50 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



March 10, 1921 



Back From the South 



M. S. Baer, of the bardwooj tinn ot Richard P. Haer & Company, the 

 tower of the Maryland Casualty Building, Baltimore, is back from a trip to 

 saw mills operated by corporations which the firm controls at Mobile, Ala., 

 and BoKalusa, I,a. The Bogalusn plant has been running steadily, though 

 at reduced capacity, while the mill at Mobile is still closed, pending a 

 readjustment ot operating and other costs. 



Awarded Over $200,000 Damages 



The suit of John M. W. McCullougb, of tricuiLsville. Garrett county, 

 Maryland, a widely known lumber operator, against Harry E. Clark, 

 which was tried in the Circuit Court of Upshur county, West Virginia. 

 in the fall of 1919, resulted in a verdict in McCullough's favor for not 

 less than 3^203,907.28. It was taken to the Court of Appeals by Clark, 

 and that tribunal has just confirmed the award of the lower court. This 

 is said to be the largest verdict for damages ever given in a West 

 Virginia court. 



Huge Lumber Deal Closed 

 A deal has been closed by the Conasauga River Lumber Company, n 

 new Delaware corporation, of which John Byrns of Cincinnati is Presi- 

 dent, for 150,000,000 feet of timber, located along the State line of 

 Tennessee and Georgia. Included in the deal, which involves approxi- 

 mately $1,000,000, is the sawmill town of Conasauga, Tenn., a band mill 

 and fifteen miles of standard-gauge railroad. The Conasauga River Lumber 

 Company which is composed of Ohio, Kentucky and Michigan lumbermen 

 made the deal with the Tennga Lumber Company, Detroit, Mich. The 

 town of Conasauga which was liuilt five years ago is located in Polk 

 County, eighty miles South of Knoxville, Tenn., on the Louisville and 

 Nashville Railroad. Mr. Byrns, who also is President of the Cumberland 

 Calley Lumber Company. (Cincinnati, said the new company may open an 

 ofHcc here. 



MISCELLANEOUS 



The following is a list of newly incorporated firms : C. M. Duirn Manu- 

 facturing Company, Mobile, Ala. ; Bishop-Johnson Lumber Company. 

 Texarkana. Ark. : William Dukes Lumber Company, Birmingham, Ala. : 

 Acme Sash & Door Company, Chicago : Acme Boily Works. Appleton, Wis. ; 

 ^H. E. Nixon Lumber Company, Huntington, W. Va. : Botkins Lumber 

 Company, Botkins, O. 



The Merrill Woodenware Company of Morrill. Wis., has increased its 

 capital stock to .$1.50,000. 



The W. X. Collins & Sou Mfg. Company, makers of ironing boards, now 

 located at Waukegan, 111., will move their plaut to Kenosha, Wis, 



The Empire Chair Factory has been burned out at Johnson City, Tenn., 

 with a loss of $75,000. 



The Penrod Walnut & Veneer Company plant af Johnson City, Tenn.. 

 has been badly damaged by fire. 



The Houston Trunk Factory. Houston, Texas, has increased its capital 

 stock from $20,000 to .$40,000. 



The Lampert Lumber Compan.V of St. Paul, Minn., has increased its 

 capital stock from $2,000,000 to $2,500,000. 



The W. J. Durham Lumber Company of Neenah, Wis., has increased its 

 capital stock from $25,000 to $100,000. 



CHICAGO 



Another stumbling block has been placcfl in tln' way uf revival of 

 building operations in Chicago by the union carpenters, who have rejected 

 the offer of a 20 per cent cut in wages made hy the Associated Builders. 

 The builders propose to cut the pay of skilled building workers, May 1. 

 25 cents an hour, which means a reduction from $1.25 to $1 an hour. They 

 also propose to reduce the wage of common lahf)r t'nuii $1 to 70 cents 

 an hour. 



At present the building industry in Chicago is virtually dead, with 

 about 45,000 building craftsmen and laborers out of employment, or 

 working for lower wages in other industries. The builders had hoped 

 that the workers would make some sort of proposal for lower labor costs 

 in order to stimulate building and when they failed to do so made their 

 own proposition with the Iielicf that the workers would In* wise enough to 

 accept it. Discussing the proposals, William Schlake, general manager 

 of the Associated Builders, pointed out that the "cost of building is prac- 

 tically all labor," that building material costs continue high because of 

 high labor costs and that there can be no hope of getting costs down to 

 where building will be stimulated unless wages are cut. In reply the 

 unions argue that a reduction of labor from .$1.25 to $1 an hour would 

 only take 3 per cent off the cost of building and demand that buildini; 

 supplies and interest be liquidated before starting on labor. 



In the meantime the Export Builders' Association has petitioned Mayt)r 

 Thompson to appoint a committee of seven to invosti;iatc the costs of 

 all commodities entering intb building, including labor, and determine "fair 

 prices." It is proposed that this committee l>e made up of two repre- 



sentatives of labor, <uie of materials, oHe contnictor, two alderman and 

 the building commissioner. 



S. F. D. Meffley the newly appointed secretary of the Lumbermen's Asso- 

 ciation of Chicago, is working strenuously to broaden the scope of the 

 jissociation's activities and increase the service to its members. He is 

 planning a membership campaign by which he hopes to add at least 500 

 new members to the organization. He also plans to establish several 

 new bureaus, including publicity, traffic and industrial departments. For 

 this purpose he has already secured pledges of $80,000 from the members 

 in addition to their regular membership dues. 



The association also has under way its plans for participation in the 

 "Own Your Home" exposition, which will be held in Chicago. March 26 

 to April 2. The association's exliihit will be a two-story house, which 

 it will cost $4,000 to build. The dwelling will have a front elevation com- 

 plete and a depth of t!*L'n feet, something like a setting for a moving 

 picture scene, but complete enough and fine enough to show how the 

 real dwelling would appear. The following divisions of the lumber in- 

 dustry will participate in the exposition : Northern hemlock, Southern 

 pine, oak flooring, maple flooring. West Coiist forest products, California 

 white and sugar pine. 



Chas. G. Labbe, president of the General Hardwood Lumber Company, 

 is making a trip through the Indiana consuming territory where he expects 

 to do a good Inislness because of tlie improvement in conditions. 



BUFFALO 



The meetings of the Buffalo Lumber Exchange, which are now being 

 held in the Old Colony rooms of the Iroquois hotel, are being largely 

 attended and more interest than usual is pi'esent because of the feature of 

 having outside speakers in attendance. The annual election of the 

 exchange will be held at the next meeting. 



James B. Wall and Peter McNeil left a few days ago to spend a two 

 weeks' vacation at Mount Clemens. 



The plant of the Buffalo Body Corporation, located at Seneca street and 

 Fillmore avenue, is being offered for sale, the company having discontinued 

 the manufacture of automobile bodies. The building, which was formerly 

 occupied hy the American Seating Company, is favoraldy located, with a 

 railroad sldin.g. and the floor space is ample for manufacturing purposes, 

 one important feature being a dry kiln. 



The Buffalo Lumber Pealers' Association has placed on exhibition a 

 cabinet of about seventy-five beautifully polished specimens of hardwood 

 in the space taken on the builders' floor of the Associated Service build- 

 ing, but so far it has not done anything more. The plan is to fill the space 

 up with something attractive to lumbermen, and perhaps keep some one 

 in attendance to look after visitors, but such ventures always come slowly. 



CLEVELAND 



Plan for interesting the general public and building fcators in addi- 

 tional lumber purchases this spring, and one which is expected to have 

 the support of hardwood interests, is being considered I)y the Cleveland 

 Board of Lumber Dealers. A business boosting campaign is considered. 

 It is expected that the markedly lower prices for all lumber, as compared 

 with lumber prices of a year ago. is going to have a significant influence 

 upon purchases this spring. All lumber entering into the average six 

 room, 22 by 28 foot dwelling, according to a recent cost stirvey here. i8 

 approximately half of what it was in March. 1920. 



Under the leadership of several prominent members of the trade a new 

 wholesale firm is being established here. It will be known as the Ohio 

 State Lumber Company, conducting a general business and specializing 

 in Coast products. One of the chief organizers is John Hoffman, formerly 

 with the Central Lumber Company, and who will be general manager of 

 the new concern. George S. Gynn. of the Wilson Avenue Lumber Com- 

 pany : E. E. Huy and J. A. Melcher, of the Cleveland City Lumber Com- 

 pany, are among others interested in the project. 



Among the favorable influences for additional house building this spring, 

 as viewed by hardwood manufacturers and distributors, is the announce- 

 ment of the Cleveland Housing Corporation that it will build houses for 

 all individual lot owners this year, instead of confining its operations 

 to employes who are connected with manufacturing establishments which 

 are stockholders in the housing corporation, as was the arrangement last 

 year. Both building and financing will be iindertaken by the corporation, 

 according to Bainbridge Cowell, director of the company. Directors 

 of this concern believe that the drop in material prices will have a 

 satisfactory influence upon the prospective home builder this year. 



PITTSBURGH 



F. W. Crider, aged 7ti. the richest man in Bellefonte, Pa., diiil at his 

 home in this cit.v Feb. 11. He made his money as the head of the big 

 lumber firm ot P. B. Crider & Son. 



The Baird & Rees Lumber Company is a new wholesale and retail con- 

 cern in Pittsburgh with the following incorporators : C. T. Baird, A. L. 

 Rees and .Tames Rees. 



Harry T. Lincoln secretary of the old firm of Bemis & Vosburgh of 

 this city, has finished one nice hardwood operation near Kingwood, W. Va., 

 and his company has recently bought another lot of timber there, which 

 will be cut off this summer. 



Mayor E. V. Babcock of the Babcock Lumber Company and D. L. 



