HARDWOOD RECORD 



25 



Standard Hardwood Lumber Company will in- 

 clude a loading dock that will facilitate hand 

 ling greatly with so much oak, chestnut and 

 poplar coming in from the South. 



Beyer, Knox & Co. still keep their hold cm the 

 besi hardwood-producing districts of Pennsyl- 

 vania, while looking after the hardwoods of the 

 tar South. Home-yard stocks are good, in spite 

 of the active demand. 



The interest in the lirm of Scatcherd & Son 

 si ill centers largely on Mr. Scatcherd's health, 

 for he is far from recovered from his accident, 

 not being able to use his right arm yet. 



The oak supply on the yard of A. Miller is 

 u< "'I anil includes a lot of 3% to 4-inch stuff, 

 plain oak is going fast: quartered somewhat 

 more slowly. A large amount of elm and bass 

 wood has been sold lately. 



The fine office addition of the Buffalo Hard 

 wood Lumber Company is a great convenience 

 to the establishment. It is the second enlarge- 

 ment since locating there, not to mention tin' 

 good showing already made in the new Memphis 

 yard. 



G. Elias & Bro. have been busy all the fall 

 with lake cargoes, which have brought all 

 sorts of lake hardwoods to add to the stock of 

 southern and Pacific coast lumber carried. 



There are some complaints of stocks running 

 down and fears of further shortage, but the 

 yard of O. E. Yeager is well stocked, much good 

 oak and other woods coming from his Ken- 

 tucky headquarters. 



The Hugh McLean Lumber Company finds the 

 wet weather in the South much against log- 

 ging and is afraid there will be an oak shortage 

 before long, such as has not been known before. 

 The yard stock is good yet. 



Waecaman Lumber Company has filed articles 

 of incorporation to operate near Wilmington, 

 N. C. E. Nelson of Detroit anil Watts 

 Humphrey of Saginaw are the heaviest stock 

 holders. Chicago and Wilmington parties ate 

 also interested. 



Detroit. 



Warren <;. Vinton, president of the Vinton 

 Company, Detroit's largest builders and hard- 

 wood finishers, died from an attack of broncho- 

 pneumonia, contracted on Christmas day. He 

 had just celebrated his seventy-seventh birth- 

 day. Mr. Vinton was born in Utica, N. Y., Jan. 

 3, 1830, and was the son of a carpenter. He 

 received his first contract as a builder when 

 seventeen years of age. Then he went to Cali- 

 fornia as a forty-niner. He roughed it in the 

 wilderness but did not strike a fortune there. 

 He came to Detroit in 1855 and opened a car- 

 penter shop. He served in the Civil War. Sev- 

 eral business firms in Detroit other than the 

 Vinton company owe their existence to Mr. 

 Vinton. He was a silent partner in the Me 

 Clure Lumber Company, Fox Brothers, the 

 Mantel Manufacturing Company, Bailey Art 

 Statuary Company and the Kalsey-Herbert Com- 

 pany. 



Hal H. Smith of Detroit has returned from 

 Chicago, where he was made a member of the 

 executive committee of the National Reciprocal 

 Demurrage Association, which body is working 

 to abate the car shortage. 



W. C. Brownlee of Brownlee & Co. is on a 

 business trip to Baraga and other northern 

 lumber points. 



The Manufacturers' Lumber Company, owned 

 and controlled by the Vinton Company, has 

 bought the Wolverine Lumber & Box Company, 

 formerly owned by Clayton Gibson. The latter 

 will devote his time in the future to the whole- 

 sale hardwood lumber business in this city and 

 throughout the state. Mr. Gibson is supposed 

 to have received $20,000 from this sale. 

 The Manufacturers' Company, which bought 

 out Gibson, is capitalized at $100,000, which 

 will not be increased at this time. The Wolver- 

 ine plant will run separately until April 1, 

 when it will be moved to a new factory building 

 now being constructed at the Wight street 

 yards. 1'. L. Dessert, it is expected, will be 

 manager of the box company under the Vinton 

 management. 



With a paid-in capital of $9,300, all cash, the 



Saginaw Valley. 



Lumbermen have been settling accounts for 

 tie' year, taking account of stock and Inci- 

 dentally enjoying some holiday rest. The situ- 

 ation is much stronger with the beginning of 

 the new year than it was a year ago at this 

 date, both as to price and conditions govern- 

 ing trade. All grades ol hardwoods have ma- 

 terially advanced. 



One of the important moves inaugurating 

 the new year business is the formation of the 

 Mershon-Bacon Company with a capitalization 

 of $50,000, the stockholders being W. B. Mer- 

 shon. E. C. Mershon and Ansley W. Bacon. 

 These gentlemen have purchased the Bay City 

 property of Mershon, Schuette, Parker & Co., 

 including planing mill, box factory and lum- 

 ber yard with piling capacity for 30.000,000 

 feet. The new company has taken possession 

 and stands to do a large and increasing busi- 

 ness. This is what was formerly the Eddy- 

 Sheldon & Co. property, and it is one of the 

 finest arranged and best located sites for lum- 

 ber business in Michigan. The largest lake 

 boats can discharge cargo at the yard docks 

 and three lines of railway have trackage in the 

 premises. A. W. Bacon is manager, but W. B. 

 .Mershon will give much time to extending the 

 business. This plant has heretofore been en- 

 gaged chiefly in the pine business, but that is to 

 be gradually eliminated and the hardwood in- 

 dustry built up for all it will stand. The box 

 factory has for some time been manufacturing 

 box stuff from hardwood culls and the Knee- 

 land, Buell & Bigelow Company have a contract 

 to furnish a number of million feet of hardwood 



culls annually for five years, and 20, ,000 



feet of lumber annually for five years, to be 

 dressed in the planing mill. W. It. Mershon has 

 retired from the presidency of Mershon, 

 Schuette. Parker & Co- and the active man- 

 agement of the concern, although both himself 

 and his brother retain their stock holdings in 

 the concern. The company has, however, no 

 connection whatever with the Mershon-Bacon 

 Company. With the world of hardwood tribu- 

 tary to Bay City by rail and water there is a 

 wonderful opportunity for this company to build 

 up an immense business, and Mr. Mershon isn't 

 the man to miss any opportunity. 



In a previous letter it was noted that the 

 Kneeland Bigelow Company, the selling company 

 for all the lumber manufactured by that con- 

 cern and the Kneeland, Buell & Bigelow Com- 

 pany has sold 12.000,000 to 15.000.000 feet 

 of maple for this year's delivery to the S. L. 

 Eastman Flooring Company of Saginaw. Since 

 that Mr. Bigelow has sold the entire cut of 

 hasswood this year of the two mills, estimated 

 at something like 3,000,000 feet, to A. C. 

 White of Saginaw. The price is considerably 

 better than basswood sold for last year. A. C. 

 White is the heaviest dealer in basswood in 

 eastern Michigan, if not in the state, making 

 a specialty of that wood. He handled over 

 7.000,000 feet last year and always carries a 

 number of million feet of choice lumber in 

 stock. 



W. D. Young & Co. last week closed a deal 

 for 40.000.001) feet of hardwood timber in 

 Otsego county, the consideration being private. 

 This with previous holdings of this concern 

 will give their mill a fifteen years' stock at 

 20,000,000 a year. The firm manufactured 17.- 

 000,000 feet the last year, and calculate on 

 handling 20,000.000 feet of logs for this year's 

 cut into lumber. They always carry a large 

 stock" of flooring and lumber on hand and have 

 15,000,000 on hand at this time. There would 



be less if the firm could get cars to move it, as 

 they are thirty days' short on their shipping 

 orders 



The shortage of cars for hauling logs on the 

 Mackinaw division of the Michigan Central has 

 been relieved by the release of over 200 flats 

 which were employed on track construction on 

 the main line. Frank Buell alone required 104 

 cars every twenty-four hours, and could only 

 get about one-half the supply, but with the ar- 

 rival of the flats referred to all the cars needed 

 lor hauling logs on this line are available. Box 

 cars, however, continue to be desperately short. 



E. C. Hargrave left early in the month for 

 Mexico, where he is extensively concerned in a 

 lumbering proposition. lie manufactured 250.- 

 111 11 1 feet of hardwood the last season and has 

 2111. nun feet in stock. 



Bliss & Van Auken of Saginaw experienced 

 a marvelously successful year, the mill cutting 

 8,117,721 feet of hardwood lumber and about 

 5,000,000 feet of hemlock and pine. They closed 

 the year with 4, '.125,228 feet of very choice 

 hardwood lumber on hand and calculate to 

 manufacture 14,000.000 feet the current year. 

 The trade has only been limited by the capacity 

 of the railroads to fill orders for cars, and in 

 fact they are sold away ahead, but can't keep 

 up with shipments. 



II. M. Loud's Sons Company at Au Sable 

 manufactured 0.9G0.460 feet of hardwood lum- 

 ber last year. The concern ships up closely 

 during the season of navigation, but accumu- 

 lates stock during the winter months. It has 

 furnished a number of million feet of timber 

 contracts for river and harbor work at Lake 

 Erie points and for the Michigan Central tun- 

 nel at Detroit. 



Grand Rapids. 



The January sales of furniture are opening 

 wi II In this market witli indications that orders 

 will be placed freely. Prices are decidedly higher 

 in tables and case goods, the only articles re 

 maining unchanged being odd pieces and non- 

 sellers that the manufacturers contemplate drop- 

 ping out. Business started promptly on the 

 opening day. January 2, and dealers from all 

 sections of the country report the conditions 

 so prosperous that a record-breaking business for 

 the month is anticipated in this market. 



A lumber dealer of long experience in Grand 

 Rapids tells the Hardwood Record correspond- 

 ent that he has noticed that the manufacturers 

 who buy a good grade of lumber are the ones 

 almost invariably who succeed. He has watched 

 this thing for a long time and says it is proven 

 bey 1 ;i doubt that failures in business gen- 

 erally come to the concerns that are after cheap 

 and cull stock all the time. 



Gov. Warner is friendly toward the forestry 

 movement in Michigan. He says In his annual 

 message at the opening of the state legislature: 

 "The problem of reforesting the denuded timber 

 lands of the state is one which calls for prompt 

 and intelligent solution. Early provision for 

 future needs should be made along lines that 

 will produce the best results and at the least 

 possible cost. Whatever plan is adopted should 

 embody ample provision for protecting the grow- 

 ing trees from fire. The growing forests should 

 be encouraged in every proper and legitimate 

 manner." 



The Charlevoix Lumber Company is operating 

 more extensively than last year on its hardwood 

 holdings near Marion and already has more logs 

 skidded than at this time a year ago. The cut 

 will be about 2,000.000 feet, with a two years' 

 cut left in that section and with large holdings 

 about Horton's bay and Boyne river. 



The steam barge Three Brothers, owned by the 

 W. II. White Company, came to dock at Boyne 

 City through thick ice at holiday time, discharg- 

 ing a cargo of baled hay, then taking on 475,- 

 000 feet of lumber for Chicago, where she has 

 been put In winter quarters. 



