HARDWOOD RECORD 



changed his mind about the value of miscellaneous magazine ex- 

 ploitation, and has withdrawn his business to a very large extent. 

 The majority of magazines are carrying only thirty per cent of 

 the advertising business they did a year ago and there are con- 

 stant defections from the ranks of this class of generous con- 

 tributors to magazine funds. It goes without saying that if maga- 

 zines were "making good" to the general advertiser, this result 

 would not obtain. 



It is an open secret, in spite of the very substantial funds 

 spent by the cypress people in their magazine campaign, that 

 there is an unusually heavy stock of cypress in first hands, which 

 is not moving with very much freedom. Actual statistics of 

 stacks on hand among cypress manufacturers are not available, 

 but it is well known that several of the large producers have on 

 sticks more than two years' normal output. 



Perhaps the red gum people have had the best results from 

 their campaign, but they distributed their funds to a consid- 

 erable extent in technical and semi-technical publications, rather 

 than cheap magazines, anil again, they had a very substantial 

 support in public appreciation 

 before they commenced their 

 campaign, and beyond that, had 

 a wonderful argument in the 

 way of quality of their wood, 

 and low prices to induce in- 

 creased sales. 



The white pine people have 

 gone into an alleged magazine 

 advertising campaign that is 

 not proving fruitful of sub- 

 stantial results, and is being 

 handled with such weakness of 

 copy and frailty of judgment 

 in vehicles of exploitation as 

 would perhaps make it wise to 

 say very little on the subject. 

 However, to make succinct crit- 

 icism of this expenditure, very 



few contend that it is not an example of the most inefficient and 

 senseless advertising that has ever been attempted. The money 

 of the advertisers simply has been taken away from them and 

 dissipated. 



All of this has a bearing on the advertising possibilities of a 

 well-conducted forest products exposition, to be primarily estab- 

 lished in Chicago or some other chief American city, and then 

 transferred for periods of a weeli or two at a time to other com- 

 mercial centers. This scheme presents an opportunity of abso- 

 lutely ' ' showing ' ' the public not only the possibilities, but the 

 surpassing worth of wood as compared with any and all other 

 substitutes for this sterling material. It is an opportunity 

 that should be embraced and worked out in a systematic way 

 to a logical conclusion. The plan has such possibilities beyond 

 its advertising value as a self-supporting movement, that sundry 

 gentlemen, well versed in the exposition "show business," would 

 be very glad to have the opportunity of financing the enterprise. 

 They will do this with the reasonable certainty that they will 

 g(!t handsome dividends out of their investment, but the accept- 

 ance of this proposition would constitute very questionable judg- 

 ment on the part of the lumber industry. 



Haedwood Eecord holds that the business of organizing a for- 

 est products exposition should be taken over by the National 

 Lumber Manufacturers ' Association, which should become the 

 financial sponsor for the enterprise. It should be perfectly easy 

 fur the managers of this organization to secure trained talent to 

 organize and conduct this series of expositions, not only on a 

 profitable basis, but in a way that should form the greatest adver- 

 tising propaganda for wood utilization that has ever been known. 

 Manifestly it would be a mistake to let professional showmen 

 take out of the hands of the lumber industry this opportunity of 

 having its interests properly and justly exhibited to the public. 



and be made into a money-making eurteprise per sc. 



Incidentally it might be very wise for sundry prominent lum- 

 bermen, at the head of this big organization, to confess to them- 

 selves that they don't know how to "run a show," but are 

 perfectly willing "to be shown." However, they should by no 

 means let this matter be taken out of their hands and handled 

 by people whose sole interest is to get what money they can out 

 of it. There has been altogether too much of this sort of thing 

 in the advertising expenditures already made by several groups of 

 lumbermen. 



It is sincerely to be hoped that at the forthcoming meeting 

 of the National Lumber Manufacturers ' Associtaion at Cincin- 

 nati, May 7-9, the subject of a forest products exposition shall 

 have long, serious and intelligent consideration, and that plans shall 

 there be formulated to work out this scheme to a logical conclusion. 



An Inspection Prophecy 



The ways of arriving at a logical and correct system of hard- 

 wood lumber inspection have been long, devious and harassing. 



Right now there is another im- 



UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL 



^errine=^rmstrons Companp 



iHamtfarlitrr ra of nnh Wifoltsak 

 itairrs in ISariiuiaiiiJ Humbf r 



Fort Wayne, Ind., Mar. 13, 1911. 



Gentlemen— We think HARDWOOD RECORD Is a good 



medium for advertising hardwoods. It probably reaches 



as many as, if not more than, any other lumber trade 



journal we know of. 



VAN B. PERRINE. 



portant movement at hand that 

 looks as though it might have 

 a favorable outcome to a settle- 

 ment of this vexing question. 

 It is to be sincerely hoped that 

 this desideratum will be at- 

 tained. In time it surely will 

 be, because many men occupying 

 important positions, both in the 

 hardwood manufacturing and 

 jobbing industry, as well as in 

 hardwood association work, are 

 very earijest in their desire that 

 logical accomjilishments in this 

 particular shall be reached. 



However, let it be remembered 



that this fertile and vexing 



question never will be settled 



until it is settled right, and during the next few months there will 



be an opportunity of having it settled on this basis. 



The English Hardwood Market 



The Liverpool wood trade circulars for March, from the prin- 

 cipal dealers, are at hand, and show a very small arrival of ma- 

 hogany logs. In fact, specifically, the arrivals during March oi* 

 African logs amounted to only about :!,:iOO; of Cuban. 4,000; Hon- 

 duras, 50; San Domingo. ?,2, and none of Mexican, tabasco, Nica- 

 raguan, or Colombian varieties. Such logs as have arrived have 

 in rare instances been figured or of high value. There seems to 

 be a dearth of high-class wood, and it is an open secret that 

 the real big stocks of both desirable mahogany and Circassian in 

 the world are owned in the United States, and quite largely cen- 

 tered in Chicago. 



The Liverjiool situation on elm is featureless. In ash the recent 

 imports have been modeiate, and a fair quantity is passed into 

 consumption. Prices on prime wood are said to be firm. 



In black walnut logs there is a good demand at firm prices 

 for prime qualities of good average size. Boards and plank of 

 better quality realize good prices, but inferior logs and lumber 

 are not sought. 



It is held that prime, in good quality, red gum is in request 

 at good prices. In poplar logs there is a larger demand for 

 average prime quality ami sizeable wood, with a fair inquiry for 

 better quality of lumber. Other circulars make a very unsatisfac- 

 tory report on the gum situation, advising that the demand is 

 fair but values rule low. 



The demand for California redwood is small and prices are 

 without change. 



Birch logs have been moderately imported during the month 

 with a fair consumption. Stock is said to be small. The arrivals 



