16 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



(outhcro population ia not of undue aignificancc ua compared with 

 that of tho more proip«roU!i agricultural busieu-M uml imUmlrial 

 e«Dteni in other parts of tlio couutry iiiiJ the effect of this 

 depresaioD in eottou valui's. while sorioua, should not bo taken 

 an of country wide iniportauoo. 



Rognrding the lumber bu!<iiie»« gpecifically, it ulwnyn fools any 

 depro»>ion lirnt and is nffo.to.l by favorable reaction lator thnu 

 almost any other lino. This may be as much on account of the 

 mental attitude of the lumbormcn as for any other reason, as 

 they are generally loioted fnr from points of consumption and 

 arc forced to make their owu decisions. As a consequence they 

 ordinarily follow a con.sorvativo policy. The result is readily 

 seen in the South, where there has been considerable shutting 

 down of mills and cutting of log purchases. What tho next few 

 months will develop cannot be scon at this time, although 

 Uakdwood Rkcord anticipates that this general shutting down 

 movement will result within two or three months in tho t,'r.:it. M 

 hardwood scarcity ever expo- 



rienceil. When conditions do got 

 back to normal, which they will 

 ultimately in spite of everything, 

 business men must reckon with 

 the decreased purchasing power 

 of the population due to thoir 

 con.servative policy at the present 

 time, as the general shutting 

 down of industries will result 

 serioufly for a large percentage 

 of the laboring population. This 

 fact should be given due consid- 

 eration now before it is too late. 

 It takes courage to continue 

 manufacturing in the face of 

 present conditions — the samo 

 brand of courage that has made 

 the country what it is today in 

 the short period in which it has 

 been upbuilding. If ever Ameri- 

 can business men needed courage 

 and loiesii;ht they need it now. 



The Cover Picture 



THE ILLUSTRATIOX which 

 appears on the front cover 

 of this number of Hxrdwood 

 Record represents a white oak 

 tree which has grown in open 

 ground and for that reason it has 

 a short trunk and a large crown. 

 A tree of that character has little 

 value for lumber. What there is 

 of the body is good for wagon 



stock, and suitable for other uses when tough, strong wood is wauti-l. 

 Nearly aU trees from which the valuable English oak is cut are of 

 that short -trunked tyje, because they grow in open stands where 

 limbs are many and spread wide. 



The most interesting part of the picture, in the estimation of 

 most persons, is the rustic scene beneath its shade and in the fore- 

 ground. It is the old "worm fence" of split rails, and the old- 

 fashioned farm gate across the lane. This is a typical rural scene of 

 former years, and is still common in some parts of the country, 

 though scarce in others. These are the kind of rails which Lincoln 

 mailed. Formerly most fences were made of them; but at this time 

 fanners generally prefer to saw boards for fences. Timber goes 

 further that way. 



The photograph was taken in Putnam county, Tennessee, Nearly all 

 the cleared land in the state was at some time fenced with split rails. 

 Many of the fences have been rebuilt five or six times since the country 

 was settled. Gradually the rail fence is giving way to those made of 

 posts and boards; but first and last, an enormous number of railH 

 were used in Tennessee. Timber to make a mile of rail fence is 



The Opinion of a Man 

 VVho Knows 



The following Is verbatim copy of a full page advertise- 

 ment which appeared In a recent Issue of a Chicago dally, 

 which was Interted by the president of one of the largest, 

 most successful advertising agencies In the city. Hard- 

 wood Record publishes It without comment In the belief 

 that It offers food for thought. Think! 



It Is Inconceivable that any merchant or manufacturer 

 should cease— or even curtail— his advertising Just when 

 the country is on the threshold of a tremendous harvest — 

 the natural harvest of our own unprecedented crops and 

 the logical harvest consequent on the war In Europe. 



It Is under such conditions as these that advertising 

 reaches the zenith of Its power. The man who listens to 

 the yellow ptssimi$t and sits back to "wait for things to 

 settle down," Is yielding his common sense and enterprise 

 to the baefui Influence of Idle sentiment, and actually 

 starving tile goose that lays the golden egg. 



To cii my clients I have sent this defmlte, uncompromis- 

 ing and cneerlul message: "Keep the columns of the 

 dally newspaper bristling with your announcements and 

 thus open wide your doors tor the flood of prosperity that 

 Is bound to ruth In. Make hay while the sun shines. We 

 won't have another chance like this in a hundred years." 



I have noticed with a feeling of profound disgust the 

 ccntervatitm and business cowardice that have set In in 

 America since the Kaiser threw down the gage of battle. 

 We, the very people who will logically profit by the war 

 abroad — and profit Immeasurably — are acting as though 

 we were at war ourselves. We are talking blue things, 

 pinching the pennies, cutting down our advertising and 

 forcing prosperity to stand back. 



As a m.-'tter of fact this Is the very hour when we 

 should rush Into print to a greater extent than ever 

 before. Un ess the earth opens and swallows us up, there 

 will be greater prosperity in America this fall than ever 

 In the history of the Republic. We are not at war. We 

 are not likely to be. The warring world looks to us for 

 Its supplies and we can't keep prosperity down no matter 

 how hard we try. ,., . 



If my advice is worth anything to you 

 it is here conveyed to you in six words; 

 NOW AND NEVER LET UP. 



sultlcicnt to saw 7S,000 fe«t of lumber. No man knoH-s how many 

 mile* of fonco have been built in a state like Tennessee; but at a 

 conservative catiroate there have boon 30,000 miles of rail fenc« ia 

 that state, counting renewals. The logs for that production of rails 

 have not measured much under 10,000,000,000 fwt. 



As a rule, the very finest timber was picked for rails when famert 

 cleared land. All that woa not flrat-clnsa was burned m the clearinga. 

 White oak and chestnut have boon tho principal rail timbers in region* 

 whore they were plentiful. Thoy split easily and last well; but many 

 others have been used if at hand. Hundreds, probably thousands, of 

 miles of fence in Tcnncssoe were of red cedar rails; but the wood 

 is now too scarce for thai use, and miles of old cedar rails in that 

 state have been sold to manufacturers of lead pencils in recent ycara. 

 During early times in Indiana, and likewise in other states, hundreds 

 of miles of fence were made of black walnut rails. During the Civil 

 War, miles of such fences were bought by makers of musket sloeka. 

 l.'.tiT again to the picturo and take note of tho waste in such a 

 fonco. Eleven linear feet of raib 

 are requireil to fonco eight linear 

 foot. That is because the paneU 

 run zigzag, and becaufe the ends 

 of tho rails project too far. Note 

 another loss, in the amount of 

 ground which the rail fence with- 

 holds from agriculture. Fence 

 I'orncrs arc usually abominations 

 of woods, briers, and brush, aa 

 those are in the picture. A 

 f;irnior may keep such corners 

 clean, but he seldom does it, and 

 an "old fence row," as the 

 farmer designates it, is an un- 

 sightly feature of too many old 

 farms. The passing of the rail 

 fonie calls for few regrets from 

 lirogrcssive agriculturists or lum- 



ADVERTiSE 



Look Straight Ahead 



T 



IILHE IS NOTHING in tho 

 business situation in the 

 United States to justify undue 

 hesitation. Caution is as strong 

 a word as should be used at thia 

 time. Conditions are without 

 precedent, except on a small 

 scale; but to tho extent to which 

 such precedents apply, all are 

 favorable to an increase of busi- 

 ness in this country because of 



troubles abroad. How can reason 



roach any other conclusion f The 

 \iuiiiii;; iiutioiis are .sptutliLg, and will spend, billions of dollars for 

 supplies. Vast quantities of these materials cannot be bought within 

 their own borders, yet they must come from somewhere. The United 

 States will provide, manufacture, and sell the bulk of those supplies. 

 The lack of ships at the present moment to carry the freight will be 

 only temporary. Ships will come empty from Europe and go home 

 loaded, and American ships will spring up like magic during the com- 

 ing months. There should be no doubt that the goods will go to mar- 

 ket. The present duty is to get the loads ready. 



A week ago trade reports stated that orders at the United States 

 Steel Corporation 's plants had already increased ten per cent. That 

 index finger should catch the attention of every business man; becaoae 

 steel is a prosperity barometer. Some of the increased orders come 

 from South America, some from England. The selling of steel in 

 England this early in the war means that the English cannot supply 

 their own needs. How, then, can they supply their customers in 

 other parts of the world f They cannot. The buyers must come to 

 us, and it seems that some of those in South America had com- 

 menced coming before the war was a month old. 



