Octouer 25, 1920 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



21 



Northern Manufacturers Want Public to Know 

 of Lower Prices 



The necessity of informing tlie cousuniiag public of the substan- 

 tial reductions in the mill j)rices of northern hardwoods, hemlock 

 and other lumber, in order that the public mind may be disabused 

 of the idea that lumber prices are still high, engaged the serious 

 attention of the members of the Northern Hemlock and Hardwood 

 Manufacturers' Association, assembled in quarterly session at the 

 Milwaukee Athletic Club, in Milwaukee, Wis., October 14. A 

 resolution was adopted authorizing M. P. McCullough, president 

 of the organization, to appoint a committee to determine the most 

 ex]ieditious method, in co-operation with the retail dealers, of 

 Ijuttiug the facts of lumber prices before the ultimate consumer. 



In adopting the resolution the members of the association had in 

 mind the fact that building operations are being discouraged be- 

 cause of the continued obsession of the public that lumber prices 

 are too high, while as a matter of fact the cost of lumber has 

 decreased an average of approximately 33% per cent since July 1. 

 The Northern lumber manufacturers want the public to be con- 

 vinced that lumber prices now offer no barrier to buildingj not only 

 because prices have been substantially reduced, but because the 

 falling market has "hit the bottom." This latter statement was 

 made by Edward Hines of the Edward Hines Lumber Company of 

 Chicago and other members present. 



The lumbermen hope also that by giving jjublicity to the reduc- 

 tions in lumber prices, the cost of other building materials, which 

 have not followed the downward trend of value, may be encouraged 

 to do so, in order that all such handicaps to building operations 

 may be removed. 



Mr. Hines deplored the fact that the lumber industry has failed 

 thus far to properly inform the public of the reduction in lumber 

 prices. He told of a recent important meeting of contractors, real 

 estate men, bankers, city officials and others held in Chicago to 

 discuss the building problem, at which the huge lumber industry 

 was represented only by the owner of a small retail yard. 



In a most thorough-going and thoughtful discussion of the present 

 condition of the lumber industry, Mr. Hines assured the members 

 of the association that they had nothing to fear from the world- 

 wide movement for .stabilization of values on a lower level. There 

 will be no radical changes in fundamental economic conditions, 

 he said, and there is plenty of money in the United States for all 

 legitimate enterprise. He predicted five years of unusual activity 

 and prosperity for the lumber industry, basing his prophecy upon 

 the fact of a five-year accumulation of housing needs, the need of 

 the railroads for over 300,000 additional freight cars in the imme- 

 diate future, and the necessity of the reconstruction of thousands 

 of miles of worn right-of-way and of many miles of new right-of- 

 way. There would be a great demand for lumber from the farmers, 

 too, he said. 



Mr. Hines warned the lumbermen, however, of the danger of 

 remaining in ignorance of the economic facts of their industry. 

 He declared that they should know about production costs, should 

 know about stock conditions, demand and other matters, which 

 would enable them to intelligently market their product, and not 

 dispose of it blindly and often at prices actually below cost of 

 production. "The lumber industry has been groping in darkness," 

 he said, "and has failed to scrutinize natural conditions." 



During the course of his address, Mr. Hines again made the inter- 

 esting prediction that in the not very distant future, no hemlock 

 will be sawn into lumber, but it will all be sold as pulpwood, because 

 better prices will be offered by the paper-making interests than 

 could be obtained by turning the timber into lumber. 



Speaking of the present state of lumber stocks, Mr. Hines said 

 that stocks are far below norftial at mill points and accumulations 

 are not likely to be large in any of the production fields during the 

 next few months, because of the tendency everywhere to curtail 

 production. He said that all night runs have been stopped in the 

 South and West and that some mills are now considering reducing 

 their week to four days. 



The members carried a motion, proposed by A. L. Osborn, to 

 never change the dimensions of hemlock piece stock. This action 

 was taken following a report made by O. T. Swan, secretary, on 

 the recent meeting at Chicago at which recommendations for 

 standardization of sizes of lumber and moldings were presented by 

 the National Lumber Manufacturers' Association and, also, a report 

 by Bay McQuillan of Antigo, Wis., chairman of the bureau of 

 grades. It was declared by those members who discussed Mr. 

 Swan's report that to change the sizes of hemlock piece stock to 

 conform to the recommended sizes, would take away one of the 

 strongest selling points for hemlock construction lumber. 



The association listened to au explanation by H. H. Butts of a 

 plan to form a selling agency to market hemlock logs and hem- 

 lock bark for pulp. On motion of Mr. Hines a resolution was 

 adopted authorizing the president of the association to name a 

 committee to consider Mr. Butts' proposition. 



A motion was also carried that in future no inspector of the 

 association be permitted to load out lumber; that their work be 

 confined to reinspections and mill visits and that they make no 

 inspections for non-members. 



President McCullough made a report on the co-operative advertis- 

 ing of birch, hemlock and white cedar shingles being done through 

 the promotion and publicity bureau. He said that these products 

 had been advertised through architectural, contracting and other 

 trade journals, and magazines of national circulation with a great 

 deal of success. Satisfactory results had also been secured with 

 direct circular advertising and through exhibits made at State fairs 

 in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois. Each State fair exhibit had 

 cost about $600, he said. Because of the value of these exhibits 

 he advocated the organization of a half dozen smaller ones, which 

 could be made at county fairs, through the co-operation of retailers. 

 He said there was a large demand for county and local fair exhibits. 



Mr. McCullough said the advertising campaign was costing about 

 $5,000 monthly, or $60,000 per annum, and that it would require a 

 larger membership in the promotion plan to carry on the work. He 

 recommended that he be authorized to appoint a committee to work 

 for the enlarged membership and the needed increase in funds. 



Shade trees may be destroyed by leaky gas mains, which poison 

 the roots, making it impossible for the tree to secure nourishment 

 from the ground. Gas killed trees are often thought to have been 

 killed by insects, and weakened trees are often completely killed by 



borers or by fungi. 



» * # 



Electric wires which touch trees can easily kill the most beauti- 

 ful shade tree. This may be due partly to the work of the electric 

 current, or to the wearing through the growing surface of the tree 

 by the wire, which deprives the tree of its sustenance. 



(Continued from page 20) 

 lumber and keep within reasonable bounds, to prevent the recurrence of 

 the hysteria which prevailed during the earlier months of this year, very 

 largely brought about by speculation, in most eases by those not actively 

 intere.sted in a financial way with the timber manufacturing and, I would 

 lilie to emphasize this thought, and convey to you. In all its truth, at once 

 for the betterment of this great Industry, the interests you represent, and 

 the country at large. 



No one need be ashamed of lumber. Next to agriculture, that is, the 

 tilling of the ground, the lumberman has the most widespread of all the 

 industries. There is no state in the Union in which lumbering is not 

 carried on to a greater or lesser degree, with a possible exception of 

 Nevada. The nature of the industry also produces men of sturdy physique 

 and simple life. It is an outdoor industry, conducive to health. It is a 

 necessary industry. The management of it is in highly capable hands. 

 It is an industry with a future, for, while it is true that the amount of 

 standing timber has diminished in two hundred years from an estimated 

 area of eight hundred and twenty-two million acres to four hundred and 

 sixty-three million acres, we still have considerably more than half of the 

 timber with which we started, and from now on, if we continue to get for 

 lumber the price that it is worth, and if the tax laws are changed, and 

 there is In evidence the spirit of cooperation between the Federal govern- 

 ment, the state and community governments, with the owners of the cut- 

 over lands, there is no good reason why reforestation cannot be under- 

 talien and the liiint)pr hu.-^iness be made as perpetual in ,\merio:i as the 

 growing of wheat. 



