HARDWOOD RECORD 



33 



These lumboi-mpn were placed on the stand and testified as to the present 

 practices and stated what they desired to apply in the future. The com- 

 mission was very emphatic in stating that its orders must be complied 

 with and the practice of substitutins one kind of lumber for another, 

 the using of lumber at the transit point in manufacture or otherwise and 

 the application of in billing on .shipments out where other lumber was 

 substituted, must be discontinued. 



From the commission attorney's questions to witnesses of both railroads 

 and lumber Interests, it would seem as though the commission will demand 

 if a car of maple lumber is shipped in, maple lumber or the product of 

 maple lumber must be shipped out. In other words, they would not allow 

 a car of maple lumber in and a mixed car of maple, beech and birch 

 lumber out. 



The new employer's liability law enacted by our last legislature should 

 be studied with care by each member as there are points contained therein 

 which every employer of labor should be conversant with. It is probable 

 that this subject will be discussed here today. 



Report from the grading rules committee with recommendation as to 

 changes in the rules of the National Hardwood Lumber Association will be 

 presented to you today for your decision before forwarding to the National 

 association. 



When we reported on our assessment for 1912 at the last meeting, 

 there were several members who had not sent in their checks. We are 

 pleased to state that we have now collected the amount due from every 

 member of the association, shipping hardwood lumber during the period 

 covered by the assessment. 



Our treasurer's report will show the association to be in good rmancial 

 standing, and we might explain here that the amount expended in the 

 Forest Fire Protective Department will be collected from the members 

 interested when the assessment is levied against the lands in the Forest 

 Fire Protective Department and the members reimbursed for the amount 

 expended. J. C. Knox^ Secretary. 



Treasurer C. T. Mitchell reported the total receipts of the asso- 

 ciation since the last meeting at .'(!5,G31.33 and expenditures ot 

 ,$1,831.93, leaving a .balance on hand of $3,799.40. The report was 

 approved. 



President Bigelow made a brief address on the business out- 

 look, which he regarded very optimistically, reporting demand and 

 prices satisfactory, and everything promising a good year for 

 Michigan manufacturers of both hardwoods and hemlock. 



The chairman of the railroad and legislative committees ad- 

 vised that they had no reports to make. 



President Bigelow read a letter from the fire warden, recently 

 engaged by the association to carry on the forest fire protection 

 service of members of the organization, in which he stated that 

 lie had now mapped out 26.5,956 acres into eleven districts be- 

 longing to various participants in the movement, and it is be- 

 lieved that within a short time, ])robably not later than April 28, 

 appro.ximately 3U(I,000 acres will be covered by the patrol serv- 

 ice. 



President Bigelow announced that the fire warden was doing 

 his work carefully and systematically, and that the system would 

 afford manifest jirotection to the timber holdings of the partici- 

 pants in the movement. He announced that the bills of this 

 department would not have to be cared for by the parent asso- 

 ciation, as the owners of the timber patrolled would pay same. 



On motion of Mr. Richardson, an assessment of ten cents an 

 acre was made on the owners of the timber lands that had joined 

 the fire protection movement to take care of the cost of this 

 service until the next meeting of the association. 



Bruce Odell, chairman of the market conditions committee, then 

 presented a report which follows: 



Report of Market Conditions Committee 



This is one of the times when your committee finds its task a very easy 

 and pleasant one, as notwithstanding the precedent of generall.v disturbed 

 business conditions during a presidential year, we are now in the midst 

 of political strife and business seems oblivious of the fact. Whether the 

 people have come to a realization of the fact that our country is greater 

 than any man in it, that it is not dependent upon any one man or set 

 of men for its prosperity, we are unable to say, but of this we are very 

 positive, the lumber business from the standpoint of the manufacturer 

 of northern hardwoods and hemlock is good — decidedly good. 



The lime may have been when some few items may have been in lignter 

 supply and in stronger demand, when prices for some items were higher 

 than at present, but we know of no time when northern hardwood and 

 nemlock, as a whole, was in better demand, and this seems true not only 

 of our own state but throughout all of the northern district. 



Stocks of hemlock generally are light with very little in shipping condi- 

 tion, and large orders booked for shipment as soon as dry enough to ship. 



These conaitions are even more pronounced as regards low grade hemlock. 

 The prosperity of the farmer and the fact that there is no accumulation 

 of yellow pine, seems to warrant the prediction that this very desirable 

 condition of hemlock will continue throughout the year. 



While the estimated peel for 1912 is considerably in excess of the 

 actual peel of 1911, it is only about eighty per cent of the estimated peel 

 for 1911, and it is .sate to assume that many manufacturers will lind this 

 year as they did in 1911, that quite a proportion of their hemlock will 

 not peel, and that the actual peel for 1912 will fall short of that of 1911. 

 Unless the use of hemlock bark is supplanted by the use of other mate- 

 rials we should realize somewhat better prices for our bark this year 

 than last. 



With one exception the prospects for northern hardwood lumber probably 

 never were brighter and nothing short of a general business disaster seems 

 likely to prevent the manufacturer from realizing a fair price for his 

 product. Stocks generally are low, the demand is excellent and the esti- 

 mated cut tor 1912 is nearly Identical with that of 1911. The prices 

 obtained for northern hardwood lumber during the past sixty days as 

 reported by members, indicate a good healthy demand with no marked 

 shortages except possibly in beech of all grades and No. 3, common hard- 

 woods generally. 



Beech, our lowest priced northern hardwood, has shown remarkable 

 gains as to prices during the past year and a corresponding shortage has 

 developed. In fact the consumer has come to realize a fact that your 

 committee has tried to impress upon both producer and consumer of beech 

 lumber, which is that for many uses beech is much better than many other 

 kinds of wood that have been selling at much higher prices. 



Prices for low grade hardwoods of all kinds have also made heavy gains 

 during the last year, owing largely to the following reasons : First, the 

 prices obtained for No. 2 common and No. 3 common during 190S, 1909, 

 1910 and part of 1911 were not suflicient to reimburse the m.anutacturer 

 for manufacturing costs so that he found it necessary to change his 

 logging plans to fit current conditions with the result that more timber 

 was left on the land, a better class of logs containing less low grades was 

 taken out of the woods, with the result that less low grade lumber was 

 produced. Second, the stampede to fiber packages was checked as it was 

 found that for many purposes the fiber box was not a suitable or accept- 

 able substitute for the wooden package, and consequently more low grade 

 lumber weut into the manufacture of wooden boxes. Third, an immense 

 amount of low grade lumber was diverted from former channels into the 

 manufacture of hardwood ties. In the opinion of your committee, the 

 use of low grade lumber is on the increase, both for the manufacture of 

 wooden packages and railroad cross ties and the production of low grade 

 hardwood lumber will not increase materially until the price will pay 

 the manufacturing cost. 



The only item in the whole list of northern hardwood lumber that shows 

 any indication ot sluggishness is that of the flooring grades of hard maple 

 and we are glad to note a decided improvement even in that item. There 

 were indications of a serious break in prices for this item at one time, but 

 there are now many indications of improvement and a level of values 

 reached of approximately .fl less than last year. Because of the unusual 

 demand for thick maple, white maple, straight grained maple and many 

 other specialties in maple. It is probable that less than the usual amount 

 of flooring stock will be put up this year and the greatly increased demand 

 for four quarter maple for uses other than for flooring, is reducing the 

 surplus of flooring stock rapidly. We would recommend that the manu- 

 facturer be in no haste to dispose of his flooring grades of maple and that 

 he divert as much as possible to other channels and we believe that if 

 these recommendations are followed the slight surplus of this one item 

 will be worked off without any serious sacrifice of values. 



With a comparatively light stock of northern hardwood lumber, a good 

 general demand at very satisfactory values, no increased production for 

 the year contemplated, and a very decided reduction in the production ot 

 southern hardwood lumber anticipated because of floods and other condi- 

 tions peculiar to the southern hardwood district, we feel decidedly opti- 

 mistic as to northern hardwood conditions throughout the year. 



We at this time want to compliment the manufacturer of northern 

 hardwood lumber on the improvement he has made during the past five 

 years in his method of marketing his product. An improvement that is 

 very clearly demonstrated in the last report of prices obtained by the 

 different manufacturers. While there is still room for improvement and 

 still quite a wide range between the high and the low man we seem to 

 be coming nearer to a reasonably uniform standard of values. There of 

 course will alwa.vs be quite a wide range in prices because of a difference 

 In the quality of timber in different localities, a difference in the methods 

 and facilities for manufacturing and marketing and the freighting dis- 

 tance from the consuming market, but with lumber as with all other 

 commodities, there should be some reasonably close range of values, a 

 condition we have never obtained and which we can not approach with- 

 out reasonable co-operation. 



We are glad to note the growing tendency to market northern hard- 

 wood lumber on grade instead of mill run. log run. No. 2 common and 

 better er No. 1 common and better. This is the only way in which you 

 can give your customer any degree of guarantee as to value, and so long 

 as the matter is left in doubt the purchaser is inclined to take the benefit 

 ot the doubt and reasonably so. If you have a good article to offer you 

 can not -et full value for it sold as log run or No. 2 common and better. 



