52 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



December 10, 1920 



The CHICAGO 



APPROVED PORTABLE 



Watchman's 

 Clock 



with its ipecial Waltham moTement, itt lock 

 stations and its superior quality throughout, is 

 especiallx desirable for mills and factories and 

 for either in-door or out-door patrol. 



Write for booklet 



CHICAGO WATCHMAN'S CLOCK WORKS 



No. 9 Church Street. NEW YORK 

 15Z6 So. Wabaah 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. 



Inrge supplies of maple and white birch. Local capital will subscribe 

 $50,000 toward the capital of $100,000 of a new corporation now in 

 process of organization. 



The New Dells Lumber Company of Eau Claire resumed the operation 

 (if its large sawmill on December 1 after a recess of eight weeks, during 

 which tinip the plant was overhauled and improvements made in the log 

 pond. The company hopes to be able to maintain normal capacity opera- 

 tions throughout the winter and spring months, as the demand is gradually 

 increasing after being slack for several months, and prospects are con- 

 sidered favorable to a continuance of the improvement. 



The Wachsrauth Lumber Company of Bayfield ended its season on Nov. 

 29 after being in continuous operation since March 11. The production 

 in that period amounted to 14,342,845 feet of lumber, 4,181,000 lath and 

 7,623,000 shingles. The mill was operated on the eight-hour plan, employ- 

 ing from 100 to 120 men. A small crew will be retaine<l during the winter 

 to make necessary repairs for the next season's run. 



Louis D. Forbes, for many years secretary and treasurer of the P. B. 

 Yates Machine Company, and its predecessor, the Berlin Machine Works, 

 at Beloit, Wis., died at his home in that city on Dec. 2 at the age of 75 

 years. lie became associated with the industry when it was establlshpd 

 at Berlin. Wis., and accompanied it to Beloit in 1888 when the transfer 

 was made. Ill health compelled him to relinquish active duties at the 

 beginning of the present year. 



Daniel Longfellow Plumer of Wausau, Wis., prominent in lumbering and 

 Itanking in Northern Wisconsin fur many years, died Nov. 22 at the age 

 of 83 years. He made the preliminary surveys for the old Wisconsin Cen- 

 tral (Soo Line) from Unity to Bayfield, Wis., in 1869. In this work he 

 made important discoveries of iron ore lands, which still are operateti 

 extensively in Ashland county. In 1879 Mr. Plumer founded the Wausau 

 Lumber Company with W. H. Knox and James McCrosneu, building a larsre 

 mill, which was destroyed by fire in 1889. 



The Hardwood Market 



CHICAGO 



There has been no pronounced change In the hardwood lumber market 

 in Chicago during the past fifteen days. Only occasional orders are being 

 booked. The widest spread continues to be evident in prices for the 

 same items, indicating that the market has not reached a stable level 

 and that hard bargaining is rife. Hardwood men are complacently await- 

 ing the lifting of the buyers' embargo and are getting in better shape to 

 wait every day, as production is being further curtailed, many mills which 

 were still cutting because of the need of converting surplus log supplies 

 into lumber, having finished their forced runs and shut down. Hope- 

 ful Interest is being taken in the approaching furniture markets in Chi- 

 cago and Grand Rapids, as it is believed that the retailers will place 

 sufficient orders to induce the manufacturers to speed up operations and 

 take on more lumber. There is still a steady demand from the railroads, 

 but the orders are small. Increased activity in building is forecast in the 

 increase of building permits. Seventy-nine permits were issued last 

 week for construction to total $4,334,800, while for the corresponding 

 week of 1919 only fifty-seven permits were issued for buildings to cost 

 $1,173,900. There is an expectancy of easier credit for lumber Interests 

 after the first of the year, when huge government financing operations 

 have been completed and an evidence is shown of the amelioration of 

 the tax burdens on business. 



MEMPHIS 



The conviction is growing among members of the hardwood trade her^ 

 that the tide is turning in the hardwood lumber industry and that the 

 worst has already been seen. This view Is based primarily on the facts 

 that (1) inquiries are more numerous than they have been for some time; 

 (2) they are of a substantially better character; (3) more business is 

 developing, and (4) liquidation, forced by the necessity of meeting pressing 

 obligations, has been largely, if not completely, finished. 



It is generally conceded that the volume of business is still rather small, 

 indeed painfully small, for this time of the year. It Is still further 

 conceded that there will not be much activity, in all probability, until 

 after the turn of the year. There is no denying, however, that there Is 

 greater optimism among members of the trade here than for some time. 

 This has been inspired largely by the increased Inquiries which are re- 

 garded as certain forerunners of actual business. These inquiries are com- 

 ing principally from manufacturers of furniture and automobiles. Some 

 of these are giving place to actual offers on a practicable basis whereas, 

 for an almost indefinite period, practically all the inquiries received 

 were nothing more than "feelers." 



'*! think the worst Is over," said Ralph Jurden, of the Peorod-Jurden 

 Company, today. *'We are receiving more inquiries and more orders than 

 for some time. Some of these are coming from the automobile factories. 

 Some are coming from the furniture manufacturers and some are coming 



