\ 



If ' Some Valuable Hemlock Information '^'^ 



A ttporial miH'tir^ ■■ Northoti, . ! 



Muiiufaeturen' Aaauriation held at Milwaukee ou Tuesday, Do- 

 ri-nilier 7, brought out n world of unusual nud vnluablo informa- 

 (ion, eatabliabcd a growing optiminni among hemlock mnuufac- 

 ! ■■' nn<l ii|K>rin.-nlly rcKulted ,n further crvstallir.ing efforts 

 ' : <l u|»-niug up li'^'itiuintc inarkotn fur hemlock. 



Wiix XoT 8kix Rekaweo Ueulock Wituoi't Reinsi*ection 



Til. .li»oii«iii>n wn« on the que>ition of resnwi'il hemlock 



I'll' • ' of tin- firms present Ki|;ni'(l up on the following ngree- 



• : •■ Having rend the resolution concerning re- 

 i'cr nnd believing thnt the hemlock trade will be 

 l>enelitcd by the general discontinuance of the practice of market- 

 ing the product of rcsawed hemlock without grading, this firm 

 promises not to sell No. 1 and 2 resowcd hemlock without grading 

 i>n 1' board basis, but it is understood that this promise shall bo 

 in effect when ninety per cent of the members of the association 

 liave signed the same promise nnd we have been notified by tho 

 I'ureau of grades accordingly." Well over ninety per cent of 

 the production of the association is represented in the signatures 

 liii.illy affixed to the promise, hence the matter is now in effect. 

 Discuss Uniporu Manltactubiso Methods 



J. J. l^ingld presided at the discussion of uniform manufac- 

 turing methods. The principal feature of this discussion was the 

 reading of two letters on the subject, one by J. J. Ott, general 

 manager of the John H. Kaiser Lumber Company, and the other 

 by Mr. Klass of the Holt Lumber Company. Mr. Ott, after outlining 

 his ideas on proper manufacturing of lumber which recommended 

 rawing sound stock into 2" and defective stock into 1", thus pro- 

 ducing more lumber and reducing the edgings, said that all lumber 

 after leaving the eilger and trimmer should be between 95 and 

 100 per cent square edge and that strict adherence to standardized 

 ;,'rades and manufacture for the purpose of giving hemlock all 

 fair advantages in maintaining its markets should be enforced. 

 He then went into a discussion of northern hardwoods, saying "the 

 time is rapidly approaching when northern hardwoods, especially 

 birch, will be sought by consuming manufacturers on a good face 

 grade, thereby reducing the purchase value and serving the pur- 

 pose instead. We have knowledge of several firms of reputable 

 standing that are now in the market for birch lumber on a good 

 face grade, and T make the prediction that the leading hardwoods 

 manufactured in this northern country will of necessity be changed 

 materially to more grades of lumber and graded frow the good 

 face." 



Mr. Klass' paper dealt mainly with a scries of letters received 

 expressing opinions of prominent men in the retail, wholesale and 

 manufacturing business, who are well qualified to describe the 

 market for structural lumber in hemlock territory. These give a 

 remarkably strong endorsement of hemlock in speaking of its 

 future. 



Afternoon Session 



The meeting then adjourned until 2 p. m., when the afternoon 

 session opened with a discussion of uniform grades in putting up 

 merchantable hemlock, W. J. Kessler being in the chair. E. A. 

 Hamer expressed himself as believing that too many are shipping 

 too much Xumber 1 in merchantable rather than strictly 50-50 

 Number 1 and Xumber 2 which is all that is called for in this 

 grade. He snid that a 5 per cent difference in proportion between 

 the No. 1 and No. 2 made a reduction of fifty cents per 1,000 feet 

 on the actual value of stock sold. He stated that it is necessary 

 to establish uniformity in making up of this grade and to hold 

 members to it, and that 50-50 merchantable grade will be able to 

 meet West Virginia and Pennsylvania competition. 



In discussing the question of trade marking, E. A. Hamar read 

 an article on the question delivered before the National Lumber 

 Manufacturers' Association meeting at San Francisco. On motion 

 this matter of trade marking lumber was referred to the bureau 

 —16— 



i: jiromotion for actiui. -; ....,;.:.,.., with « .l-finit© 



rcHulution. 



RTATISTICAI. (ViMUITTKK AI'POISTKD 



George Kobson had the chair for tho discuuion on uniform 

 methu<lH of selling. Under the qucHtion of terms of sale the present 

 terms were reudirmed and it was decirlcd they will be strictly 

 adhered to. Under this head the principal diHcussion wnH on ittntis- 

 tical information iin cut, shipnicMtN, stock on hnml, sales rejiurts, 

 etc., the final action being the presentation of a iiiiitinn by A. L. 

 Osborne ami its acceptance to the effect that the president appoint 

 a committee of twelve sales managers to work out n plan to cover 

 all features of this question, giving statisticg on long and short 

 stocks, market information covering various centres in which hem- 

 lock enters into competition with yellow pine, fir and other woods, 

 giving the competitive situation for those woods, also giving values 

 of hemlock lus compared with values of competitive woods in all 

 such points, this committee to be gotten together once a month and 

 to start immediately with all authority ami to be constituted as n 

 permanent boily. The motion was enthusiastically adopted. 



Tho suggestion that yellow pine lists be used as a comparative 

 basis for hemlock was referred to the committee above described. 

 Hardwood Prices Ooino Ui- 



On the question of market conditions, C. A. Goodman reported 

 for birch, basswood and elm. He admitted the figures he gave were 

 gathered with difliculty owing to rapid changes in the situation and 

 divergence of opinion in securing reliable data, also owing to the 

 short time provided to get them up. Mr. Goodman said it was hard 

 to report on conditions as stocks are much broken and figures 

 thrown out of balance. He said that many of the figures might 

 not be accepted as representative. Some of the figures are based 

 on sales of tho past few days. 



The figures based on Wausau basis for birch show 4/4 Is nnrl 2» 

 to bo worth around .^-12, No. 1 common .$22, No. 2 common $!.'> and 

 No. 3 common .fll. Ho said some sales had been reported for Is 

 and 2s at $38 to $40, and $18, $19, .$20 and $21 for No. 1 common. 

 Mr. Goodman said No. 2 common was rather druggy and has held 

 around $14-$15, and that No. 3 common had sold as low as $7.50 at 

 tho mill three months ago. Regarding .5/4 birch the figures give 

 $43 for Is and 28, $24 for No. 1 common, $15-$] 6 for No. 2 common 

 and $12 for No. 3 common, with Is and 2s rather scarce. The 

 price for 6/4 birch is one dollar more for Is and 2s with Number 1 

 and Number 2 very scarce. 



The following are figures given for 8/4 birch: $45-$46 for Is and 

 2s, $26$28 for No. 1 common and $16-$20 for No. 2 common. Ac- 

 cording to the report Is and 2s are in very fair shape, with No. 1 

 common exceedingly scarce. The 10/4 stock Mr. Goodman pro- 

 nounced as being very uncertain, with values ranging up to $54 

 for Is and 23, $40 for No. 1 common, $32 for No. 2 common and 

 $12 for No. 3. 12/4 stock he said is not moving well and will 

 probably sell for less than 10/4 stock. 



As for basswood, he said this is not so active as birch and Is 

 and 2s would possibly be worth on a basis of sales made in the last 

 two weeks for 4/4, $36 for FAS. $24 for No. 1 common, $17 for 

 No. 2 common and $14 for No. 3 common. For 5/4 grades the 

 prices would be .$38 for Is and 2s, $26 for No. 1 common, $18 for 

 No. 2 common and $15 for No. 3 common. For 6/4 stock, $38-$40 

 for Is and 2s, $28 for No. 1 common, $18 for No. 2 common and 

 $15 for No. 3 common. For 8/4 stock, $42 for Is and 2s, $30 for 

 No. 1 common, $20 for No. 2 common and $16 for No. 3 common. 

 For 10/4 and 12/4 grades, $48 for Is and 2s, $34 for No. 1 com- 

 mon, $24 for No. 2 common and $16 for No. 3 common. No. 2 

 and No. 3 common basswood Mr. Goodman pronounced not so plen- 

 tiful as it was a short time ago. 



In describing soft elm markets, Mr. Goodman said 4/4 in good 

 widths would run respectively about $35, $24, $16 and $12-$14. For 

 5/4 grades, $37, $27, $17 and $1 "-$17.50. For 6/4 and 8/4 grades, 

 $38, $28 for FAS and No. 1 common and $17 for No. 2 6/4 and $20 



