Febi'iiary 10, I'.IIG 



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Flood Conditions Serious 



The .Mas>issiii]ii vivpr at Memiihis roiitiruics to rise and it is 

 oflii-ially predicted tliat-a stage of 44.o teet will be reached here by 

 the end of the cnrrent week. Ah'eady there is much interference 

 with tlie manufacture of hardwood lumber along Wolf river in 

 North Memphis as well as along the Mississippi in Xew South Mem- 

 phis. A number of firms in the latter territory have found it neces- 

 sary to remove their stocks of lumber to high ground to prevent over- 

 flow as private levees have in more than one instance given away 

 under pressure from the Mississippi. It is expected that conditions 

 will gradually become worse from the staiulpoint of local hardwood 

 lumber interests iintil the crest of the rise has been reached and 

 that it will be some time thereafter before there can be a resump- 

 tion of noiiiuil operations. The water will not go as high as it did 

 when the record w-as established here several years ago, but the rivei' 

 will be the second highest ever known, with conse()uent serious inter- 

 ference with every phase of the manufacture and distribution of 

 southern hardwoods. 



The Mississippi promises to reach the liighest stage ever known at 

 Helena. Ark., and conditions on the Arkansas side of the Mississippi 

 are extremely unfavorable, jjartly as ;i result of the strain on the 

 levees protecting the lowlands from high water and partly as a 

 result of the breaking of levees and the overflow of Arkansas, White 

 and Black rivers. Several towns in Arkansas have already been com- 

 pletely inundated by the breaking of levees and the fear is enterj&ined 

 that further serious in.jury will result from the same cause to other 

 towns as well as to a vast area of country. A large part of south- 

 eastern Arkansas is already under water and hunber interests in that 

 territory are undergoing serious loss owing to high water in Arkansas, 

 White and Black rivers. Many (dants have found it necessary to 

 suspend operations and further developments in the same direction 

 will not be at all surprising. The outlook is described as particu- 

 larly gra\e at Arkansas City, where the highest water on record is 

 shown. Clarendon, Ark., is already largely under water and New- 

 port has sutlered severely as a result of imperfect levees. Reports 

 from the Mississipjii side indicate that the levees will hold. It is 

 recognized by officials that there are weak spots around Rosedale 

 and Beulah, Mass., liut assistance is lieing rushed to these places 

 and those in charge of maintaining these embankments say that it 

 will be possible to keep them intact. 



There ha.s been much interference already with west side lines. 

 Practically all of the roads from Memphis west have had their tracks 

 washed out at some point. All of them are forced to run through 

 more or le^s water in keeping up their schedules. Enormous forces 

 of men, however, have been rushed from place to place, with the 

 result that tracks have been repaired very quickly where water has 

 washed them out. It is necessary for the west side lines to do a 

 great deal of detouring and to resort to other measures to keep 

 their trains going. However, west side traffic is being handled in an 

 almost normal manner, except for the delays in maintaining schedules. 

 Reports from Earle, Ark., indicate that the Crittenden Railroad is 

 out of commission as a result of the overflow. This is a line rimning 

 from Earle to Heth and is owned largely by the Crittenden Lumber 

 Company. Various private logging lines have been rendered useless 

 for the time lieing over much of eastern Arkansas and this has caused 

 serious interference with the handling of both logs and lumber. On 

 the east side there has been comparatively little interference w-ith 

 traflSe, although the management of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley 

 line of the Illinois Central is fearful that there may be serious de- 

 velopments along some of its track. At some points water is already 

 up to the top of the rails and in some few stretches it is necessary 

 to run through water. The Yazoo & Mississippi line suft'ered severely 

 in the breaking of levees at Rosedalc and other points on the 

 Mississippi side in the last big flood and it is clear that it will do 

 so again should the levees fail to hold. 



One of the most serious phases of the high water is the interrup- 

 tion to logging operations. These are practically impossible over a 



vast area in western Mississipjii, ea.stern Arkansas and west Tennessee 

 and portions of Louisiana. A large percentage of the log supply at 

 Memphis and at other manufacturing centers in the Mississippi Valley 

 states conies from these low lands and the effect on production of 

 the interruption to logging is regarded as exceptionally serious. A 

 prominent manufactuier of lumber here has said that he did not 

 believe that the manufacture of lumber in the territory indicated 

 was more than 25 per cent of normal if as much. Other members of 

 the trade have given out similar figures and it is quite apparent that 

 all are agreed that, whatever the decrease may iie the amount of 

 lumber being produced is only very small compared with the average. 

 Almost every firm in the valley states is suffering from lack of logs 

 and indications are that conditions in this respect will become worse 

 before there is prospect of any improvement. This statement is 

 based on the fact that the higher the river goes the more water there 

 will be in the low lands, whether the levees break or not, vast areas 

 being overflowed by the back water from the Mississippi and its 

 tributaries. The scarcity of logs has been growing \nore acute for 

 some weeks and the most representative members of the trade make 

 iio effort to conceal the highly unsatisfactory outlook for lumber pro- 

 duction in the near future. In addition to the enormous territory 

 which has been o\erflowed as a result of the high water in the 

 JDississippi and its tributaries, there is also an extremely large area 

 which has been kei^t thoroughly watersoaked by the continued heavy 

 rains in the Mississippi valley. Almost no logs are being brought out 

 and the mills able to keep in operation for the next few weeks will 

 l)e sub.jects for he^irty congratulations. 



Meantime demand for lumber continues good and shipments are 

 very nuu-h heavier than the amount being produced, with a consequent 

 further reduction in stocks. The latter are becoming decidedly broken 

 in a number of directions and because of this fact and because of 

 the good demand, the tendency of prices is toward a higher level. 

 It is estimated that gum lumber is soiling at an average of $6 per 

 thousand above the best prices obtainable last year and the lowtr 

 grades have advanced about .$.5 to .$5.50, while' in some of the higlitr 

 grades the advance has amounted to as much as $7 to $8. Oak has 

 advanced shai)ily and there has been a general enhancement of values. 

 Owners of lumber realize that production is being so seriously inter- 

 fered with that what they have will bring good prices, with the 

 result that the.y are somewhat independent^ about selling and are 

 unwilling to part with their holdings except at prices the.y consider 

 remunerative. As giving some indication of the change for the better 

 in conditions surrounding the distribution of lumber, it may be 

 stated that one firm in eastern Arkan.sas, which had a con.siderable 

 quantity of lumber which it either had to sell or remove to higher 

 ground, was able to dispose of 54 cars by sending out a few quota- 

 tions to its clients. Prices quoted were as high as, or higher than, 

 any at which similar lumber had sold up to that time, but buyers 

 came in rapidly and enabled the firm to ship lumber to ultimate des- 

 tination instead of forcing it to remove it to a place of safet.y. Last 

 year, with the market in the condition existing at that tim.e, it w-ould 

 have been practically impossible to have given awaj- as much as five 

 cars of this stock, much less dispose of as much as 54 cars at an actual 

 advance in prices. 



Let every nuichine man have a broom, and see that he uses it at 

 least a little now ami then. 



It is the man that has become an expert at putting on a belt while 

 the machinery is going that gets injured. 



No wonder pipes burst. Water in freezing exerts an expansive 

 force of 30,000 pounds per square inch. 



Guessing at measurements when installing new machinery has causeil 

 no end of trouble. 



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