14 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Inliiiary Ju, lti|<> 



TIh< eMiinatml prodiirtion of iiurtlicrii linrclwootlK tlii» wiiitrr liv tlip 



:i ' ' ■ ' ' . :i»o, l>iit roiiclunivo evi- 



ikC riiro of tliin U xliuwii 

 .i,vuliii4- r«'|«ort<Ml. Tlii< olivioim 

 i not liavi' Ihimi I'lTtTti'il in itrttinl 

 will's II liii> HtorkH tin liiinii lin<i not Im-<-ii innlorinllr mliu'i'il. Ax n 

 innttcr uf dirt |>riv!ito r<<|>urt» from niiiniTiiux rcprfKonliitivc nmiiiifnr' 

 tur(>ni tlironchout the wIiuIp northern territorr nIiow thnt ii i;»»*l ninny 

 items of northern storkii nre very wnrce, ami there i» no |iromiH« of 

 imweilinte ro|ileni!<hnii'nt. The whole northern situntion in looking; 

 n ' r nn<l the ]>ru)>nl>le vohime of thix winter's rut nN rom|inreil 



' point to rontinucil xtronu poKitioii of northern wooiIh. 



on the liiiihiin); xituntion from all xtntes rontinne to Ih> 

 ii.iMo. The wvere rolil Hpell that rovereil the ooiintry for 

 I roiipte of weeks nmlouliteclly iletorred Iniililin^ operations eoni- 

 pletel.r for ii while, nml it is entirely likely that no serions nttempt 

 will be made to |^t much now ronstnirtion started until it is nppnrent 

 thnt winter is on the wane. ITowever, the plans for future buildini; 

 :ire more than could be ex]>eetod and will keep all those manufarturin); 

 institutions supplying raw material and material to this riass of 

 trail', very busy just as soon as the active rail for their materials 

 liejrins to show. 



The enthusiastic utterances of furniture manufacturers who jiar- 

 ticipnted in the Grand Rapids and Chicago shows which are just draw- 

 ing to n clos«', leaves no room for doubt ns to the condition of trade 

 enjoyed by manufacturers of furniture in its varied forms. These 

 shows exhibit all kinds of furniture and house equipment, and can 

 truthfully lie said to cover the entire line of woodworking factory 

 proilurts for household use. There is hardly a dissenting expression 

 of opinion as to business for a numlier of months to come; in fact, 

 the experience of one firm in Grand Rapids can reall.v Ix" considered 

 as tyjiical of the whole. This concern sold more goods in the first 

 three days of the Grand Rapids show than it sold in the entire month 

 of the last show held in July, 1915. 



A careful compilation of cost of raw material by a lumberman who 

 is pretty much of a student of statistics, shows that Grand Rajiids 

 furniture men would have actually earned a million and a half dollars 

 on hardwood luml>er had they bought in September rather than de- 

 ferring their purchases until recent months when they l)egan to place 

 their orders in more generous lots. This figure is based on a very 

 conservative estimate of prices paid and is the result of a careful 

 working over of definite figures in the ]iossc.ssion of this man, who is 

 eminently qualified to analyze the situation in Grand Rapids. What 

 is true of Granil Rapids is undoubtedly true of practically all of the 

 prominent woodworking sections, and it is also true of other wood- 

 working lines not allicil with tlie furniture fraternit.v. 



This figure is of value only in that it shows that there has been 

 an actual advance in values for hardwood lumV)er and it is an absolute 

 certaint.v that this increase will be substantially augmented within the 

 next two months, in fact, within a shorter [icriod. 



Benjamin Bruce Burns 



Vrr HEX A PRES1I)KNT WA.s KI.Kt TKI) by the Hardwood Man- 

 '» ufactiirers' Association of the I'niteil States in its meeting 

 last week at Cincinnati, the choice of Benjamin Bruce Burns was not 

 an accident and was not politics. A life of work and a successful 

 career in the lumber business made him the logical man for the place. 

 He has been a lumberman since his first entry into business affairs. 

 He is a native of West Virginia, and his early life was spent in the 

 most densely forested region of that state. He was, born in 1869 at 

 Burnsville, at a little town named from his ancestors, and situated 

 on the Little Kanawha river. Perhaps more hardwood logs and 

 lumber have gone to market down that small sluggish stream than 

 down any other of like size in the United States. I' i -^ been going 

 for a hunilred years, and is still going. 



The father and the uncles of Benjamin Bruce Itmns operated a 

 circular sawmill at Burnsville about the close of the Civil war. Ten 

 years later a bahd saw was installed at the mill, and that was an 

 event of historical importance because it was the first bandsawmill 

 in the Vnited States or in the world. It was the invention of .1. R. 



Iloffmnn, who wn« n partner of the Buru« krolhcra in that mill. It 

 in worthy of note that the mill, or |>urt1onH of it, remained in iiervice 

 more than thirty yearn in that locality. The principal woods rut 

 into IuhiIkt during the early years of the o|wratloii at MiirnNville 

 were U-erli, binrk walnut and yellow poplar. 



The subject of this nkcKrh did his first liimlier work in the HiirnS' 

 villn mill in the employ of his uncles. He was then sixtii>n years 

 of age. His father had dieil nine years U'fore. and the mill was 

 opernted by the uncles. The young man workeil his way U)i from 

 the bottom and from a sinall tieginning. Kvery step was succeRiiful 

 and he prepared himstdf for a larger field. 



Ill IsiHt lie bi'came associated with W. N. Offutt and C. L. Hitter 

 and liclpnl <irganir.<> the Tug River Lumber ('oiiipany, with head 

 <|uartcrs at Welch, W. Va., and later liecame interested in the Rock 

 ('astle I.iimlH'r Company and the C. 1<. Ritter Lumlier Company, 

 These companies liecame extensive inaniifnctiirerH of lumber with 

 mills in several statett. Mr. Burna became active in association work, 

 and contributed much to the success of the Unrdwood Manufacturers' 

 .Association, and his election to the jiresidency is an appropriate and 

 deserved honor. 



His portrait appears on the front cover of this numlier of H.tiiii 

 WOOD REamn. 



Out of Date 



ACOM.MITTICK OK TIIK ( IIA.MHKK OK fO.\I.\I KRCE .d the 

 I'nited States iias made a rejiort of no small iinportanrp con- 

 ccrning the governnient statistics of exports. It comes bliintl.\ to the 

 point with the statement that these statistics arc worthless in the form 

 in which the government has been getting them out. and it then 

 proceeds to point out wh.v the figures have little value. In the first 

 place, the collection of export statistics is made under the terms of a 

 law passed in 1821. ^ 



An old law need not be condemned simply because it is old; but 

 in a business which undergoes as many and as radical changes as 

 take place in the country's foreign tmde, it may lie presumed that a 

 revision of methods would be desirable oftener than once in niiietyfive 

 years. A private company carrying on a business with agents and 

 customers all over the world would revise its methods oftener than 

 that or it would go out of business because of dry rot. But the gov- 

 ernincnt has drifted along, generation after generation, in the same 

 old wa.v. which nia.v have done well enough in 1821 but is hardly equal 

 to the occasion of l!>l(i. 



The national board of trade's committee goes somewhat into details 

 in its analysis of the poor system employed in collecting data exports. 

 One point which is strongly insisted upon is that many exports are 

 missed altogether, because of the faulty system of collecting the 

 figures. The criticism is not directed against present government of- 

 ficials, any more than against those of the past, who have simply fol- 

 lowed precedents and complied with old laws which do not meet 

 present conditions. 



That is not the first time the government has lieen criticised for 

 failure to get out of the rut of old habit. .\ noted instance was dis- 

 cussed in lumhei trade journal;; some time ago in relation to specifica- 

 tions for luinher and other timber supplies for the government. Grades 

 are still l.eing called lor which were used many years ago when such 

 grades were plentiful, but today they are scarce and very expensive. 

 Lower grades might answer as well; but, it has been claimed that 

 lor many purposes the <jovernment specifications still call for the 

 same class of white pine that was on the market before the Civil war, 

 Init can scarcely be had now. The same rule holds with other woods. 

 It has been .said that by changing some of the specifications, material 

 good enough could be had at much lower cost ; but as in the case of 

 compiling statistics of exports, the sjiine formula is followed, regard- 

 less of the changes which have taken place in the circuin.'tanccs. 



It is always easy to criticize, and the government is often singled 

 out as a shining mark for attack, and frequentl.v the critici.sm is 

 not deserved. For that reason it is well to be conservative in finding 

 fault. It cannot be denied, however, that the government is often too 

 slow in changing methods which are no longer up-to-date. Roosevelt 

 while president continually insisted on ''greater efficiency,"' and 



