HARDWOOD RECORD 



home at Ohio's capital city, which reflects 

 their good taste and hospitality. Outside 

 of this home Mr. Eitter seems to have no 

 interests save his business affairs. 



FOLIAGE AND FRUIT OF THE COFFEETREE. 



unfolding leaves of the Kentucky coffeetree 

 are pink, and that as they become accus- 

 tomed to the world they turn to a bronze- 

 green. In the autumn they again change to 

 bright, clear yellow. Nor is it only in one 

 particular year that these colors succeed each 

 other. At whatever time we return to the 

 tree, no matter how long afterwards, We 

 shall find it telling the same story. A spray 

 of its doubly-compound leaves readily adapts 



itself to conventional designing. The curved 

 pods remain unopened on the boughs through- 

 out the winter, when the tree has a lament- 

 ably dead and stump-like look. ' ' 



The handsome photograph from which the 

 large illustration which accompanies this 

 article was made was furnished the Hard- 

 wood Becord by William H. Freeman, of 

 Indianapolis, secretary of the Indiana State 

 Board of Forestry. 



Record Mail 'Bag. 



[In this department it is proposed to reply 

 to such inquiries as reach this office from the 

 !3ardwood Record clientage as will be ot enough; 

 general Interest to warrant publication. Every 

 patron of the paper >s invited to use this de- 

 partment to the fullest extent, and an attempt 

 will be made to answer queries pertaining to all 

 matters of interest to the hardwood trade, in 

 a succinct and intelligent manner.l 



Wants Alder, Whitewood or Cottonwood 

 Veneer. 



London, Eng., March 13. — Editor Hardwood 

 Record : I am in need of veneer from alder, 

 whitewood or cottonwood. one-eighth inch thick. 

 Can you refer this inquiry to a manufacturer 

 or send me names and addresses of manufac- 

 turers? By doing so you will greatly oblige 

 Yours truly, W. B. 



This inquirer has been supplied with the 

 addresses of a number of manufacturers of 

 the required items. Anyone wishing his ad- 

 dress, or able to supply the above, should 

 write this office. — Editor. 



'Builders of Lumber History. 



NUMBER XL1I. 



William M. Ritter. 

 (See Portrait Supplement.) 

 The Hardwood Becord presents to its 

 readers with this issue a supplement por- 

 trait of William M. Bitter, of Columbus, 

 O., president of the W. M. Eitter Lumber 

 Company, who has made for himself the 

 foremost place in the hardwood industry of 

 the United States — a position which has 

 been attained within a remarkably short 

 time. 



Mr. Bitter was born on a farm near 

 Hughesville, Pa., in 1864. His business train- 

 ing was limited until 1891, when 'he took up 

 on a small scale the manufacture of hardwood 

 • lumber in West Virginia in the vicinity of 

 the Pocahontas coal fields, along the line of 

 the Norfolk & Western railroad, then in 

 process of construction. Mr. Eitter was 

 quick to anticipate the opportunities that 

 lay in the development of timber properties 

 in" the mountain, districts of that section, 

 up to that time practically undeveloped. 

 With remarkable foresight he fully recog- 

 nized the great transportation facilities 

 that would be opened up on the completion 

 of this railroad system reaching the great 

 consuming regions of the East on the one 

 hand and the West on the other. 



With only a nominal capital, but with 

 a well-defined and thoroughly-analyzed plan 

 of action, Mr. " Eitter entered the lum- 

 ber business near Bluefield, W. Va., as half- 

 owner of a small tract of poplar and oak 

 timber and a portable sawmill. The growth 

 of his business since that time is known 

 wherever American hardwoods are con- 

 sumed. While this growth has been phe- 



nomenal in the history of lumber affairs, 

 it has been steady, and today Mr. Eitter is 

 the president of the largest hardwood manu- 

 facturing corporation in the country, and is 

 the owner of at least a dozen lumber manu- 

 facturing operations with timber holdings 

 behind them sufficient to keep his plants 

 running for a quarter of a century. In a 

 general way the Eitter timber holdings ap- 

 proximate 2,500,000,000 feet, with an annual 

 output of well toward 100,000,000 feet. The 

 operations extend over a considerable por- 

 tion of the finest hardwood timber areas of 

 West Virginia, eastern Tennessee and west- 

 ern North Carolina. The product consists 

 quite largely of poplar and oak, but inci- 

 dentally a considerable quantity of chest-' 

 nut, ash, cherry and minor hardwoods, white 

 pine, yellow pine, hemlock and cypress are 

 manufactured. 



Primarily Mr. Eitter is a student of lum- 

 ber affairs and is not only distinguished in 

 the hardwood industry as an organizer, but 

 as one who has mastered and developed 

 every detail of the great business of which 

 he is the executive, and who understands 

 and enforces all the niceties of economical 

 production and scientific salesmanship. He 

 was one of the original movers in the or- 

 ganization of the Hardwood Manufacturers' 

 Association of the United States, and was 

 its first president. Mr. Eitter is almost as 

 well known among the lumber fraternity of 

 Europe as in the United States, and he main- 

 tains lumber yards in both London and 

 Liverpool for the distribution of his products 

 in Great Britain and on the continent. 

 Mr. Bitter and his wife have a beautiful 



Who Wants Ironwood? 



Caledonia, N. Y., March 23. — Editor Hard- 

 wood Record : I have about 200 cords of iron- 

 wood that has not been cut, running anywhere 

 from two inches up to ten inches. Can yott 

 inform me of the whereabouts of a party who- 

 Is in a position to use this? I can cut it any 

 lengths desired. Thanking you kindly, E. A. T. 



The Hardwood Becord will be glad to sup- 

 ply above address to anyone in the market 

 for ironwood. — Editor. 



Wants Electric Casings and Cappings. 



Cincinnati, O., March 27. — Editor Hardwood- 



B a> : We shall appreciate it if you will be 



kind enough to send us a list of the names of 

 probable suppliers of rock elm logs and planks 

 and maple logs. We should also like to get into 

 communication with the manufacturers of elec- 

 tric casings and cappings. Thanking you in, 

 anticipation. Yours truly, & Co. 



We have given the writer a few possible- 

 sources of supply of elm and maple, and any- 

 one interested in supplying casings and cap- 

 pings should address this office. — Editor. 



Who Wants Oak Rosettes? 



Jackson, Tenn., April 1. — Editor HARDWOOD- 

 Record. — We would like to get into communica- 

 tion with furniture manufacturers who use 

 wooden rosettes made out of oak. 



Will furniture manufacturers who are buy- 

 ers of this class of material kindly send their 

 addresses to this office that they may be for- 

 warded to the inquirer? — Editor. 



New Hardwood House at Rockford. 

 The Co-Operative Mill & Lumber Company is 

 a new stock organization at Rockford. 111., which 

 has engaged in the wholesale hardwood lumber 

 trade. The president and manager of this in- 

 stitution is W. C. King, who has had long ex- 

 perience in hardwood affairs, and who is well 

 known to the buying trade of this section of 

 the country- The Co-Operative Mill & Lumber 

 Company is in the market for a full line of 

 hardwoods and invites correspondence from both 

 northern and southern manufacturers. Mr. 

 King's past success as a hardwood buyer and 

 salesman, together with the ample financial 

 and business support which he has in this new 

 enterprise, should guarantee its success. 



