i8 



uot Im- rnuol' 



H A K 1) W OO I) RECORD 



I'Vbruarr 33, lOiO 



r.ll.'.l \; 



ii-al nf I 



■ Icln I .t| t lir lIHi\ « 



At till- liiiii' of uoine to 



' not 



.1 to 



coiiirol ilit> import iiuivoiin'nt ot hanlwoo.; n riilln-t tlinii 



to !>tot> outri|;lit. Nnlnrnlly if mii-li :i ' iiitciuleil to 



bf applipj literally, it woiiM Im» a »«'rio»i» ' ion for liarJ- 



wooil rxiMjrting firms in the I'mtr ' <•■•■- i ili the Kn(;li»b 



mnrkol* in thp oomlition that liax v rrsultnl from tliv war, 



there i* • n for th> I* by Knglnnd 



to maVo ,nff of tli: 1. 



H. ,1 riw lu octaii fti'ijilit l.as iiNo hntl its 



furl r uooj fxportfi. Tlio >nnu' il<'M'l<)|>niiMit hn» 



resulted in substantial increases in the cost of fiinry iinporti-tl 

 wootis that arc mauulactureil and sold in this country. Ono large 

 firm manufacturing mahogany has publisheil increased advances in 

 all mahoRany lumber that run from $10 to $lo, and states that these 

 advanced prices are subject to change without notice iis no doubt 

 there will be another material raise in prices shortly. Of course 

 this rc»ult^ directly from the increased tran8])ortation cost of logs 

 coming from tropical fields. 



In the eastern slates the difficulty of transporting hardwoods 

 into that territory is occupying both shippers an<l consumers. It is 

 im|iossible to tell what will be the outcome, but nt jiresent the 

 embargoes of some of tlie eaatem roads arc seriously retarding the 

 movement of lumber to that part of the country. Of course this 

 might be described as broad as it is long, for if the consumers are 

 really in need of the stock and cannot secure it now the result will 

 bo that they will be in need of just that much more raw material as 

 soon ai> transportation is possible under more favorable circum- 

 stances. 



Latest reports of the building permits entered during .lanuary 

 show substantial increases over January, 1914 and 1915. The fact 

 that these ailvancos are uniform rather tlinii concentrated from 

 only a few points is a favorable indication, which promises con- 

 sistent development in the building industry all over the country. 



Those in close touch with the railroads seem to be anticipating 

 extensive purchases from that direction that will take care of 

 great quantities of all kinds of lumber. It is true that hardwood 

 is not so badly affected in this direction as some of the other mate- 

 rials, but even though the railroads do not buy a foot of hardwood 

 lumber and make big purchases of other materials, hardwood lumber 

 will be favorably affected indirectly. However, all railroad pur- 

 chases must neeessarilj- include considerable quantitie>i o*' hardwoods 

 so that this branch of the lumber trade will feel a substantial bene- 

 fit from continued active buying on the part of our big transporta- 

 tion companies. 



The Cover Picture 



A> UM::il'l:.<-XKU BLANKtT OF SNOW in midwinter Re- 

 cently shut down many of the large sawmills in Oregon and 

 Washington for two weeks or more. The event served to show cer- 

 tain differences between lumbering in the East and in the West. 

 A snow like the one which demoralized the western operations would 

 not so much as inconvenience lumbermen in Minnesota or Wis- 

 consin. It would help rather than hinder them. They expect snow 

 and lay their plans accordingly; but the western operator does not 

 expect to work in snow, and when it comes, he goes out of busi- 

 ness and waits for the snow to melt. 



The cover picture which illustrates this number of H.\RDWOOD 

 Eecord shows an Oregon forest of the kind where snow shuts things 

 down. A lumberman accustomed to the woods of the Lake States 

 in winter might make light of the western millman who shuts down 

 when snow falls; yet the eastern man, suddenly finding himself in 

 such a western forest as that shown in the picture, when deep 

 snow covered the ground, would have some things to learn. If 

 he should shoulder his ax and start through the woods, as he 



'Mil to <lo in Maine .. ..:. -iunn, he would i .mn And 



hinmelf liecU over head in n puddle of water which the •now 

 had hidden. Tho ground do.-i. not freeie in thone wentern wooiU 

 na it docn in tho cold norlhi-ru furentii; roniiiM|u<-iilly, the holeii and 

 IwoU of water, the nwaiiipii niid innrKhe*, lie NofI niiil trcnrherouN 

 beneath the covering blanket nf unow, ready to receive th<- foot 

 man or the horse that get« out of the beaten trail. 



Of courno, logging operationii could bo carried on in the kuow if 

 tho western operator would prepare for it in ndvnnro; but he dooa 

 not count on snow and fln<U it cheaper to quit work if the sur- 

 prise comcK, than to prepare fur surprise in the form of an uiiuRUat 

 snowstoiiii. 



All western furcHlii are not alike. Much depends upon location. 

 Some near tho coast and in tho low country have little mow; 

 others on high mountains are buried every winter in accumulations 

 of snow from three to thirty feet deep. Hut whether much snow 

 or little is expected, tho western lumberman does not show tho 

 aptness at working in snow that is characteristic of his eastern 

 comrade. 



The dense forests of the far western country arc composed 

 chiefly of softwoods, the pines, cedars, spruces and flrs. When 

 heavy snow falls, though it may be several feet deep, it seldom 

 injures the trees, either large or small. The snow clings to the 

 slender branches and bemls them down at so sharp an angle that 

 the snow slides off, but the branches are not broken. Such a snow 

 would ruin a hardwood forest by splitting every forked tree and 

 breaking the large limbs. The resiliency of some of the evergreen 

 trees on the high western mountains is remarkable. The hemlock, 

 for example, when young, may be buried six months under tons of 

 snow and mashed down in a heap without semblance of a tree; 

 yet in the spring when the snow melts, the little tree will suddenly 

 spring back to its upright position without a twig broken or a 

 brancli distorted. If an ea.stern white oak or hickory were to 

 pass through such an ordeal it would bend in a slouchy parabolic 

 curve for the rest of its life. 



Groping in Darkness 



THE PUKPOSK, TUK WOKK, THE DESTINY and the excuse 

 for existence of the body known as the Federal Trade Com- 

 mission seem still to be unknown. Nearly a year ago, when that 

 commission was new and untried, IlAitDWOfiD RlxoiiD expressed the 

 opinion in a friendly way that no one seemed to know what work 

 or how much of it the commission was authorized to perform. 

 There was remarkable lack of information on the subject on the 

 part of the people. The law that gave the commission whatever 

 authority it bad, was vague, ambiguous, and uncertain. The com- 

 mission apparently was not sure of its field. At any rate, no 

 clear-cut statement on the part of the commission set any metes 

 and bounds of authority and power for its activities. 



A good many months have passed since then and the situation 

 is in statu quo. The fog has not lifted and the same uncertainty 

 prevails concerning the duties, powers and purposes of the com- 

 mission. Judging from such remarks as members of tho commis- 

 sion in public address, and otherwise, have made from time to 

 time, the members themselves are not very sure of their ground, 

 or of what their powers are, or to whom or to what they are 

 responsible. 



This is apparent in a statement or document made public a few 

 daj"s ago by the commission and called "Forty Conference Rul- 

 ings," covering some two hundred subjects on topics. It might 

 be supposed that these rulings set forth conclusions of the com- 

 mission or outline precedents for its own future actions and serve 

 as guides for business men to follow in conducting their affairs. 

 Such, however, is not the conclusion reached by reading tho forty 

 rulings. They contain nothing positive, nothing decisive, nothing 

 that even claims to be law or authority, nothing that a man can 

 act on in conducting his business and feel sure that by so doing 

 he is steering clear of prosecution for his acts; for these rulings 

 do not bind the department of justice, and there is no evidence 



