HARDWOOD RECORD 



.tT; - . f 111.- laii.r r.nli/f Hint ilu' micwm of the rcil Kuni uiovi-iiuMt, 

 " ' > nr, di'iM-nil* lar;;il.v upon llii> 



!■ il oiit liy thvm Ihni rod ciiin 

 . N a ii-aily oiillil for tli« luw 

 k' II trt'mtDiloua Ini-rrmu? in ratoH 



on i:iHM »lll ■.,ii.'nsl\ iLir. -- !'»■ ninik.l for tlip lower Krndrii of tills 

 iDalvrlal now u*n\ In tin- mnnufaclure of boxc» anil otht-r protluctn In 

 oomiH'lltlon with fllxr and otln-r mnlorlalii. 



Tt)p mivllDE of this body was held at MomphU on Spplombcr 22. The 

 •rsslon, howrvrr. was pxrcutlve, and nothing was Klvrn out for publlrnllon 

 beyond thp fact that a Ri-nfrnl cnmpnlsn wns luapppd out to combat the 

 TarloiiH iirolilcms mrntloni'd nlM)\<'. 



Tbnrv was n liparlne nt Mi-mphln Inst wcrk In tho cnsei of U. J. Oarnpll, 

 Inc., nsnlnst thr Illinois Onlrn'. Pt nl nnd the .Ino. M. Woods LiuuIkt 

 Company Vi<. the St. Louis. Iron Mountain & Soiilhirn ot al bi-forp J. K. 

 BuiUt. sprclnl iNninhu r of thf Intprstnti ccrmnilBnlon. Tlipsp cnsps wpro In 

 chart;'' of J. II. Townshriiti of the Southprn Hardwood TraOlc Association. 

 Up «a« ns<ilstiMl by rpprps<>ntatlvp.i of the firms In question. The Darnell 

 compliiint was filed for the purpose of spciirlnc a refund of nllPRed 

 exo'8-lve chnriT-s of one cent per hiindrrd pounds on 1(13 cars of lumber 

 ■hlppt'd from Leiniul, Miss. The Woods" complaint was brouc;ht for the 

 purpo.-ic of securing reparation for an alleged overcharge on shipment." of 

 lumber to Amesbury, Mass. 



Discrimination Charged 



Representatives of the lap line rnllrnnds In the yellow pine districts 

 of the Southwest held a conference September 10 In Chicago, nt which n 

 proposition for milling lumber In transit was prepared. The proposition 

 win be put up to the trunk line railroads within the near future by 

 Luther Walter, attorney for the lap lines. 



The smaller roads assert that the recent decision of the Interstate 

 Commerce Commission shows discrimination In that the lumber mill that 

 Is located on the truuk line railroad cannot make Joint rates to cover Its 

 haul from the forest. SIUIs located In the woods, which ship over their 

 own line to the main railroad, are allowed the Joint rate. 



A Joint conference with the trunk lines affeeled. principally the Wabash, 

 the Missouri raclflc. the Illinois Central, the Rock Island and the Santa Fe 

 will be asked. Should the roads grant the request of the tap lines It will 

 mean reduced rales on lumber from the Southwest to Chicago, affecting 

 a traffic of around 150.000 cars annually. The big lumber companies are 

 back of the move, and It is said that the roads have a-^reed to discuss the 

 subject with an idea of reaching an agreement with the companies. 



Protest on Proposed Hardwood Eate Advance 



The big hardwood mills of Mississippi are protesting vigorously against 

 the proposed Increase in rates on oak and gum and Cottonwood from 

 points on the Yazoo nud Mississippi Valley to St. Louis and Ohio river 

 crossings, effective October 1. -Ml interests effected will work together 

 to have these rates set aside. They claim that few mills can stand such a 

 heavy transportation cost. 



One mill maintains that even now it Is more profitable to destroy gum 

 trees than to cut and log on a plantation less than one mile from the 

 Yazoo Ic Mississippi Valley, that Is. It does not pay to cut a tract that 

 consists of gum only. Deing only moderately strong and stiff. It Is not a 

 competitor of hickory, ash, maple or oak. and is not used in the manufacture 

 of vehicles, or where strength and elasticity are required. As a veneer 

 material, there Is a fair demand tor It. The veneer Is nearly all rotary 

 cut. and it is used chiefly for berry crates, packing cases, picture and 

 mirror backing, etc. Many woods are Imitated with red gum. It Is stained 

 or painted to look like oak. cherry, mahogany and even maple, and figured 

 gum Is the closest known imitator of Circassian walnut. However, only 

 al)ont two per cent, which Is the best grade of heart wood, can be used for 

 this purpose. 



The value per thousand feet of the rough sawn gum log is at present 

 about $13.6.';. In order to obtain this value it Is Just as necessary to have 

 a market for the lower grades ns for the higher yrades. In this respect 

 all manufacturers face the common problem — to dispose of low grades. 



It required both time and money to establish a market for red gum In 

 foreign countries. 



It costs the Lamb-Fish Lumber Company $13 per thousand feet from the 

 time the gum tree Is cut until It is manufactured into lumber and loaded Into 

 cars at Charleston, Miss. This leaves sixty-flve c?>nts for stumpage, with no 

 proOt on the Investment. Should the mill not be able to market No. 3 

 common sap. it would be manufacturing lumber at a loss. 



Beech, one of the woods that gum meets with strong competition In the 

 Cincinnati market, is found in abundance in West Virginia and along 

 the Appalachian range. There are large quantities In Tennessee and 

 westeku North Carolina. The maximum rate from local stations west of 

 Clifton Forge, Va., to Cincinnati. Is 14.7 per hundred pounds, while the 

 minimum rate from this section Is S.4 per hundrt'd. There Is no prospect 

 of an advance In these rates, and beech will continue to sell at Cincinnati 

 at former prices, while gum must be advanced $1 per thousand feet to 

 offset the increase in rates proposed. 



The largest cut of chestnut lumber comes from West Virginia. Virginia 

 and Pennsylvania. This is a cheap lumber and is employed as a core or 

 backing on which to gin? veneers. The lumber of old mature trees Is. 

 preferred for this purpose because It is not apt to shrink or swell, and It 

 holds glue. This kind of chestnut Is known to the trade as "sound wormy." 



It Is also iiKrd largely In the manufacture of coOl 



sections of furniture, aa well ns box material. It orlglnateii In the uiae 



aectlon as beech, and In In coni|N'tltlun at Cincinnati with nam. 



Maple U found over a greater area than any other trer; Its rmug* 

 pxtendH over morp than a inllllim Kquarp mllps and touphps every state 

 east of the MlHsliwIppl. With low freight rates Into Cincinnati, an adTOoe* 

 of ?I per thousand feet on gum would give to b<-pch, chestnut and maple 

 manufacturers a large portion of the trade now enjoyed by nillls on the 

 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley, and therefore the railroad would suffer aloni 

 with the mills. 



The proposed advance on gum to Cairo Is 40 per cent, and the gum mills 

 claim that It will l»e Impossible to Increase the prices to the extent of this 

 advance — $1.40 per thousand feet. 



There are no manufacturing plants of any consequence In Mississippi, 

 IxMitslnna. Arkansas, soudnnsl Missouri, Tennpsspc or wpstern Kentucky 

 that utilize the products of the Mississippi gum mills to any extent. 

 Illinois Is the second largest woodworking state in the country, and 

 transportation costs to CF.\ territory plthpr retard or promote the moTe- 

 ment of sap gum. Manufacturing costs nn' iiln'sdy as low as It Is possible 

 to make them. The value of the wood, for the purpose for which It Is used, 

 can hardly be Increased so long iis there are other woods obtainable at a 

 lower price and as well suited to the needs of the users. 



For the Klississippl hardwood mills to continue operations during the 

 winter months. It Is necessary that logging be done between now and the 

 Urst of December. From Decembrr until May heavy rains make It 

 Impossible to log at a reasonable cost. It has been the policy of the 

 LambFlsh Lumber Company, for example, to do all cutting and logging In 

 the fall months, and place from two to three months' cut In the yard. 

 This company has already cea.sed logging on account of the Kuropean war. 

 During the last few days there has been a slight Improvement In the 

 domestic situation, but It Is not the purpose of this company to resume 

 operitions until It Is satisfied that the proposed rates will not become 

 effective. It would therefore be to the railroad's advantage to voluntarily 

 withdraw the proposed tariff so that the lumber trade may take steps 

 towards supplying the mills with sufUclent raw material to enable them 

 to keep In operation during the winter months, In the event that there li 

 to be a revival of the domestic trade. 



Lumbermen Kot Favorable to Freight Tax 



Upon the announcement of the proposed federal bill of levying a war 

 tax on shipment of freights. IlAnowooD Recokd issued a letter to a number 

 of leading hardwood concerns requesting an expression of their opinion! 

 on this proposition. While there does not now seem to be the remotest 

 chance that this tax will go through. It Is Interesting at the same time to 

 note the senllraoDt as expressed by these concerns, showing their opinion 

 of this method of raising revenue. 



Without a single exception our correspondents showed themselves to be 

 directly opposed to the measure, this opposition being based on the belief 

 that this method of taxation would have been unjust and also that the rail- 

 roads are now carrying more than a sufhclent burden. 



One concern look a very broad-minded view of the proposition, stating 

 that we should all stand tosether at this time for anything which would 

 relieve the situation, and that, while they could not express themselvc? as 

 entirely favoring the tax, they would be willing to share their small pro- 

 portion of this burden and expressed themselves as believing that others 

 should feel the same wa.v. 



It was a relief, however, to know that this direct tax, the broad distri- 

 bution of which would be dllliciill. will not actually be consummated. 



Conditions of Award of Philippine Timber Concession 



The following Invitation for bids tor a concession for the cutting of 

 timber ou a public forest tract In Ta.vabas and Camarlnes provinces, Luzon 

 Island. P. I., has been received by the Bureau of Insular Affairs : 

 Department of the Interior, Bureau of Forestry. 



Manila. .Tuly 11, 1014. 



Sealed proposals. In duplicate, will be received at the office of the 

 director of forestry In Manila until noon November 14, 1014. and then 

 publicly opened by him in the presence of attending bidders, for the 

 privilege of cutting and removing timber and gathering other forest 

 fFoducts. stone and earth. In the public forests located In the Provinces 

 of Tajabas and Ambos Camarlnes. 



The privilege to be granted will, as per sections thirteen and fourteen 

 of the forest act, be In the form of a twenty-.vear exclusive license agree- 

 ment to cut and remove timber, firev.-ood. and other forest products, and 

 remove stone and earth from the public forest above mentioned, subject 

 to the payment of charges and taxes as provided by law. Bids should 

 state the size and kind of pl.int to be used, and date of Installation of 

 same; .?lso the minimum out;iiit of timber during the first two years and 

 each succeeding year thereafter. No bid will be considered which does 

 not provide for a minimum output of forty-eight thousand (4S.O0O) cubic 

 meters of timber during the first two years, and nlnety-sIx thousand 

 (96.000) cubic meters of timber per .vear during the third and each suc- 

 ceeding year. Preference will be given to the bidder offering to install 

 the most complete and effective plant most promptly, with the best security 

 for performance. (It two or more bids are equall.v good, and one of the 

 bidders Is actually operating on the tract, preference will be given to the 

 latter.) 



-Ml proposals must be accompanied by a certified check or properly 



