HAKDWOOD RECORD 



0. L. Wllley B«tunu from Europe 



('. I.. Wllloy. ttip 1)1;: ninbOKniiy iiiiio of t'lilrSKU, wnK a panM-iik'i'r on 

 iii> Maurctaula, n-aclilni; New Y»rk ScplcnibiT :i. Mr. Wllley whs 

 MiolcU lo tlio New York papers wllb th>> utatcmcnt that lOO.UUo Kuh- 

 -iiin tmopK wiT>> Id lyoodnn on rmilc for Kranci-. Tim Matomi'iil ciuikiiI 

 a (leal of Kurprlm- lii-n- aiirl «n» kIvcii imiili iipnei iinil prnniliniii- In llii- 

 l.>rul iliillloi. 



West Virginia Hardwood Firms Consolidate 

 WV an- reliably liif.irim-<l Ibal wlllilii Iho urst llilrly <liiy« tli./ ..ini,i,l/,u 

 Mon of a ni<»' bnr<lwi>oil limibiT company will bo coiuplotcd lu I'nrkcritbiirK. 

 u. Va., by a runH<illiliilUin of tlir Diamond Luiubi-r I'unipnny and Ihi' 

 Midland LiinibtT t'unipnny. both of that city. \Vi- undiTKland that the 

 1 w company will be known n» the Atlaa Lumber and Miiniifacturln); 

 ■ "nipany. and will i-HliibliKh lis (inicoH In tbc I'nlon TniHt biilldInK iil 

 ' iiiclnnntl. O. 



.1. C. West, now president of Iho .Midland Lumber Company, luid vlce- 

 r.sldent of the Oak Wood Lumber rompany of Marietta. O., operallnK ii 

 ind mill at I'Ickens. W. Vu.. and i;. M. Honner. now president of the 

 1 'iiimnnd Linnber Ompany of rnrkersburit will be the prcKldeul nnd 



■ •• reiary-treosurer, respectively, of (lie new orKnniziitlou. 



TbrouRh the Interest held In Ihi' Onk-Wood Lumber Company by Mr. 

 \\ i'St, tiie new company will have the exclusive sale of Its output, amount- 

 nu to about 1,000,000 feet of hardwoods per month, nnd this. loKClher wllli 

 he output of other mills In West Virginia and Kentucky, now controlled by 

 lie old company, will give the new company n general line of hnrdwoods 

 I sufflclent volume to make It n strong factor In the hnrdwond market 

 iirougbout the territory In which It will malmiiln Its si'lllug operntlons. 

 Until Mr. West and Mr. Itonner- have been 

 lively engaged In the production and market 

 iig of West Virginia hordwoods for the past 

 ■ifieen or twenty years, nnd the volume of their 

 n-s|>ectlvc businesses makes It necessary to lo 

 eale tbeir ofBces more conveniently to their 

 trade, an well as to their different mill connec 

 il'.ns. 



The Merritt Company Optimistic 

 ll.MiiiwoOD Itr.i'oKD w.ns recently In receipt of 



■ lerles of letters from the Merrllt Manufnctur- 

 iiiir Company of Lockport. X. Y. The Mcrrltt 



Minpony is the manufacturer of the famous 

 Merritt line of veneer machinery. 



Tlie fltst letter refers to 11. M. Merritt, sec- 

 r.lary of the company, who was one of the 

 .\merlcans recently marooned in Germany when 

 the war broke out. Mr. Merritt, according to 

 the story, hod been en an extended tour through 

 • very Kuropeun country since November last 

 y.ar. He spent considerable time in Russia and 

 'iermany. He was in Germany when the report 

 "f the declaration of war arrived nnd was com- 

 |M-lled to remain at Berlin about ten days before 

 lie could find the chance to get out 



In one of the enclosures was a copy of a letter 

 Ahich was received by the Merritt company from 

 lie largest Importer of plywood In England, a 



■ ..ncern making a specialty of this business for 

 .1 number of years and which holds a good rep- 11. M. A 

 iitiitlon for Its success in this line. The Merritt 



company issued the letter beeausu of Its belief In the lar-ieaclilug import 

 Muce of the suggestions contained and It is herewith reprinted for the .some 



■ • ason. The letter follows : 



•When we had Iho pleosure of seeing your Mr. Merritt we thorougblv 

 .iscussed the three-ply business with him. and gave him names of three or 

 i.iir mill owners who were entertaining buying your machines; of course, 

 this war upset ail calculotlons. Still, we hope that it will be of short 

 duration, when we will be able to again correspond with our friends regard- 

 ing your machines. 



"It occurs to us that now Is the time for some up-to-date concern in 

 in'e'thod''"'"''"'' '" """'' "^'■'"^ °° making plywood by the waterproof 



"We will not enter into details ot this moment— Mr. Merritt knows our 

 opinion— beyond stating that in the writer's opinion, any concern making 

 plywood nnd makme wateriiroof eonds. would be able to put its goods 

 on this market at the moment, at such a price as would command a ready 



ti ' o'^s *'^° '**'' ^""^ *'"'* ""** established, such business would be con- 

 "Should you know of such a concern, we will thank vou to give them 

 '•or name, when wc will write them fully on this subject" 



Hardwood Record agrees with the Merritt company In its belief that 

 liere are vast prospects for American ponel mnnufocturers at the present 

 ime. 



-N'ow. getting to the other matter, there Is a general talk on possibilities 

 •suiting to American business men through the European war. Spe- 

 iiically. the communication refers to the possibilities of developing trade 

 •v.r panels by the use of waterproof and flreproot ingredients in the manu- 

 facture. The question was brought to the attention of the Merritt com- 

 pany by the receipt of n pamphlet Issued by an importing concern in New 

 York. 



With the tremendoua advantage of waterproof paneli. ■• compared with 

 pnnelK In ordinary manufacture. It seenn almost Impowilblc Ibnt Americas 

 panel inanufaciurerH will long neglect the opportunity of Increaatng tb* 

 «cope <if their biiKlueHH l.y overlo.iklng Ibis detail. The aervice of cxprrt 

 b-over nl and (irlvuti- clieiiilHts Is available lo BMlst them. 



Otis A. Felger Sees Benefit to Cuban Mahogany 



A recent IsNiie of IIaiihwimiii Ukc eonhilned a full account of the 



ri'lgir-ItobliliiH Company, miibngany niiinufaelurer at llavnuM. Cuba. Thli 

 llrm baa erected a line mill at Havana for the purpose of working up Cuban 

 mahogany logH nnd now announces that the whistle blew on Septemb<T 1 

 putting In operation what Is consblered the most convenb'Ut, economical 

 and 4>eNt arranged mahogany mill in cxintence, although, of course, not 

 the largest. Mr. Kelger writes Hardwood Rkcoiid that the mill la dneiy 

 located on the Ilasandado Inlet of Havana I3ay, where excidlent rail and 

 water shipping facllltlea lend a very valuable feature to the propoalllon. 

 Mr. I'Vlger also Rlatea that sutnclent fresh water flows In the harbor, 

 obviating the usual salt water troubles enc<mntered by other mahogany 

 sawmill operations. 



Mr. Kelger quotes from a letter from Mr. KobhluR, wlio has charge of the 

 active operations nt Cuba, to the effect that Cuba Is rapidly ahowlng 

 ■•vldence of greatly Increased prosperity. The rise In sugar prlcea made 

 millionaires of numerous men who retired the night before the beginning 

 of Ibis rise in poor circumstances and the next day were wealthy. Sugar 

 Is being shipped out iii great quantities from the warehouaea where It wa> 

 stored, and its effects arc being felt, us there Is a much easier feeling 

 apimrent in Cuban Industry. The banks also are being benefltled, as tliey 

 have a great deal of money loaneil out on 

 sugar. 



He speaks specincaiiy of Cuban mahogany 

 prospects and these, according to Mr. Felger, 

 indicate an exceedingly strong demand. The 

 reason for this is obvious when it Is considered 

 that African mahogany Is moved largely to Liv- 

 erpool and London on English bottoms and 

 handled there In the Liverpool and London mar- 

 kets. It is easily understood that under present 

 conditions a great deal of this tramc must be 

 suspended and the read.v shipping facilities from 

 Cuba to the United States will result in a rich 

 harvest being reaped by the manufacturers of 

 Cuban mahogany. In addition, the local de- 

 iii.ind In the city of Hnvona for low-grade mabog- 

 :iiiv, cedar and majagua Is excellent. It Is an- 

 liclpated. In fact, that the local demand will take 

 ■ are of all the lower grades leaving the better 

 :;r:ide8 for American exports. This is o distinctly 

 iMvorable possibility, as the American consuming 

 I rude Is adverse to accepting a poorer grade of 

 slock as a general thing and this condition will 

 enable the Cuban mahogany exporter to deliver 

 only the upper grades without having to ask 

 their customers to take a percentage of the 

 poorer stock. Mr. Felger reports that his com- 

 pany has already taken some excellent mahog- 

 any orders and that the anticipated trip of Mr. 

 liobblns lo the Unltc'd States in September will 

 ERRITr. result in closing some large prospective contracts 



among ,Mr. Robblns' former customers. 

 .\reiinlin;.- to a letter from Mr. Felger, personally, these expressions 

 ii'pieseni not only his Idea but that of most of the buyers in the Grand 

 Itapids market. 



New York Finn Adds Hardwood Department 

 .\ recent change In the local wholesale trade of interest to the hard- 

 wiiofl branch is the appointment of Fred II. Doyle to the post of sales 

 manager for the Doscher-Gnrdner Company. The company announces its 

 Intention to add to its line of lumber supplies a complete assortment 

 of southern hardwoods In which the new sales manager is particularly 

 well equipped. Mr. Doyle has been In the hardwood business for over 

 thirty years and knows it from all angles. He will make his head- 

 quorlers at New York, thus allowing Mr. Doscher more timi' at ,lack- 

 sonvllle where he has extensive Interests. 



Death of Charles A. Chrlstman 



Charles A. Chrlstman. for over thirty years a prominent mi-mber of 

 the New Y'ork hardwood trade, died at his summer home, Zavesink i 

 Beach, N. J., on September 2. A year ago he was operated upon but 

 seemed to be fully recovered and up to July was attending to busi- 

 ness as usual. On .Tuly 2 he was taken sick with stomach trouble 

 and since then had not been to bis olBcc. He is survived by a widow. 

 Iwo sons nnd two daughters. He was sixty-four years old. 



Mr. Chrlstman began In the hardwood business in 1882 as a member 

 of the firm Norton & Chrlstman. In 1889 Mr. Norton withdrew and 

 the business has since been conducted under the present style. For 

 iniiny years Mr. Chrlstman was located In New York but a few years 

 aen moved bis yard to Astoria. 



