is a 

 feeling among members of the trade in Memphis that, when sufficient time 

 has elapsed, the lumber industry, like all other industries, will be immeas- 



