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HARDWOOD RECORD 



Febiuaiy 10, 1921 



Will Turn Cane Into Lumber 



A conwrn backed iiartl.v by St. Luuis. Mu.. capital has I ii fnini.-a 



iu that city to manufacture lumber from bagasse, a waste product of tlii' 

 cane sugar industry. The inventor of the process is Dr. E. C. Monroe, of 

 Washington, D. C, inventor of smokeless powder. The product is already 

 being accumulated in great quantities and the first of three proposed con- 

 crete and steel factory units is being constructed ou the west bank of the 

 Mississippi River. The New Orleans newspapers heralded the new indus- 

 try as a harbinger of important industrial development for the sugar laiic 

 country. 



The insulation properties of bagasse when convened into lumber are sabi 

 to make it superior to ordinary lumber for many use.s. It will be made in 

 boards 3li to 48 Inches in width and 9 to 12 feet long. These boards may 

 be sawed like ordinary lumber, and they will not split when nails are 

 driven into them. The concern expects to use 12.000 tons of bagasse each 

 year and to produce 20,000.000 square feet of the limiber. The l)agasse 

 is now being bought from planters for $2 a ton. 



B. G. Dahlberg of Minneapolis, a prominent figure in the pulp and 

 paper industry, is head of the concern which is known as I)ahll)erg & Co., 

 of Wilmington, Del. 



St. Louis men identified with the project include Edwin F. Guth. presi- 

 dent of the St. Louis ISrass Mfg. Company: James F. Cook, president of 

 the Joplin-Frisco Bldg. Company, and J. W. Thompson, railroad contractor. 

 Several Chicago business men are also stockholders. 



The real keystone is building. The question is not merely, will 

 the public stand for the present cost, but can it afford to stand for 

 present costs? The answer is quite apparent in the industry itself. 

 When costs come down building will start, but the public can go a 

 long ways yet in the way of doubling up in dwellings, making 

 inferior accommodations do, and through other means, before it 

 will let loose the flood of building demand whieli has been pent up 

 now for several years. 



In the meantime there are bright spots here and there in the 



country's business. A well-known Chicagoau who recently returned 

 from a detailed survey of conditions iu the East makes, the observa- 

 tion that national buyers are flocking to New York in great num- 

 bers, but that they represent principally those merchants who had 

 the foresight to take their loss gaily and liquidate last year's 

 stocks. The man who held out for 100 per cent realization on high- 

 priced goods still has them and is now being pressed by his bank 

 to let go. 



It is significant, and any man can make the same observation by 

 casual inquiry at the city retail stores, that the man who liquidated 

 is now selling goods at nearly as low prices as marked-down old 

 goods of his competitors. Naturally, with this fresh showing he is 

 getting sales. The point is, though, that an encouraging turnover 

 is devolojiing and as a result favorable reaction has already 

 reached such manufacturing industries as the textiles, the shoe 

 interests and others in similar lines. In other words, if cost comes 

 down to where the public could "see" the article at the price 

 asked; if future prices hold more or less on that same plane, it is 

 reasonable to anticipate gradual renewal of activity in all lines. 

 The man, though, who figures he can still reap the benefits of war 

 hysteria is due for disappoiTitmcnt. 



Faithful to Firm Foundation 



Seeing tangible results from safe and sane- management during 1920 

 brought happiness to the employes of the Marsh &* Truman Lumber Com- 

 pan.^'. Chicago, on Monday night. .Tan. 31. Gathered at the Union I*eague 

 Club for the tenth annu;)l dinner of employes, all of the members of this 

 successful Chicago finn participated in the fifth annual tlistribution based 

 on profit sharing. 



At the annual dinner announcement was made of the election of new 

 rttficers, which was held during the past week. Due to the death during 

 1!)20 of Charles A. Marsh, former president of the concern, a new arrange- 

 ment of personnel resulted. The officers are as follows : Malcolm (!. 

 Trunuin, president; A. Fletcher Marsh, vice-president; William M. I!urns. 

 treasurer: Earl R. Ross, secretary. 



Nickey Bros. Open Rockford Office 



eh sale: 

 charge 



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of th. 



Nickey Bros., Inc., of Memphis. Tcnn.. are opening a branc 

 at 617 Stewart building, Rockford. III. This oflice will have 

 sales in the states of Illinois. Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. 



Geo. M. Harper will be in cbargc of this territory as district manager 

 and will be as- 

 sisted by Lyon P. 

 Wilbur. 



Mr. Harper is 

 one of the best 

 veneer men on the 

 road today. Not 

 only has he had 

 experience in fur- 

 niture business, to 

 which trade he 

 will largely cater, 

 but he has worked 

 in the large plant 

 of Nickey Bros., 

 Inc., at Memphis, 

 and for a long 

 tiqie was foreman 

 of the veneer room. 

 He, therefore, 

 knows his stock 

 thoroughly, and it 

 is this feature, 

 combined with his 

 p ro nounced ag- 

 gressiveness and 

 untiring and loyal 

 efforts, that has 

 made him a leader 

 in his line. 



Mr. Willnu- has 

 been with this firm 

 for many years, 

 working in the 

 veneer factory, 

 later in cost ac- 

 countin'g and gen- 

 eral oflace work. G^„ M. Harper 



and also having spent considerable time ill the practical end of the lum- 

 ber department. He goes to KuckfortI with the idea of developing the 

 lumber end of the business. 



I!y being Unated at Rockfonl. Messrs. Harper an<l Wilbur will be in 

 very close touch with the {■onsiiiiiing trade, making a close study of their 

 reijuirements and the adaptability of our product to each one's require- 

 ment. By having 

 an office in this 

 consuming center 

 they will l>e en- 

 abled to render 

 quick and better 

 service and insure 

 each and every 

 customer that 

 their requirements 

 will be well looked 

 after and well 

 taken care of. 



The firm of 

 Nickey Bros., Inc.. 

 of Memphis, Tenn.. 

 are large manu- 

 facturers of ve- 

 neers. They manu- 

 facture s a w e d 

 quartered white 

 oak and rotary cut 

 gum and poplar. 

 This firm has also 

 made for them- 

 selves an enviable 

 reputation as be- 

 ing producers of 

 ^■hoice figiired red 

 gum veneer, and 

 have done a great 

 amount of work in 

 the development of 

 the use of figured 

 red gum as a fur- 

 niture wood, and 

 especially in vc- 

 Lyon P. Wilbur neers. 



