22 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



American forests contain a vast amount of timber suitable for pur- 

 poses to which our hardwoods are put, but the fact remains that 

 these forests are practically unexploited, and that there are really 

 no facilities for manufacturing lumber. On the other hand there are 

 equally poor facilities for the remanufacture of such hardwood lum- 

 ber as will be bought, and it seems that in order to create a con- 

 siderable market among South American cities, it would be necessary 

 to first stimulate the manufacture of various articles consuming hard- 

 wood lumber in those countries. It will probably be a long time 

 before native grown timber is cut in suflScient quantities to fill the 

 local demand in this type of remanufacture, and it seems that the 

 South American market should oifer attractive inducements to the 

 shipper of American hardwoods. 



Anti-Boycott Decision 



A question of grave importance to manufacturers in all lines, and 

 one which at times has assumed a serious aspect, is that of the boy- 

 cotting policy of the trade unions as applied to certain houses con- 

 suming non-union-made goods. Consumers of lumber in various forms 

 have been heavy sufferers in this direction, particularly in the northern 

 states, and it is gratifying to note that the sentiment, as expressed 

 by a recent court ruling, is decidedly against the boycott campaign. 



The Sujireme court of New York state recently took a decided step 

 in the direction of overthrowing the boycott privileges of the unions 

 by rendering a permanent injunc- 

 tion against the boycott in favor 

 of a large millwork dealer of 

 Brooklyn. The case has been in 

 the courts for two or three years, 

 and is of far-reaching importance 

 in the matter of open shop prin- 

 ciples as applied to door and 

 millwork throughout the country. 

 It carefully defines the protection 

 to which manufacturers and 

 builders are entitled, in the prem- 

 ises. 



In this instance the injunction 

 was issued against business 

 agents of the United Brotherhood 

 of Carpenters and Joiners of 

 America and the Amalgamated 

 Order of Carpenters and .Toiners 

 of America in favor of the 

 Brooklyn concern. As a result 

 of a petition by the millwork 

 house, a temporary injunction 

 was granted some time ago, and 

 the next hearing before the court 

 was to establish the validity of 



the injunction. The second hearing was held in January, 1911, and 

 as a result the injunction was continued. A little later the appellate 

 division of the Supreme court unanimously sustained the decision, 

 and the injunction was continued, pending final trial. The latter trial 

 opened in a special term of the Supreme court of Kings county in 

 January, 1912, and after a complete hearing, the court took the case 

 under advisement, ultimately rendering the decision as before men- 

 tioned. 



Scottish Timber Conditions 



A consular report from Glasgow, Scotland, contends that the timber 

 trade in the west of Scotland during 1911, although an improvement 

 over the two preceding years, did not come up to the expectations for 

 the year. The chief contributing factors were the continued de- 

 pression in the house building trade and the scarcity of orders for and 

 low prices of furniture and other wooden products. The demand 

 for ship-building material was steady, but the demand from pattern 

 makers and wagon and carriage builders was but modest. 



Kussia and Canada seemed to have a strong hold on the timber busi- 



ness in Glasgow, Eussia promising to be a serious competitor to the 

 Canadians. Conditions militating against the Canadian trade would 

 also have a tendency to injure the American export business to the 

 Scottish ports. As an instance, Russian points have a lower freight 

 rate to Clyde ports than does Quebec, and consequently the high price 

 of some Canadian woods has made their importation impossible. 



There seems to be a continued improvement in the demand for 

 oak logs over that of previous years, and the ship-building trade ia 

 showing a strong demand for pitch pine and teak. 



Birch is attaining a strong favor among Scottish consumers by 

 reason of its reasonable price and extreme utility. A rise in price is 

 anticipated. An increased consumption has been shown in mahogany 

 and plain oak, with a general weakening in the market, for walnut, 

 quartered oak and ash. 



Edison Talks on Waste 



Thomas A. Edison recently returned from a visit to German fac- 

 tories of various kinds, where he made some interesting observations 

 in comparing the intensive German methods with the record-breaking 

 ideas of our industrial leaders. Mr. Edison's assertion that in 

 Germany ' ' work is mixed with brains ' ' strikes the keynote of the 

 sentiment of his statement, the meaning being that the German 

 manufacturer, instead of striving to turn out the "most" or the 

 "biggest" of anything, concentrates his attention on thoroughness 



regarding both quality of product 



lUNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL 



fojjn p. Eangom S, Co. 



iHanufarturpra nf 



few posies before 

 "Doesn't he look 



Nashville, Tenn., 5/27/12. 

 Mr. H. H. Gibson, 

 Hardwood Record, 

 Chicago, III. 

 My Dear Mr. Gibson: 



Believing it is far better to scatter 

 the time when the best we can say 



natural/' we wish to compliment you on the "meat" con- 

 tained in the last Issue of HARDWOOD RECORD, which 

 to us is the best number that has ever come to our desk. 

 Please send additional copies to the names below, 

 charging to our account. 



■/ours truly, 



JOHN B. RANSOM & CO., 

 E. Bartholomew, Sales Manager. 



and complete utilization in by- 

 product. As an instance of the 

 latter is cited the great Badesch 

 Chemical Works, where two hun- 

 dred research workers are con- 

 stantly engaged on investigation 

 resulting in the continual discov- 

 ery of new chemicals. 



It is of course an obvious fact 

 that industrial America, as com- 

 pared with industrial Germany, 

 is but an infant. Industries in 

 Germany had attained importance 

 when in this country they were 

 unborn. The goal toward which 

 the American manufacturer has 

 been striving is bigness. He has 

 had a vast country with a great 

 and growing population to sup- 

 [ily. He has been blessed with 

 an abundance of raw material at 

 comparatively low cost. In short, 

 the exigencies of the situation in 

 which he found himself demanded 

 that he skim the cream off' of 

 what was before him, and leave the milk to waste. Therein lies the 

 essential difference. Where an American manufacturer has consid- 

 ered the enormous waste of raw material as both natural and neces- 

 sary, the Germans admit neither, but turn the milk into a profit by 

 thorough and systematic methods. 



Granting the obvious fact that this difference does exist, it is in- 

 teresting to note probable causes. As before observed, the American 

 manufacturer caters to an entirely different market than the German. 

 Probably the fundamental cause is the much higher cost of raw ma- 

 terial to the Germans. In no line is this fact more strikingly evident 

 than in the products of the forest. American lumbermen are dum- 

 founded at the prices realized for stumpage in Germany. It naturally 

 follows that with the high price of this raw material and with iron 

 bound government protection, the German is going to realize com- 

 mensurate prices for his product. A further deduction is that he will 

 do all in his power to perpetuate his business by perpetuating his 

 supply of raw material. Inasmuch as his product is worth the effort 

 and expenditure, that is precisely what he is doing. His method is 

 twofold. The last possible pfennig of profit is gotten out of logs in 



